BBC Summer Good Food Show with Miele

Bright and early on Saturday morning, the forever better team headed up to the NEC in Birmingham for the BBC Summer Good Food Show.

We invited along seven food loving bloggers to join us and take part in the day’s activities, which included a live invention test with Masterchef’s John and Gregg, a 30 minute cook along with Miele appliances and a slap up meal in the Masterchef restaurant.

Jo from Jo’s Kitchen has already written a great post about her time at the Good Food Show, and in particular her attempt at the invention test:

“I was very nervous and excited about taking part in both but fortunately I was not alone. I was joined by my friend James from Eat The Midlands, and fellow bloggers Kavey, Meemalee , Bron and Ailbhe. We were given basic store cupboard items and a bag containing secret fresh ingredients that were not revealed to us until two minutes before we went on stage”.

MiMi from Meemalee’s Kitchen also shares her experience of cooking live on stage during the cook along with Barney Desmazery, food editor of BBC Good Food Magazine:

“It was frantic fun having to keep up with Barney, even if I did get sabotaged (a pan that was meant to be cold had been placed on an active hotplate so I set fire to some toffees. I love making a tit of myself in public, I do).
I did like getting to use the swanky Miele appliances again – my dream kitchen would be kitted out with Miele stuff especially that magic fridge freezer.”

All in all we had a great day of cooking, eating rubbing shoulders with all the Masterchef winners… and more eating. Keep checking back for more updates and recipes from the day created by our fearless foodies.

Ten Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Washing Machines

The washing machine is an essential device in millions of households around the world, but most of us know relatively little about how it works. If you fall into this category, then these 10 facts about washing machines may well prove to be surprising.

1. The washing machine is the second largest consumer of water in a house, behind the WC, which takes first place, accounting for a quarter of all domestic water usage.

2. The average drum size for washing machines is 6KG, but reports suggest that most people actually under fill or over fill their machines by up to a kilogram, which means that the machine is not able to operate at maximum efficiency. Miele washing machines, even at half load, can achieve Energy Efficiency A and 20% efficiency with a full load.

3. In Europe, front-loading washing machines account for about 90 per cent of the total market, with top-loading machines being bought by just 10 per cent of consumers. This is at odds with statistics gathered in the US, where 65 per cent of people choose top-loaders, while the remaining 35 per cent prefer front-loading machines.

4. In 2009, L’Ossovatore Romano, the newspaper of the Vatican, announced that the washing machine had more to do with women’s liberation than the birth control pill or their right to work. A University of Montreal study agreed, pointing out that home appliance, including the washing machine, freed women’s time, enabling them to enter the workforce.

5. Average households run around 274 washing cycles in their machines each year and the lifespan of a standard washing machine can be 10 years or more. Higher quality machines have been known to survive for several decades. To ensure that their machines are of the highest quality, Miele put their machines through high-endurance tests to replicate the following usage; 5 washes per week for 20 years, opening and closing the door everyday for 164 years, spinning a bathmat continuously for 25 days and switch tests to ensure that the buttons work as new after 20 years.

6. Consumers are most likely to choose a washing machine that offers a spin speed of 1000rpm. This means that over the average lifetime of a machine, it will spin well over two hundred million times.

7. Although a 1200rpm and a 1400rpm washing machine may differ in price and performance on paper, tests have shown that for drying clothes, the residual dampness levels are only improved by three per cent if you opt for the fastest spin cycle. The greatest difference in performance is observable between an 800rpm and a 1000rpm machine, with a 10 per cent improvement seen when using the faster spin cycle. Miele washing machines can spin at up to 1800rpm, which saves drying time and energy when tumble drying.

8. 96 per cent of households have washing machines whilst fewer than 60 per cent have tumble dryers. Dishwashers are even less common, with less than 40 per cent of people having a machine to do the washing up for them.

9. An average load of washing will be made up of 16 different items of clothing. Some Miele washing machines are cleverly able to work out the weight load so that it can inform users on how much detergent is needed.

10. The first recognised washing machine, designed for small-scale domestic use, was invented in the nineteenth century by an American for his busy wife as a birthday present. However, it was not until 1908 that a washing machine powered by electricity was developed.

Image Credit: Vizzzual.com

The Miele S7 trial

Last summer we sent a Miele S7 on trial around a few homes of bloggers eager to test its credentials.

The model we sent out was the S7580 AutoCare HEPA Upright Vacuum Cleaner. The AutoCare Hepa actually vacuumed over two miles of carpet during its trip. Which we didn’t thing was bad going at all. Below are a selection of the guys who were incvolved with the trial.

While with LaundryBasketCase the S7 got a full and thorough reviewing and it came out the other side looking good,

“Yes, I was well chuffed with how well the Miele performed. I felt it sucked up all the dog hairs, human hairs, bits of garden soil, and dog biscuit crumbs in a jiffy.”

The Dotteral though decided it wasn’t for him, due mainly to the weight of it and the ‘jet-engine’ noise it produced when starting up, but was happy to say,

“[…] it certainly does the job.”

Finally we have Backwards in High Heels, who had make sure that her mum didn’t steal the S7, so happy was she with the ease of which the vacuum could be driven. There’s a video of the action here.

We’re looking to do more trials throughout 2010 on a variety of Miele products, but we’d really like to hear from you on what they should be. Do you want another vacuum, a Cat and Dog maybe? If you’ve got an idea or would like to be involved get in touch through email or leave us a comment below.

More Miele in motoring forums

The Fiat Coupe Forum has joined SeatCupra.Net in sharing information on appliances. Whereas it was ovens yesterday, today the conversation turns to washing machines.

It is contributor Sedicivalvole who has asked,

“Can anyone advise on a good washing machine with a large drum that is capable of washing a king sized duvet?”

Their previous experience of Miele was not a positive one. Despite this though forum users have suggested a return to the brand, suggesting as Bockers has done that ‘Miele are the best’. MeanRedSpider offers the same advice,

“Miele for sure, at Procter & Gamble we used to test washing machines (as we made Ariel, Daz, Bold etc) and they were consistently the best. […] If you can, buy a Miele when their 10 year free warranty promo is on.”

To keep following this thread click through.

Tough Miele dishwasher test

2 years is a long time to test any product on and off – but how about 2 years of non-stop use? Because according to technicianbrian.com, a Miele dishwasher has been running non-stop for that length of a time in a long-term endurance test at Miele’s Bielefeld factory in Germany.

According to Miele, the dishwasher has outlasted the self-imposed criteria that each appliance be tested to withstand everyday usage for 20 years, which equates to 12,500 hours of operation or 7,500 program cycles. As for Brian, he is “glad to see a manufacturer willing to subject one of their products to the rigors of long term usage” but reminds people to always “read the manual”.