Gift Guide: Just Add Air

More than a hundred years ago a Viennese company - iSi - began bottling incredible amounts of energy in tiny little chargers. After all this time, they obviously know what they're doing.

Their Professional Cream Whipper is a fantastic gadget. Simple to use: you simply pour in heavy cream, press the handle, and gorgeous, perfectly-textured whipped cream comes billowing out. 

But whipped cream is only the beginning. Put in a fruit puree to produce a fruit mousse needing neither cream nor eggs. Aerate a hollandaise sauce to make something stunningly rich, silky and light.  Give your vinaigrette more character by adding a bit of spritz.  The machine also produces lovely quick pickles. And should you want to carbonate your juice, just add it to the canister.

Any inventive cook who appreciates playing around in the kitchen will find dozens of used for this great new tool. Which makes it the perfect $50 gift for the hard-to-shop-for kitchen collector. She's unlikely to have it in her arsenal- and guaranteed to love it.