Squirt, spurt, and shrink - What's new? Holiday gifts galore - pretend kitchen toys

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Nov, 2002

Kids love to mess around the kitchen like their parents do. All too often, though, the word "mess" becomes the operative one. Fortunately for household tranquility, a bunch of new toys allows them to experiment with child-friendly treats without--it is to be hoped--injecting too much chaos into the kitchen.

The Hershey's Chocolate Magic Molding Kit ($14.99) from Spin Master Toys, Toronto, Canada, basically converts chocolate chips into assorted candies, thanks to a series of molds that snap into place where the slide mount would be if this microscope-shaped device were a real microscope. The chips go into a receptacle at the top and, after the heating element powered by four D batteries reaches the proper melting temperature, the top knob is pressed down and liquid chocolate flows out of the barrel and into the molds. After it cools, the candy is popped out of the molds and, invariably, into the youngster's mouth. Inserting a stick into the cooling mixture allows the making of lollipops, and--with the right mold--one can even create a replica of Hershey's Kisses from Hershey's chips, sort of an incestuous culinary round-robin.

The Incredible Shrinky Dinks Maker ($24.99) from Spin Master produces all the fun of cooking without the ultimate eating. This classic toy makes shrinkable plastic sheets which, when colored with the enclosed pencils and then heated, shrink down and bond the color, allowing kids to produce keychains, jewelry, medals, or whatever else their imagination dictates. Patterns can be traced from the accompanying 18-image booklet, copied from books or comics, or created from the child's mind. The heating element is a simple lightbulb (no larger than 60 watts), and care must be taken so that hands or other parts of the anatomy do not come into contact with it to avoid burns.

Spin Master's Icee Maker ($19.99) is another example of transmogrification, this time turning soda into slush. Vaguely resembling a gumball machine, it is loaded at the top with crushed ice or small cubes, cold soda or other sweet drink, and a measuring cup full of salt. Turning the crank at the top of the machine, at the same time pushing down on the level to force the ingredients through it and down to the dispenser, soon generates a delicious cup of ice-cold, flavored slush. The trick is to avoid diet beverages or other low-sugar liquids, since they don't freeze well.

Another frozen treat comes from the SpongeBob SquarePants SnoCone Maker ($11.99), named after the distinctively odd cartoon character that has managed to endear an entire generation of young television watchers. Produced by Little Kids, Inc., Providence, R.I., it merges shaved ice and Wyler's drink mix (which comes in various flavors). The resultant slush is pushed through the SpongeBob-shaped dispenser into a paper cup or flat-bottomed edible cone. The result is refreshingly cold, exceedingly sticky, and fun to make and eat.