Megan Boris

Where can you find these cool cooking gadgets?!

When will they be available in the UK?

Cool idea! I wonder how it compares with my current method of lighting charcoal, which is to use a Weber chimney and a sheet of newspaper I would recycle anyway to light it. I use a butane lighter if it matters.

I know propane is better for the environment, but I have a natural gas stove and broiler indoors. Plus, it doesn't have enough heat or smokey flavor to make the food taste great. I have heard good things about infrared grills, but I have yet to see a head-to-head comparison of an infrared grill and a charcoal grill. What I would love is an infrared grill in the size of a Weber Smokey Joe Grill (the size you see in the pic) to serve as a carbon-light alternative to charcoal for when I want to just grill a few veggies, dogs, or burgers rather than a beer can chicken. If it cost under $50, that'd be the icing on the cake, but I'd probably spend as much as $120.

Cool idea! I wonder how it compares with my current method of lighting charcoal, which is to use a Weber chimney and a sheet of newspaper I would recycle anyway to light it. I use a butane lighter if it matters.

I know propane is better for the environment, but I have a natural gas stove and broiler indoors. Plus, it doesn't have enough heat or smokey flavor to make the food taste great. I have heard good things about infrared grills, but I have yet to see a head-to-head comparison of an infrared grill and a charcoal grill. What I would love is an infrared grill in the size of a Weber Smokey Joe Grill (the size you see in the pic) to serve as a carbon-light alternative to charcoal for when I want to just grill a few veggies, dogs, or burgers rather than a beer can chicken. If it cost under $50, that'd be the icing on the cake, but I'd probably spend as much as $120.

What is even more eco friendly are charcoal chimneys, which are 100% reusable and require less paper product to light.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/chimney.html

OK. So we are advocating a wasteful fuel source because it has cool individual packaging? I'm not usually an angry treehugger, but come on. To make charcoal you take perfectly good wood, burn it without using its energy to heat a building, generate electricity or produce a product, then ship the half burnt chunks to consumers so they can finish burning it in the comfort of their own back yard. That doesn't seem like a great thing to do. If this was an egg-carton box full of waste wood chunks (like the kind of waste wood they use to make charcoal) then I might be able to understand it. I grill with wood from my backyard, which does not require lighter fluid because no one has burned off all the readily combustible material, as they do with charcoal. Not everyone has a good source of wood at home, but I don't see any reason why a company like this couldn't make a wood version of the same thing. That being said the packaging is better than a plastic bag and a few ounces of lighter fluid.

You know, reading treehugger is becoming more and more difficult with every day. Last year around BBQ'ing time you advocated NO BBQ'ING!!

Now you're actually advocating tiny single-use CHARCOAL containers? WTF?

*IF* (if being the key word here) we are to use charcoal, wouldn't the best way be to buy it in the big 50lb sacks and use a weber chimney for lighting?

I can't see how tiny individual-use containers are eco-friendly. At least with the 50lb sacks you've got scale on your side.

Anyone that has used a large park or apartment style grill knows how much charcoal you have to use(waste) to cook on them. Small enough to carry out to a park or open space from an apartment. Seems a bit expensive to me, but I haven't bought charcoal in so long to know what it costs.

Pat you seemed to miss the part that mentioned:
"According to the designers’ web site, “14,500 tons of VOCs are emitted from the 46,200 tons of lighter fluid used in the US every year”. This is what inspired them to come up with a chemical free, non-messy alternative."

Do the angry treehuggers actually read the articles, or does the knee jerk reaction kick in too quick?

Charcoal Chimney and weber grill is the way to go. Use Newspaper to light it. As soon you take the meat off the grill put the top on the weber and close all the air holes. Next time you grill, take the all the left over coals from inside the weber and put them in the chimney. Top the chimney off with new coals. You really stretch a bag of charcoal this way and you don't use any lighter fluid. Downsides? You have to plan ahead, it takes longer to get those coals started. Propane is cleaner -- but like someone already said I've got a kitchen stove, -- just stop grilling then -- don't add another appliance to your possessions. I think this method of occasional grilling beats buying your new product. Going green has got to be more than consuming new products.

Charcoal Chimney and weber grill is the way to go. Use Newspaper to light it. As soon you take the meat off the grill put the top on the weber and close all the air holes. Next time you grill, take the all the left over coals from inside the weber and put them in the chimney. Top the chimney off with new coals. You really stretch a bag of charcoal this way and you don't use any lighter fluid. Downsides? You have to plan ahead, it takes longer to get those coals started. Propane is cleaner -- but like someone already said I've got a kitchen stove, -- just stop grilling then -- don't add another appliance to your possessions. I think this method of occasional grilling beats buying your new product. Going green has got to be more than consuming new products.

Erm, I've never used lighter fluid in my life. What's hard about using a bit of paper/cardbord and kindling to get things started. You could be even more "green" if you used actual wood for your fire, rather than charcoal (which requires more energy to produce it). If you use a nice aromatic wood, you get that flavour in your food as well.

So it takes an extra half-hour to burn the wood down to get coals suitable for cooking over. Whoop de do.

my grilling is much like any cooking use only things trust and what you have on hand .i extend my carcoal with fallen sticks news paper and cardboard and then the ashes get composted or dust the garden . my charcoal choice is natrual cowboy hardwood . i never use lighter fluid but i have in the past used rubbing alcohol and liqour to light up damp coals. those two things can go in or on your body unlike lighter fluid .

I live in Japan and they have charcoal that is made from coconut shells that work excellent and do not need lighter fluid to set it off (and it's only 498 yen for 8 cylinders)

JC- I agree with Trix. I have never used lighter fluid in my life and I don't see how the wad of paper I use to get it started is any different from the egg-crate cardboard box they have here. If someone is the type of person that thinks lighter fluid is necessary (and doesn't notice the awful taste it imparts on food) they are probably going to douse this box in Ronson's anyway.