Do you like cooking but wish the stirring of food didn't force you to pause the DVR and leave the comfort of your living room chair every five minutes?
Japanese dentist Hideki Watanabe did also, so he created the Kuru-Kuru Nabe, which literally means round-round pot but in Japan real means a pot that stirs itself. Watanabe created the prototype using dental plaster from his practice to line the inside surface of a metal pot in a spiral design he created using good, old-fashioned trial and error.
As foods warmed up, the spiral sides directed the flow in a concentric movement, which also made the heating process more efficient - water boiled more quickly, which saves energy. The circular movement also directed residue neatly in the center, making it easier to skim off the top.
Unfortunately for we Yanks, the (now) stainless steel spiral design that sits inside a saucepan-like pot is only for sale in Japan.
This, and 6 more cool inventions from 2012 are detailed by Nadia Arumugam at Forbes in Best Food innovations of 2012
