Take this tablet before dining

Qooq kitchen tablet computer
$399 at qooq.com

Leave it to a French company to develop a tablet computer especially for the kitchen. The Qooq is a costly but clever digital cookbook that can help you crank out hundreds of tasty dishes.

The Qooq features a ruggedized, water-resistant case that looks capable of surviving a moderate amount of culinary abuse. It’s also got a kickstand to keep it at the proper angle for reading. Connect it to the household W-Fi network and you can use it as a Web browser and a streaming audio player with presets for hundreds of stations worldwide.

But the essence of Qooq is its built-in database that includes about a thousand recipes, ranging from simple fare to fairly exalted cuisine. Cooking instructions are well-written and easy to follow. And there are videos to teach users a variety of kitchen skills. While preparing the Qooq’s recipe for ginger pork--it was excellent--I boned up on the correct way to slice onions and shallots.

Qooq is hampered by a video screen that’s far below the standards of other laptops. And then there’s the $400 price. Add in another $99 a year for an online subscription for downloading more recipes and videos, and you’ve got one expensive electronic cookbook. Still, amateur chefs with deep pockets will get a kick out of the Qooq.