Best Inventions 2005: Tasteful Ideas

Hanging Gardens Inventor: Bill Felknor, Felknor Ventures Availability: Now, $19 To Learn More: topsyturvys.com No longer will you have to cage, stake or weed your tomato plants or battle cutworms and other ruinous critters to put fresh tomatoes on the table. The Topsy-Turvy planter allows you to grow beefsteaks, cherries or any other variety upside down on your balcony or deck. Simply fill the bag with potting soil, add a young seedlingalmost any vine-growing fruit or vegetable will doand let the leafy part hang out. Mount the hook, add water and fertilize. A young plant in a warm climate takes about a month to bloom and another month to bear fruit. Next Product: Turbo Tap >>

Perfect Brew Inventor: Matthew Younkle, Laminar Technologies Availability: Businesses can lease it for $99 a year per tap; keg-cooler version costs $209, kegerator, $179 To Learn More: turbotap.com Nothing kills happy hour like a big head. Now bartenders and concessionaires pulling pints can rely on TurboTap to keep things neat. The device, a stainless-steel spout that attaches to an existing tap, changes the flow of the beer so that it hits the bottom just so, eliminating the need to tilt the glass or slow down the pour. (The tail end, shaped like a Hershey's Kiss, feathers the liquid out to the sides; it takes only eight to 10 seconds to fill a pitcher.) Got a kegerator in the garage? You're in luck: home kits are now available. Next Product: Fruit Tattoos >>

Fruit Tattoos Inventor: Greg Drouillard Availability: Now, on a trial basis To Learn More: durand-wayland.com/label Goodbye, pesky stickers. A growing number of produce packers and distributors are experimenting with natural-light labeling, a new process that uses a laser to etch identifying information (country of origin, variety, etc.) into the skins of fruits and vegetables without bruising or causing other damage. In our taste tests with pears from Southern Oregon Sales, the labeled areas proved entirely edible, if oddly textured. The process allows suppliers to attach more specific data to individual itemssuch as when a peach will be ripe enough to eat and other handy tidbitsin a way that won't stick to your hair. Next Product: Tastes Great, Less Filling >>

Tastes Great, Less Filling Inventor: David Burke Availability: Now, online, $5.95 a bottle To Learn More: www.flavorspraydiet.com Looking for a way to add taste while cutting calories? Chef David Burke, known for his Willie Wonkalike creations at New York City restaurant davidburke&donatella, has created a line of flavor sprays that mimic the taste of high-cal foods but have no fat, calories or carbs. Available in 18 varietiessuch as Memphis BBQ, pesto and chocolate fudgethe sprays are concoctions of natural and artificial flavors. A shot of bacon can make scrambled eggs seem like a full breakfast feast, while root-beer-float or marshmallow spray may make you crave rice cakes. Next Product: Uncorked >>

Uncorked Inventor: G&eactue;rard Michel, Laurent Villaume Availability: Now, $59.95 To Learn More: tasting-international.com Have you ever popped the cork on a fine Bordeaux or Chardonnay only to encounter a bitter taste and noxious aroma? About 5% of all bottled wine is tainted by a molecule in some corks known as trichloroanisole (TCA). Now a French company has devised a way to extract the TCA and restore the wine's bouquet. Pour the wine into the Dream Taste glass pitcher and insert a bunch of white plastic grapes, included in the kit. The faux fruit acts as a filter, absorbing the TCA in about an hour. Then pour a fresh glass, sit back and enjoy. Next Product: Bot Crazy >>