Smart kitchen appliances, the key to falling in love with cooking? Perhaps…
Cooking is a mythical blend of science & art. Part intuition, part knowledge. Some of us are born with a natural intuition for flavours, others cook only out of necessity.
Regardless of where you sit on this spectrum, there’s a smart kitchen appliance for you.
Want restaurant quality steak? There’s a smart kitchen appliance for that.
Want to boil the kettle from bed? There’s a smart kitchen appliance for that.
You get the idea…
What are Smart Kitchen Appliances?
New smart appliances are hitting the Australian market everyday. But I hear you ask what makes a kitchen appliance, a smart kitchen appliance?
A smart kitchen appliance is a kitchen device or appliance which has had additional technology added to it. Usually, this means that it’s got some form of digital connectivity (e.g. wifi or Bluetooth), which allows the manufacturers to included new fancy features.
An example is a kettle which allows you to boil water without getting off the couch. No more waiting around in the kitchen while the water boils.
There are a lot of different categories of smart kitchen appliances available in Australia, here are some of the most popular.
1. Smart Kitchen Gadgets
Smart kitchen gadgets are the best place to start. They are usually small in size & price, but not lacking in smart features.
Smart Thermometers
No longer settle for dry, over-cooked roast chicken. The key to perfectly cooking meats & vegetables is getting them up to, & not over, a very specific temperature. This is key for both food safety & a perfectly executed dish.
A thermometer takes the guesswork out of cooking, a SMART thermometer takes the effort out of checking. A smart thermometer will monitor your food while it cooks & notifies you when it’s reached the perfect temperature.
Smart Scales
Scales = accuracy in the kitchen. In some cooking scenarios accuracy is the secret to great results. This is especially true when it comes to baking. Smart scales are an example of a smart kitchen appliance which pairs well with an app.
Smart scales often come with a companion app which pairs with the scales to guide you as you make your dish. The app monitors how much you’re adding & lets you know what comes next.
2. Smart Beverage Appliances (Caffeine!)
When it comes to caffeination, we’ve been trying to reduce our morning workloads for years now. Coffee makers have had timers which you could set each night, to wake up to a warm cup of coffee.
Smart beverage appliances like smart kettles & smart coffee makers take this idea a whole lot further. Today you’re able to boil the kettle with a voice command & control the strength of your morning coffee from an app.
There are some premium models out there but you can also pick up a cheap smart kettle from the likes of Kogan
3. Smart Cooking Appliances
Taking it the next level, smart kitchen cooking appliances. This category of smart appliances is still only just beginning to grow where in Australia. Many more devices are available overseas, but as with the trend, they will soon make their way down under.
As the name suggests, these devices cook your food. A few of the devices will be very familiar such as ovens & microwaves. Some, however, will be less familiar such as a sous vide device.
Smart Ovens & Smart Microwaves
Yet to arrive here in Australia, but here are a couple of examples. Essentially a familiar device that’s been given some additional smart features.
Amazon’s smart oven & microwave are the most well know.
Sous Vide Device
Less common in the home kitchen, but a much-loved device by cooking enthusiasts. Sous vide cooking is an ultra-precise method of cooking. Food is vacuum-sealed into a pouch along with spices and seasonings. (e.g. a steak with rosemary, salt & butter). This pouch is then submerged into a water bath to cook. The water temperature is controlled precisely, resulting in perfectly cooked food.
Here’s an image of what they look like:
Anova makes the smart sous vide which we use at home. It’s great for anyone wanting the perfectly cooked steak & busy parents, as food can be prepared in advance.
4. Smart Fridges
A category of smart home appliances which is NOT for the faint-hearted (Tip: don’t check the price tag). I think that smart fridges will one day become the centre of the smart home, though at the moment there are some problems with them. You can read more about smart fridges here.
Bonus: Other Smart Home Devices Perfect for the kitchen
While these devices are specifically made for the kitchen or cooking, they are the perfect addition to a smart kitchen.
Smart Speakers with a Screen
The emphasis here on “with a screen”. Smart speakers are perfect kitchen assistants, especially those with screens. They can set timers, display recipes & complete measure conversions, all while you’re elbow-deep in dough.
The list doesn’t stop there. Smart lighting & smart audio can also take your cooking experience to the next level. And how about a smart vacuum to clean the floor after you’re done? Yes please!
Smart Kitchen Appliances – Convinced?
What do you think? Do smart kitchen appliances have the potential to make you fall in love with cooking?
