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Smarter Technology for the Kitchen

Some people want to emulate the feats of Jamie Oliver and create exciting 30-minute meals all for the price of a Big Mac. Others want to take a more technical approach and recreate snail porridge that would make Heston Blumenthal proud. Of course, if you are lucky enough to be selected in the Fat Duck ballot and don’t mind forking out $500-plus, you may be able to watch Heston’s crew put the porridge together during his residency at Crown Casino.

For those who can’t make it to the Fat Duck to watch the master in action, money well-spent on the latest high-tech kitchen appliances and technological advancements could help you emulate the technical wizardry of your favourite ‘food scientist’.

The appliances available in the kitchen today, could turn someone who turns soft boiled eggs to hard, a kitchen whiz. And the great news is, they are easy to install if you are undergoing a kitchen renovation or building from scratch.

Some are standalone appliances, others products are the integrated kind and can be built into your kitchen design, but let’s start with something simple: the Belkin Kitchen Cabinet Mount.

To ensure you cook your snail porridge correctly you need the recipe. Which means you need a recipe book, or alternatively an iPad. If you are taking your tech gadgets into the kitchen, you need a safe place to store them lest you make chop suey of your iPad and not the bean sprouts.

Tip: Don’t chop the iPad. Apple won’t take it back.

 So, when you are upgrading your kitchen, keep Belkin’s Kitchen Cabinet Mount in mind. The mount will firmly hold your iPad in a place that doesn’t clutter the kitchen and allows you to read recipes and watch videos without fear of technical Armageddon.

Now, let’s look at some built-in appliances that can really make your kitchen.

A few years ago we were hailing the advent of the smart fridge. Today, the fridge is so smart it can recite Shakespeare while solving complicated physics problems.

Tip: Don’t let your fridge recite Shakespeare; it may get a bit hammy!

Samsung’s new wifi-enabled fridge enables you make phone calls and programme your television to your fridge screen. Meanwhile, Whirlpool’s next generation kitchen suites would allow you to keep a running inventory of its contents, suggest recipes and then automatically programme the smart oven to align with the recipes provided.

Pretty soon, your fridge and oven will be colluding to ensure your calorie intake is aligned with your BMI.

An integration that may really knock your socks off is Whirlpool’s touchscreen cooktop. This little gem brings up your recipes (on the cooktop) while you’re cooking.

Foodtechconnect.com writes: “The surface uses induction to heat pots, keeping the cooktop cool to the touch, because induction heating elements only interact with metal. The cooktop is also social, with pinterest, Facebook and other recipe-friendly social media sites available at the swipe of a finger. Whirlpool estimates that the product is about five years out.”

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Similar in scope is Dacor’s Discovery iQ 48″ Dual-Fuel Range. Again, you can watch cooking tutorials and access recipes while making your favourite dish.  This also warns users via text when their food is ready. Utilising the same technology as Dacor’s Discovery wall oven, users can control the range remotely via smartphone or tablet. The stove also has a built-in digital meat thermometer, which automatically pauses once your meat reaches the perfect internal temperature.

Building your kitchen has never been so enjoyable. While, navigating your kitchen has never been so easy.

Other things to keep in mind

Once you have cooked your snail porridge on your media savvy cooktop, it’s time for a beer.

Home small appliance maker Krups has teamed with Heineken to deliver a draught in your home. That’s not the windy, cold kind. That’s the beer kind. This little machine features an LED display temperature indicator, a detachable draw spout and it comes with five disposable draught keg tubes. It includes a quiet and efficient cooling system that maintains the beer at the optimal three degrees Celsius. If beer isn’t your thing the Hamilton Beach Voice Activated 12 Cup Coffeemaker makes a stylish addition to your kitchen. Ask your designer to get you one.

Tip: Don’t ask the coffeemaker to make your coffee if you’ve had one too many Heineken.

Call us today on 1300 662 838 to speak to one of our award winning designers or arrange free in-home consultation to plan your dream kitchen.

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