Looking Beyond the Stove: Exciting New Appliances For The Kitchen
Technology Has Become Part Of The Kitchen In These New Kitchen Appliances
Kitchen appliance technology has evolved. Today, more than ever before the tools are available to take you from cook to chef in no time at all! From refrigerators that let you know when you're out of milk to smart appliances that add high-tech convenience to your culinary repertoire, these new high-tech appliances can help with every step of the cooking process.
From updated designs to technology that can make cooking dinner the high point of your day, these kitchen appliances take you beyond the simple range, refrigerator, dishwasher. Here are some of the hottest kitchen appliance trends to watch out for in 2019 and beyond!
French Door Wall Ovens
Wall ovens are a great convenience in the kitchen. If you're used to oven cooking, a traditional range can mean lots of stooping over to baste, check temperatures and remove food. A wall oven allows you to cook at eye level. Wall ovens make cooking and removing food much more accessible, especially as you age. The latest design that is not only stylish but extremely functional is French door wall ovens.
From a design standpoint, French-door wall ovens look amazing. But they go far beyond just design. Just because you have a small kitchen doesn't mean that you can't have a wall oven. Because they need less space than a traditional wall over (the doors don't fold down) they're perfect in a smaller kitchen. Some models like the GE Monogram are also equipped with Bluetooth technology that you can control remotely from your smartphone. Stuck in traffic and need to get dinner started? Preheat your oven from your car on the ride home. How convenient is that?
Induction Cooking Ranges and Cooktops
Induction cooking is a safe, fast, and convenient way to cook. Induction cooktops use electromagnetic energy as opposed to radiant heat. That means that you can boil water and when you touch the cooktop it's cold to the touch. Perfect for older homeowners, or families with small children, it's a safe alternative. Not only is it safe, but it's also speedy. With induction cooking, you can boil water in seconds. It's extremely sensitive, and you have complete temperature control for simmering, sous vide, or other precise cooking techniques.
It's also another “smart” appliance that can be controlled remotely from your smartphone or tablet. With touch and swipe controls the connection between you and your cooktop is entirely intuitive. Simply drag your finger around the arc to adjust the heat for each zone as you cook.
Steam Ovens
Steam ovens cook food faster than conventional ovens, with the added benefit of helping food to retain its flavor and nutrients. The Wolf steam oven combines steam and convection cooking with a series of pre-programmed recipes. All you have to do is place the food in the steam oven, and take it out when it's perfectly cooked. The oven will even figure out which mode to apply to get the best results. You can also tell the oven what time you'd like dinner, and it will automatically turn on and adjust the cooking process to finish at precisely the right time.
Sous Vide Cooking
Sous vide is a cooking method in which you place food into a plastic bag and immerse it into a controlled water bath to cook. When it's done, remove the food from the bag, sear it in a pan or place it on the grill. The result is a meal that is tender in texture and offers intense, delicious flavors.
Many induction cooktops are being outfitted with all kinds of neat features like sous vide. GE's induction cooktop offers a sous vide accessory that communicates with the cooktop to keep the temperature perfectly even so you don't have to watch the stove constantly.
Countertop Beer Brewing
If you love beer and you have an extra 20.5-inches of counter space available you can add a custom microbrewery to your kitchen! The PicoBrew Zymatic allows beer lovers to brew their own custom suds right in the kitchen. Combine this with a fold-away base cabinet shelf, and you can hide your brewery out of sight until it's time to brew. Track your brewing session with a smartphone app, and in just four hours, you're ready to move your brew to a separate keg for three weeks of fermentation and chilling.
Synchronized Appliances
Want a real “kitchen of the future?” Bluetooth technology has revolutionized the way we cook. With GE's ChefConnect, your Profile Series range and microwave can speak to one another and synch up cooking times automatically. It'll also turn on the vents and lights when the cooktop is in use. With synchronized cooking between the range, oven and microwave, you'll enjoy perfectly cooked main dishes and sides that finish simultaneously – and are perfectly cooked!
“Smart” Refrigerators
Refrigerators have advanced tremendously. The days of the humble crisper drawer are gone! Today, your fridge can feature specialized storage zones like Whirlpool’s Perfect Places system. With PerfectPlaces you can have up to nine distinct storage zones including a freezer pocket specifically for frozen pizza and a temperature-controlled drawer with a setting for thawing frozen meats.
Some manufacturers like Samsung are offering Internet-connected refrigerators complete with a large screen. These high-tech refrigerators offer a Family Center app for leaving messages, a calendar to mark important dates and even inventory control that will track items and expiration dates. Some also automatically order groceries from your favorite delivery service so you'll never run out of milk in the morning again!
Technology has made its way into the kitchen in a big way. From ovens that automatically cook for you, to refrigerators that suggest recipes based on what's in the fridge, today, you can create your dream high-tech kitchen easier than ever before.
If you're planning a kitchen remodeling and you live in the greater Tuscaloosa area, give the experts at Toulmin Kitchen & Bath a call at (205) 366-0807. We're on top of all the latest trends in kitchen appliances and can help you to design your dream kitchen.
