kitchen
Latest
The Tasty OneTop smart cooker ruined my dinner party
It's been quite a drama for me in the kitchen lately: Due to a leak in my building, my cooking gas was shut off for 11 months. It's back now, but for most of last year I had to get by with takeout, microwaveables and oh-so-many salads. Tasty's OneTop seems tailor-made for these type of situations. It's an induction cooktop, which means it goes anywhere you can plug it in. And Tasty's step-by-step instructions make the whole cooking process manageable. It's the kind of thing you'd happily play with in a college dorm. Or, in my case, a small New York City apartment with no working stove. Every year I always have a few people over to watch the Oscars, so that seemed like a good opportunity to give the OneTop a spin. Home-cooked food and a new gadget to play with! Perfect pre-show entertainment!
Whirlpool and Yummly will stop you from wasting food
Back in 2017, appliance giant Whirlpool bought Yummly, the smart recipe network that hosts over 2 million recipes. Now, the pair is showing off what the future of the partnership will look like by the second half of 2018, as both try to reverse the trend of everyone getting takeout for dinner.
Yomee turns dissolvable culture pods into fresh yogurt
Yogurt is at its best when it's freshly made and additive-free, which is why the more health-conscious folks prefer making this tasty snack at home instead of buying it. But yogurt-making is a messy job: you have to first heat the milk up to at least 161°F or 72°C for pasteurization separately, as pretty much all yogurt makers can't reach that temperature; and you also have to measure how much bacterial culture to put in. This is where Food-X-backed Hong Kong startup Lecker Labs comes in. Its first product, Yomee, is a machine that takes care of the entire yogurt-making process, covering high-temperature heating (reaching 185°F or 85°C), stirring, culture loading, fermentation and chilling (down to 50°F or 10°C). When ready, simply pop the cup out and enjoy.
Panasonic's fridge of the future comes when you call it
We don't know how the kitchens of our future will work, but Panasonic's vision includes a moving refrigerator that responds to voice commands. The company was showing off a concept for such a device that, if we're lucky, might make it to our homes in the next few decades.
Picobrew's next goal: A safe and affordable DIY distillery
Picobrew has a new, cheaper countertop beer brewing system. That you already knew. But the company is now dipping its toes into distilling. The Picostill is an add on for the Pico Model C that turns that weird custom designed keg into a countertop distillery. Specifically it's a reflux still that uses vacuum distillation, which doesn't look as cool as a pot or column still, but makes far more efficient use of the space.
PicoBrew tries to make countertop beer brewing affordable
Brewing your own beer is surprisingly easy and cheap. But, it can seem intimidating. Plus, some of the equipment takes up a lot of space if you really start to embrace the hobby. Companies like Picobrew have been trying to simplify the process to make it more appealing to newcomers and those with limited space. The Pico Model C is the latest in a line of "countertop" brewing machines. It looks more like a coffee machine than anything else. In fact, it looks a lot like the company's previous machine -- the Pico -- except the stainless-steel body has been replaced with a black powder-coated finish.
The Engadget Podcast Ep 33: Losing My Edge
Managing editor Dana Wollman and host Terrence O'Brien are joined by a new face on this week's episode: social media manager Evan Rodgers. They'll talk about Engadget's Adult Week -- a collection of articles about growing up in the digital age. Sure, we all know that what you say on social media can really come back to bite you in the ass (and possibly cost you a job). But, the internet is both an obstacle that needs to be navigated and a powerful tool that can teach you to be an independent and self sufficient adult. Without it Terrence and Evan would have never learned how to properly invoice companies during their freelancing days. And Dana has turned to the web to learn how to cook. They grow up so fast... sniff.
LG put Alexa in a refrigerator and it seems like a great idea
Alongside a load of new TVs, you can count on all the big tech companies to roll out new smart appliances every year at CES. LG is no exception, adding Amazon's Alexa to its line of Smart InstaView refrigerators. We've seen previous versions of the fridge with huge touchscreens in the door, but this time around the company has tacked on a virtual assistant and webOS software in the US. For the global model, expect Windows 10 integration and access to Cortana for spoken assistance.
Smart stove knobs help you prevent a house fire
You can already buy connected ranges that offer remote control and prevent kitchen disasters. But what about your existing range -- are you really going to replace it just for some extra convenience and peace of mind? You might not have to. Inirv is crowdfunding the React, a smart stove knob system that upgrades most any electric or gas stove. You can control individual burners through your phone, of course, but the real star of the show is a sensor that sits on your ceiling. If it detects gas, smoke or prolonged inactivity, it automatically shuts off active burners. You shouldn't have to worry about sparking a house fire just because you forgot to switch the stove off before you left for the movies.
Griffin is trying its hand at smart kitchen appliances
You can forget smart fridges that will set you back thousands of dollars, because there's now a more affordable way to start getting your kitchen connected. Mobile-accessories company Griffin Technology today announced its move into "AppPowered" appliances with its new home range. Unveiling a smart toaster, a connected coffee maker and even a futuristic WiFi mirror, its new smart appliances aim to make your life easier on the cheap, thanks to mobile integration.
Samsung's built-in smart appliances blend in with your decor
Smart home appliances are all well and good, but they're rarely options if you need or prefer that machinery built-in. What if your oven has to blend in neatly with the kitchen? Samsung wants to help. It's introducing its first-ever built-in smart appliances, all of which tout WiFi-connected features while integrating with your home. They're expensive, but just might fit the bill if conventional equipment simply won't do.
Bosch and Drop team up on smarter kitchen tech
Many appliance makers are forming partnerships to drag their lineups into the smart home era, but Bosch's alliance may be something special. It's teaming up with Drop (of smart scale fame) to add intelligence to kitchen devices. The two are starting modestly: if you have a Series 8 oven with Home Connect support, you can already use Drop to control the appliance as well as monitor the temperature and time. However, the companies have grander things in store.
Whirlpool is putting Innit's smart recipes on its WiFi ovens (updated)
Getting recipes and other cooking tips directly on a connected appliance is increasingly becoming the norm, and Whirlpool is one of the next in line. The company announced that it's Jenn-Air line of WiFi-equipped ovens will soon feature Innit recipes. While Innit aims to tackle the entire kitchen, including food storage and more, personalized recipes work with the connected oven and your tablet or phone. The appliance adjusts cooking to the weight and type of food to help ensure the results are what they should be.
Innit's connected kitchen made me some delicious ribs
We've heard tell of connected kitchens since the days of the 1969 Honeywell Kitchen Computer, but unfortunately we're not quite living in the age of the Jetsons just yet. Still, recent smart home innovations such as WiFi-connected ovens and fridges with integrated cameras are helping us make that dream a reality. The missing piece: how to make all of those appliances talk to one another. Innit is a startup that aims to tackle exactly that problem. We took a tour of its test kitchen last week to see how the tech works. And, you know, let it cook us a rack of ribs.
Cooking app maker wants a standard for smart kitchen devices
There are plenty of smart cooking devices to help you bring masterpieces to the table. However, they don't usually talk to each other -- your sous vide tool doesn't know the weight of the ingredients you measured on a scale just a couple of feet away. SideChef wants to fix that. The cooking app developer is building a platform that lets kitchen gadgets work in unison. Once you pick a recipe, every device would know what to do. Your oven would start pre-heating, for instance, while your mixer would run at just the right speed to blend everything together.
Acaia's Bluetooth scale tracks your morning coffee ritual
I'll admit it: I'm a coffee snob. I wasn't even that invested until I became friends with two roasters. Fast forward a few years and I have equipment in my kitchen for six different brewing methods. Yes, it's a bit much. However, that still didn't stop me from being enticed by the Acaia Pearl Bluetooth-equipped scale, which aims to make the daily ritual as consistent and accurate as possible. Do you really need a $129 gadget to help you make better coffee, though? Or will a cheap kitchen scale and timer do the job just fine? After a few weeks with the priciest "Pearl Black" model, which sells for $150, I'm not ready to give up my budget gear just yet.
Panasonic makes the first countertop induction oven
Induction cooking is great for budding chefs: it rarely needs preheating, it's energy-efficient and it's safer than conventional burners. Getting it has usually meant going for a full-size oven or a cooktop, however, which isn't always practical if you're in an apartment or otherwise can't justify tearing out your existing appliances. That's where Panasonic thinks it can help. It just introduced the first-ever countertop induction oven, giving you all the benefits of the technology in a relatively tiny, enclosed space. If you want to grill a barbecue-grade steak, you can do it with a device that's roughly the size of your microwave.
Valve's Gabe Newell is backing a smart sous vide cooking tool
Valve founder Gabe Newell isn't just interested in gaming technology, like living room computers and virtual reality -- he also appreciates the science behind a well-prepared meal, too. The legendary game developer has poured money into ChefSteps to help them make Joule, a smart immersion circulator for sous vide cooking. Instead of fiddling with buttons on the wand to heat your water bath, you use a mobile app to set and monitor temperatures. It has presets for particular food types, and you can even have it change temperatures at different times -- if one guest prefers rare steak while another likes it well-done, you can make that happen. The hardware is small yet powerful, too, packing a 1100W heater into an 11-inch cylinder that can fit into your kitchen drawers.
The best Thanksgiving kitchen tools and tableware
This post was done in partnership with The Sweethome, a buyer's guide to the best things for your home. Read the full article here.Preparing a Thanksgiving feast can be a pretty hectic experience, but the right kitchen gear can make it a breeze. Instead of fretting over dinner, wouldn't you rather spend time with family and friends? At The Sweethome, we spend dozens of hours on each of our reviews to find the best gear for all parts of your life. Here are eight of our favorite kitchen-oriented recommendations to help you host like a pro and make the most of Thanksgiving.This guide may have been updated by The Sweethome. To see the current recommendation, please go here.
Drop's kitchen scale celebrates iPhone debut with cocktail recipes
Drop's smart scale promises to turn any kitchen klutz into a competent cook. Like your own personal sous-chef, the connected scale and companion app walks you through recipes step-by-step, even suggesting substitute ingredients if you've run out of wild saffron. Drop's audience has been somewhat limited since it launched late last year, though, as its recipe app was only compatible with iPads. But now, iPhone users can get a little help in the kitchen too, following the launch of a smartphone-friendly version of the app (still no love for Android, it seems). What's way, way more important, however, is Drop's finally acknowledging that the best lunches are ones of the liquid variety. In addition to the juice and smoothie recipes already available, Drop's app now includes a cocktail menu. All you need to do is place your favorite booze beaker on the scale and follow the instructions, which should mean your sixth mojito comes out tasting just as well-balanced as your first.
