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Cooking with Watson: Caymanian Plantain Dessert
Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson is a collaboration between IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Once a week, as part of an ongoing series, we'll be preparing one recipe from the book until we've made all of them. Wish us luck. So for the second week in a row, Watson and his culinary interpreters are appealing to my sweet tooth. Except, where last week's pastries had a savory backbone to keep things interesting, the Caymanian plantain dessert is a full-on tooth-rotting sugar bomb. And a damn delicious one at that. Here's the thing about IBM's cognitive computing project: You never know quite what you're going to get. On the surface the list of flavors here seems like an obvious combination, but as chef Michael Laiskonis points out in the accompanying notes, it's in how they all come together. See Watson isn't just about jamming together seemingly incongruous ingredients. The idea is to push human creativity, in whatever area that may be. It just so happens that in this case IBM is trying to broaden your kitchen vocabulary.
Cooking with Watson: Swiss-Thai asparagus quiche
Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson is a collaboration between IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Once a week, as part of an ongoing series, we'll be preparing one recipe from the book until we've made all of them. Wish us luck. Another week, another quiche. I can't say I went into this one with high hopes after last week's funky salmon number. But, at least there is no fish here. Instead you've got a dash of Southeast Asian flavors, some asparagus and a buttery, flaky crust. This is pretty much a variation on the formula that produced Watson's biggest success, the turmeric paella -- combine the flavors of one region, with the presentation of another, and voilà! The Swiss-Thai asparagus quiche puts the flavors of Thailand (and a hint of Greece) in an open-top custard pastry often associated with French cuisine. And once again, IBM's cognitive computing efforts succeed in pushing its human chef interpreters to make something unique.
Cooking with Watson: Scandinavian salmon quiche
Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson is a collaboration between IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Once a week, as part of an ongoing series, we'll be preparing one recipe from the book until we've made all of them. Wish us luck. Sometimes, the ingredient lists for these Watson recipes read like a Chopped contestant's worst nightmare. Inside the basket you will find: tart shells, gruyere, sour cream and salmon filets. Almost any time you mix cheese and fish, you know you're in trouble. (Update: I acknowledge that both tuna melts, and bagels with cream cheese and lox are rare exceptions to this rule.) But, if anyone is capable of taming the culinary cruelty of Watson it would be the brilliant minds at the Institute of Culinary Education, like Florian Pinel and Michael Laiskonis. So, even though the idea of a Scandinavian salmon quiche is a little off-putting, I put my faith in the human interpreters to steer me and my captive taste testers in the right direction.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Concept kitchens and Google's crabots
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Hardly a week passes when Tesla doesn't make the news, and this past week the company had two big announcements that are getting people all riled up. First, Tesla is planning to debut a $35,000 electric car in March 2016 that will begin production in 2017. CEO Elon Musk also just announced that barely a week after the Powerwall home battery was unveiled, they're already sold out through 2016, and the company will have to expand its factory capabilities to meet the insane demand for batteries.
Cooking with Watson: Indian turmeric paella
'Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson' is a collaboration between IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Once a week, as part of an ongoing series, we'll be preparing one recipe from the book until we've made all of them. Wish us luck. So, here's a question: Is it still a paella if it doesn't involve olive oil or saffron, and doesn't generally represent the flavors of Spain? At what point does it become a pilaf or, since this particular recipe is brimming with spices from the Indian subcontinent, a biryani? Really the only discernible quality that this Indian turmeric paella has that screams "paella" is the presence of socarrat -- the toasty, browned rice that sits at the bottom of the pan. Oh, and the presentation. And so, here we go again, Watson and his human interpreters from the Institute for Culinary education take a seemingly familiar dish and, with a little computer-generated nudge, create something wholly unfamiliar.
Cooking with Watson: Austrian asparagus and pigs' feet croquettes
'Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson' is a collaboration between IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Once a week, as part of an ongoing series, we'll be preparing one recipe from the book until we've made all of them. Wish us luck. "Austrian grilled asparagus." That should be simple. Let's see... Pigs' feet? Sous vide? Croquettes? Mustard "foam"? Damn it Watson! Well, if the carrot pearls from last week weren't sufficiently weird for you, fear not. This week's recipe is the sort of thing that would send most casual cooks running for the hills. And to make matters worse, the title lulls you into a false sense of security. The first two steps in this recipe, that's theoretically for grilled asparagus, are to brine two pigs' feet overnight, then to cook them in a 162-degree water bath (sous vide) for 24 hours. Yes, 24 hours. Between the eight-plus-hour brine and the 24-hour cook, this is already the most time-intensive dish I've ever made.
IKEA's future kitchen tells you how to cook
For IKEA, your future kitchen shouldn't just have the occasional smart appliance -- it should be a technology hub. The furniture store's Concept Kitchen 2025 includes tech and other helpful additions meant to save both time and resources, such as a pantry with induction cooling (to preserve food longer) and a disposal system that automatically packs your recyclables. The highlight, however, is the Table For Living. It packs a camera-equipped projector that both shows recipes on its surface and recognizes ingredients, giving you an idea of what to make with what you have on hand. There's an induction cooktop hidden in the table, too, so you wouldn't have to run between counters to get that hot stew ready. This is just a vision rather than something you can actually buy, but all of IKEA's technology is realistic enough that you could find some of it in your home within the next decade.
Cooking with Watson: Turkish Bruschetta with carrot pearls
'Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson' is a collaboration between IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Once a week, as part of an ongoing series, we'll be preparing one recipe from the book until we've made all of them. Wish us luck. Let's get a couple of things straight: Watson, the IBM supercomputer famous for spanking Ken Jennings on Jeopardy, did not really write these recipes in the purest sense of the word. Rather, IBM trained it by feeding it a giant database of recipes, studies on what flavors and smells people find pleasant and information on the chemical compounds found inside ingredients. Using this, Watson is able to suggest dishes with surprising flavor combinations. From there the computer passes the baton to a human being, in this case James Briscione and Michael Laiskonis from the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), who use the ingredient lists and style suggestions as inspiration for new dishes.
GE's touch-savvy induction cooktops double as griddles and sous vides
If you want to get elaborate with your cooking and try a griddle or a sous vide, you normally need either a dedicated machine or a bulky add-on to get things right. You won't have that hassle with GE's 2015 Cafe, Monogram and Profile cooktops, though. They're already pretty high-tech between their safer induction cooking pads and touch-sensitive controls, but the real stars of the show are their abilities to switch to other cooking methods with little effort. The Cafe and Monogram models have an integrated griddle (the first for induction), and all three can use a $150 smartphone-controlled sous vide accessory (also a first) that lets you get just the right water temperature without having to watch like a hawk. Just be prepared to pony up if you're hoping for the latest in culinary tech. GE's cooktops will start at $1,500 for a 30-inch Profile, and they scale all the way to $3,100 for the 36-inch Monogram.
Smart coffee maker brews your next cup right when you get home
Sure, you can get connected coffee makers, but they tend to brew whole pots (or multiple cups). What if you just want a hot cup o' joe when you get home? That's where Smarter's new WiFi Coffee Machine comes into play. The device lets you remotely brew individual cups through an Android or iOS app, complete with scheduling. You can have it wake you up when your coffee's ready, and it'll offer to grind and pour that beverage when you step in the door.
Drop Kitchen Connected Scale drops just in time for your holiday baking
So, you've got to bake a few dozen Christmas cookies for your little girl's robotics club, but you have absolutely no idea how to cook ... or even how to measure ingredients. Never fear -- the Drop Kitchen Connected Scale (US$99.99) and its associated free recipe app are going to turn you into a baking pro. As you can see from the snappy video above, the idea behind Drop is to turn anyone -- with an iPad running iOS 8.0 or later and some common kitchen tools -- into an expert baker. Drop can weigh anything from 6 kg down to less than a single gram, and uses interactive recipes to help you have success in the kitchen. You just pour ingredients into a bowl on the scale until you reach the correct amount, stir or blend, pour into a cake or loaf pan, then let the app tell you when to take the masterpiece out of the oven. What if you don't have enough flour or you've run out of milk? Not a problem, as the app can help you find substitutions that will work and can also scale the other ingredients so that you can still make at least part of a batch of cookies out of that remaining flour. The recipes are designed to be mixed in a single bowl for less cleanup, and there's even a social sharing aspect to the app for bragging about your latest kitchen success. Drop uses Bluetooth LE to talk to your iPad or iPad mini, and the battery should last up to a year of normal use. Drop is available for ordering online today, but the device will be available soon at Apple Stores in the US, Canada, and the UK. You can also purchase Drop online from Apple.com, Brit+Co, Food52, and Harvey Norman stores in Ireland.
Drop's internet-savvy kitchen scale is now available
If you're already fretting over getting a holiday dinner just right, you'll be glad to hear that Drop's smart kitchen scale is at last available. Plunk down $100 (£80) and you can both weigh ingredients as well as walk through app-based recipes that tell you when you have enough of a given foodstuff to move on. The scale also includes a few thoughtful touches, such as a "next step" button (to keep dirty fingers off your device screen) and its own timer. Drop won't guarantee that guests like your choice of dessert, but it'll at least make sure that you get the meal you were expecting.
Smart microwave suggests meals based on your cooking habits
It's not hard to find microwave-friendly recipes, but it's another matter to both find the right recipes and cook them properly. However, SectorQube may just take care of all of those challenges at once if its crowdfunded MAID (Make All Incredible Dishes) smart microwave takes off. The 1.3 cubic foot oven gives you access to a crowdsourced recipe store and will automatically prepare many dishes at the right time and temperature, but its real highlight is a recommendation feature that suggests meals and activities based on your cooking habits and fitness. It may offer a dinner that complements your diet, or suggest a run if you've been indulging in a lot of calorie-rich food. There will be gesture and voice commands if you'd rather not touch the 6-inch screen with sticky fingers, and a smartphone app will let you know when the cooking is done.
We made weed butter with a 'magical' machine
WARNING: This story contains references to the use of marijuana. Do not try this at home -- unless, of course, you're an adult living in a state or city where the use of such substances is legal or, you know, you like the way it feels.
PantryChic's Bluetooth ingredient dispenser is for lazy, type-A bakers
Earlier this summer, we showed you a smart kitchen scale that worked with an iPad app to make sure you were adding the right amount of each ingredient to your recipe. At the time, it seemed like the Internet of Things had reached its peak. Jumped the shark, even. Well, apparently even that requires too much effort. Meet PantryChic, an airtight food canister that dispenses ingredients into a digital scale, so that you never even have to break out a measuring cup. All told, if you were serious about your baking (and seriously OCD), you could buy any number of these stackable canisters, and fill each with a different ingredient, like baking soda or brown sugar. Then, when you need one, you attach it to the digital scale, which is pre-programmed to dispense 50 ingredients (meaning, it knows how to convert volume to weight). Oh, and don't worry about pushing any buttons: You can connect over Bluetooth using the PantryChic app, at which point the machine can "see" what recipe you're using and know, for instance, that you need three cups of flour.
This robot bakes the world's most expensive flatbread
You wouldn't expect robots to be into baking, but we've seen more than a few examples of the two coming together. Rotimatic is the latest smart kitchen appliance that wants to take the effort out of making Roti -- hot flatbreads. It was invented by Pranoti Nagarkar, who found making Roti by hand so tiresome, that she built the device to save her having to do it herself. It works by pulling together flour, oil and water from three hoppers, mixing them into a dough and baking it into bread in under two minutes.
The 12 Days of iMas, Day 2: Some refrigerator magnets to take you back in time
Today is the second day of a 12-day feature where we'll show you the strangest Apple-flavored gifts we can find. Check out the previous days here: Day 1 Day 2: iOS 6 fridge magnets, because you know you don't deserve iOS 7 It really would make sense if these 18 magnets, modeled after the iPhone's instantly recognizable default app icons, were designed to resemble the ones from the current iOS generation... but they're not. Deal with it. Why would anyone want even one of these tiny metal magnets, let alone all 18 of them? I have no idea. Maybe they have a tiny black or white fridge that they want to make look like an iPhone. Maybe they're so in love with iOS 6 that they just can't stand to let the skeuomorphic beauty of those apps die. Or maybe they have an iPhone and you can't think of anything else to cram in the stocking of a loved one. All of these are valid reasons, and for less than US$4, it's hard to bet against these little guys.
First all-in-one coffee machine that roasts, grinds and brews heads to Kickstarter
Machines that grind then brew your coffee for you all in one are a dime a dozen. But one that fresh roasts you beans first, before grinding them? Well, according to Bonaverde Coffee Changers it's never been done, until now. The company's Kickstarter campaign is underway and chugging along towards its $135,000 goal. The hope is to ship something only slightly larger than a standard grind and brew unit, but with the ability to turn (often hard to find) green beans into delicious dark roast in only minutes. A stainless steel rotating roaster makes a single batch of beans at a time. The small amount of beans take only three or four minutes to roast, but the necessary cool down pushes the total brew to between 12 and 14 minutes. In order to save energy, the same element that fires up the roaster also preheats the water. You'll be able to control the darkness of the roast and the size of the grind from the ceramic conical grinder. Basically, it's a coffee nerd's wet dream, putting every step of the production at your fingertips. To get your own when it starts shipping, hopefully in October of 2014, you'll have to plunk down at least $300 at the Kickstarter page.
Sharp's Chop-Syc prototype asks you to chop veggies on a touchscreen
Generally, your choice of cutting board comes down to two basic options: wood or plastic. While there are plenty of subcategories (Flexible? Bamboo?), you're generally not presented with a list of specs when it comes time to pick a board for chopping up meat or veggies. If a Sharp intern has her way, however, resolution and processor power will become important choices. Chop-Syc is the brainchild of Siobhán Andrews, the winner of a competition to become a paid intern with the company in the UK. Essentially, it's a tablet with a custom software and a scratch-proof surface designed to be used in the kitchen. In addition to functioning as a surface for slicing and dicing, the tablet includes a recipe manager, a scale and a visualizer to help you measure out (healthy) serving sizes of food, such as pasta. The tablet itself is embedded in a wooden block to help control spills, and the wireless charging means you shouldn't have to worry about electrocuting yourself with a (very) poorly placed swipe of the blade. For now, Chop-Syc is only a prototype, but Sharp says it may eventually bring the device to market. If we were executives at the company, though, we might just wait to see how Sony's dedicated kitchen tab fares before entering this extraordinarily niche market.
Smartphones find a growing role in the kitchen
This is a trend that has been going on for a while now, but this is the first time I've seen some real, solid numbers on it. Smartphones are playing a bigger and bigger role in kitchens, of all places. Back in the day, I remember most phones being too fragile and too problematic in the UI department to really be useful in the kitchen, but with big, sturdy tablets and phones these days, and apps that let you do anything with voice commands or just a swipe on the screen, smartphones while cooking or baking are more popular than ever. Allrecipes.com says that a full 15% of all cooks have viewed a cooking video on their smartphones, while even higher percentages have used iOS and other tablet devices to snap photos of food while cooking or out and about, or looked up a recipe online. Most recipes are still found through search engines, but cooking sites make up a big percentage of recipe lookups and information finding about food. And Allrecipes says the future is even brighter: 44% of people polled say online cooking sites are their best source of food information right now (as opposed to cookbooks or other cooks), and that figure will likely grow as these websites become more useful. Cooks also expect the role of the smartphone itself to grow, as they use their smartphone for coupons, or to even order or pay for food in the future. There are a number of factors going into this transformation, but if smartphones continue on in the direction they're going, we could use them not just to call up and order a meal, but to pay for that meal, and then also see how to serve and cook it as well. [via Gigaom]
