By Sungula Nkabinde
From medicines, relationships and education, to films and music, technology has permeated every facet of life. And kitchens are no different. Technology has made the cooking experience easier, simpler and faster, leaving more time for home owners to spend with their family and entertaining guests. Naturally, the growing importance of kitchens has had an impact on the appliances that belong in them.
Home appliance manufacturers are now teaming up with technology giants such as Apple, Google and Microsoft to bring futuristic kitchen appliances into today’s homes. These smart appliances can keep notes, generate recipe ideas, calculate cooking times and heat food at incredible speed. Some of them have LCD screens attached that allow you to watch movies, play music or even connect to DSTV to watch you favourite channels.
With LG’s range of smart refrigerators, for instance, you can view the contents of your fridge, check for the freshness of these items and even get meal recommendations based on available ingredients, using your smartphone or tablet. They also allow for smart shopping, where you can do your online grocery shopping directly from the LCD panel on the door of your fridge.
Like Samsung Electronics, other brands have fridges with different temperature settings, so that each food group can be stored at the right temperature. Samsung also has a washing machine that incorporates Wi-Fi technology , so you can monitor the wash via your smartphone.
Induction cooking is a big trend that has recently taken off. It uses technology that requires special ferromagnetic pots and pans which, when placed within the magnetic field created by the hob, induce energy into the metal, causing the base of the pot or pan to heat up. This keeps the cooktop cool to the touch, and is extra-safe because the induction heating elements interact only with the metal.
At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Whirlpool took it a step further , presenting a glimpse into kitchens of the future, wherein you can view a recipe on the same touchscreen cooktop on which you cook. The event also showcased the iDevices Kitchen Thermometer, which monitors the temperature of your food while it’s cooking and sends that information to you via your smartphone.
With all of these developments, it seems as if anything is possible i the kitchen. Who know? It may not be too long before we can cook entire meals without having to even be in the kitchen!
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