Amid all the gorgeous kitchen designs at EuroCucina in Milan, many of the most exciting innovations were actually things you can’t readily see — technologies that make life, cooking and cleaning easier. From fully connected kitchens to smaller technological advances in appliances, tech was the name of the game.
Smart Kitchens
Fully connected, smart kitchens make it possible to not only control and schedule the operation of your appliances, but sessionally provide a dashboard of your household life. Siemens presented a personalized system that is run from an app. On a busy morning, you can see your schedule, the time, weather and other parts of your day. The same app controls your coffee maker, dishwasher, washer and dryer, oven and refrigerator. Speaking of the refrigerator, the latest ones take picture of the contents so that you can check if you have milk or other groceries while you’re away from home — even while you’re at the store.
Whirlpool also demonstrated their fully connected kitchen, which can include a visual baby monitor as well as personalized cooktop settings sensitive enough to keep your coffee warm, or to warm up your baby’s bottle.
Siemens has also teamed up with Bosch to offer their dishwasher in the smart kitchen.
You won’t need to leave your guests at the dining table to start the coffee with the Siemens kitchen. You — or your guests — can choose what types of coffee you want and the machine starts making all the drinks.While Indesit has a variety of smart appliances, their simple “Turn and Cook” app for a tablet is really smart and useful. How many times have you opened the fridge to find a random collection of ingredients and no ideas of how to use them in a dish? Now, all you have to do is focus the table camera on the ingredient. Once it registers on the app, you turn the tablet and a selection recipes that include that ingredient come up on the screen. Genius.
Induction Cooktops and Gas Range Innovations
While induction cooktops aren’t necessarily new, many of the latest features are revolutionary and will likely add to their appeal. When you think about it, the cooktop can take up a good amount of counter space, reducing the area you have for prep work and serving. The latest induction models solve that problem by using countertop surfaces that can work with high heat to create an induction cooktop that you can barely see when it’s not in use.
What looks like an expansive kitchen island from Binova actually contains a cooktop. The only give-away that there’s more than meets the eye are the small circles indicating where the burners are. When you want to cook, digital controls light up, indicating heat levels. Because it’s induction, the rest of the space stays cook to the touch. When you’re all finished, you can serve your guests from the island.Gatto also demonstrated a similar cooktop made from an innovative material that’s also perfect for kitchen prep work. Only the small coin-size circles indicate it’s a cooktop. The pots of water boiled quickly. The flat surface also makes clean up a breeze.Even more traditional-looking induction cooktops, like this one from Asko, included new features such as a recessed burner that allows you to cook with a wok, providing heat all around the bowl shaped pan. Perfect for those who like to stir-fry at home!You’re no longer limited to the size of a burner! Cooktops like this Siemens model, shown in the Arrex Kitchens exhibit, offer flexibility with pot size by using induction zones. Place any size pot or pan on the cooktop and the surface detects the location and size of your pot.Neff is another brand that showed off their flex induction cooktops. This one has large zones and a special magnetic control knob that can easily be lifted off for ease of cleaning and to keep children from turning it on.This Neff display shows how you can accommodate a small pot as well as a larger flat pan on the flex induction cooktop surface.Perhaps you like both gas cooking as well as induction? This arrangement from KitchenAid offers both, along with a teppanyaki grill. The Japanese style of hibachi cooking is very popular and can now be had in your own home.Officine Fanesi’s modular coking plates include a stainless steel grill and lava stone or soapstone plates.Stone plates are often preferred for grilling because they retain heat and cook evenly. This model has convenient drawers for collecting and disposing of drippings.This range from Arcari demonstrated that technology does not have to mean a modern style. The induction cooktop and latest in oven features are housed in this traditional Provencale style range from Arcari.For those who prefer cooking with gas, even the more traditional cooktops have newer innovations like digital controls and very finely tuned burner control. This model is from Electrolux.Technology has also allowed designers to literally take a gas cooktop out of “the box.” Traditional gas ranges have burners in a pan or box like structure. Now, they can be arranged directly on a flat work surface — like this one from Aran — blurring the line between cooktop and counter. Again, clean up is fast and easy because there are no crevices or large burner grills.The floating style of burners is not limited to a stainless steel countertop. This design from Spagnol has a glass surface that accommodates the freestyle arrangement of burners, which can be customized. The linear array also eliminates the need to reach over or around boiling pots to reach back burners.For sleek kitchens that include induction cooktops, you might not want a big hood over your island. Instead, you can have retractable ventilation that includes a light, like this model from Stosa.Or, you can have a hood that looks pretty much like a regular suspension lamp. A closer look at the shade from Arrex Kitchens reveals electronic control that regulates the light and fan inside.Today’s cooktops, like this from Barazza, are also incorporating professional technologies like built in mixers and compartments (perhaps refrigerated) to hold your ingredients while working.Valcucine also builds in technology that includes a bas for your small appliances, like blenders, mixer and food processors.A little more on the low tech side are these compartments along the cooktop in this Comprex kitchen that include storage as well as outlets for electrical and tech devices.Not only can ventilation units retract into the island, but so can storage units like these from Arclinea. Imagine all your spices rising to your looking needs at the touch of a button.
Smart Appliances
Even if you don’t have a fully connected kitchen or home, you can incorporate select appliances that are controllable with an app.
Candy showed a variety of appliances that are wifi-enabled, but this sign explained the functionality in a easy way.Refrigerators have moved from simple cold storage to now being more of a food preservation system, as this Electrolux display points out. Separate drawers for different levels of humidity can better preserve specific kinds of foods. Not only do they save money through energy efficiency, but they can prolong the freshness of produce and other food item.sOvens like this Grundig model use steam technology and electronic programmability to make healthy cooking easier and flavors more fresh.Again, the new technologies are also available in a more traditional or vintage style oven, like these from Hoover.This dishwasher from Indesit not only cleans dishware, but also sanitizes it, making in a perfect choice for a family with infants or small children.
Unique appliances
Technology and the desire for professional level cooking at home has led to the development of a wide variety of specialty appliances. One of the most interesting lines we saw come from Irinox, which has created restaurant equipment for decades. Now, the home chef can have Freddy, a blast chiller that offers all sorts of opportunities in the kitchen. You can chill a hot dish down to frozen, flash freeze fruit so that it has the texture of a sorbet (we tasted and it was amazing), or bring ice cream to the proper serving temperature and hold it there as long as you need. Imagine being able to slice a frozen loaf of bread, thanks to the small crystals that are formed in the method of freezing. You can also cook and hold items in Freddy.
The small, programmable blast chiller unit is so versatile, we;re wondering how we live without it!Irinox also has a vacuum sealer that will preserve your foods for unbelievable periods of time, eliminating waste. The sealer can also prepare food for sous vide cooking, as well as speed the marination of meats using the vacuum process.To complete the line, Irinox has included a dispenser that provides not only ice and water, but also sparkling water.Meat lovers will want this home dry ager from Team 7. Dry aged meat is costlier, but also has flavor beyond compare. Now you can age it your self.Lastly, perhaps you just want to hide away all the cooking technology. This electric sliding counter from Laboratory Mattoni will stylishly cover it all before your next party.
