If you love cooking but can never find enough time for it, or you’re completely terrified of cooking but you need to start, and don’t know where to start – then you’ve reached the right place. The first step towards having a streamlined and efficient cooking experience is to have an arsenal of functional kitchen appliances by your side. With the right kitchen tools and appliances, cooking can be a fun and effortless process. The right products can reduce your prep time in half, make the little cooking tasks much easier, and help you with tedious and complicated techniques. From the Electrolux GRO kitchen that offers a fresh take on sustainable eating to a tiny cooking appliance that helps you cook for one – these innovative kitchen accessories are all you need to undertake cooking and become a MasterChef in the comfort of your own home. Happy cooking!
1. Electrolux GRO
The one thing that COVID-19 brought to the forefront – is that health is DEFINITELY wealth. Whether that means maintaining a healthy diet, drinking enough water, working out daily, having your vitamins and minerals, or a mix of all these great habits. Eating healthy has gained almost a cult-like status now. New diet trends are always on the rise, and people are constantly trying to figure out which diets work the best for them – often forgetting that a certain amount of attention must be paid to the ingredients from which their meals are prepared. They often turn a blind eye to the long-term effects of our food supply systems on the Earth’s ecosystem. Our food shouldn’t be healthy for us only, but for the planet as well. And one great solution to tackle this issue would be plant-based diets!
Why is it noteworthy?
GRO includes a modular compartment system that you can combine like LEGO bricks, depending on your dietary needs and kitchen space. Each compartment is designed not only to preserve ingredients but also to showcase its diversity and beauty. A Plant Gallery, for example, provides optimal conditions for storing fruits and vegetables while also letting you enjoy their fresh appearance behind textured glass.
What we like
- The GRO Coach digital food companion will help you make the right sustainable choices based on your habits and needs
- The system also defies stereotypes of plant-forward diets as bland or unexciting, especially to taste buds. In fact, GRO encourages exploration and experimentation, like the Grain and Pulse Library, which lets you try out alternative sources of protein from grains and pulses
What we dislike
- No complaints!
2. Minepot
Millennials, today, usually live alone. As great as living alone can be at times, it can also be quite a hassle in some ways. For example – cooking for one is almost always an issue. You need to cook the perfect amount so that you don’t end up wasting food or eating the same damn dish for three days in a row, which is no better a fate (according to me). However, we are seeing products in the market that are being made for this specific niche of people!
Why is it noteworthy?
One such example is this latest product concept from Yifeeling which is all about making cooking for yourself a part of your daily “ritual” and not just a chore you have to get through. Minepot looks like a food processor at first glance but it actually seems to be an air fryer or food fryer type of appliance. It is noticeably smaller than other similar kitchen tools and it is designed that way so that you not only cook for one but you are also able to have food intake that’s just right for you.
What we like
- Opaque or semi-transparent upper section which allows you to keep an eye on your food as it is being cooked
- Helps include cooking in your daily ritual
What we dislike
- It’s still a concept!
3. Reusable Seal Tray
One of my favorite parts of the cooking process is chopping up fruits and veggies. There is almost a therapeutic quality to this activity, I believe. But as much as I love chopping up a couple of carrots and cucumbers, I almost always have a portion of chopped veggies that are untouched by the time I’m done with my cooking. Storing these leftover vegetables and fruits usually involves single-use plastic, which is a downright catastrophe for the environment. However, thinking of kitchen accessories to reduce the use of these kinds of plastics is something that product designers have been conscious about the past few years.
Why is it noteworthy?
This Reusable Seal Tray is a food preservation tray that is simple yet highly functional. It is able to preserve your pre-cut food ingredients in your ref, reduce oxidation, and also prevent odor contamination by other stuff inside your ref. It has a sealing system with a 100% Platinum Silicone flexible sheet that will still keep various shapes and sizes of vegetables and even cheese and sausages. There is a disclaimer though that what you can store here are those that have just a little liquid.
What we like
- You’ll be able to use it in two positions depending on the size of the items that you’ll store
- Dishwasher safe design
What we dislike
- No complaints!
4. The BA/CA Board
Portability is a quality that’s often mutually exclusive to kitchen appliances. Or so was the case earlier. Recently, we have been seeing a lot of travel-friendly kitchen appliances being introduced into the market, however, a travel-friendly ‘cutting board’ isn’t something that’s been truly experimented with. But, AK Studios Design decided to change that with the BA/CA Board.
Why is it noteworthy?
The BA/CA Board is a compact, travel-friendly cutting board that’s perfect indoors and outdoors… because it also happens to have a chef’s knife docked right into it! The cutting board doubles as a sheath for your knife, making it safer and easier to carry outdoors, and if you’re not a travel bug, The BA/CA Board works just as well in your indoor kitchen, conveniently organizing your knife and board together so you can easily begin meal prep in just seconds
What we like
- Super portable and easy to carry around
- A strong magnetic retention system makes sure that the razor-sharp 440c stainless steel knife stays put and safe inside
What we dislike
- No complaints!
5. The Kreis Cup
Meet the Kreis Cup, a coffee cup that’s sustainable, durable, and designed to enhance your coffee drinking experience! Available in cup and travel-mug styles, the Kreis Cup is a reusable cup made from used coffee grounds and plant-based materials, free of petroleum-based plastics.
Why is it noteworthy?
It is heat resistant and designed to keep your coffee hot longer. That being said, the Kreis Cup is still ultimately biodegradable, unlike plastic-based to-go mugs you get at your local cafe or the breakable ceramic mugs you use at home. Once it reaches the end of its lifespan, the Kreis Cup disintegrates easily into the soil, leaving absolutely nothing behind.
What we like
- Made from spent coffee grounds that have been dried, treated, and are then suspended in a natural, plant-based polymer
- Has the faint, unmistakable scent of coffee
What we dislike
- No complaints!
6. The Froli All-Purpose Holder
Something that’s been gaining immense popularity since the pandemic is mobile home living. It’s economical, flexible, and more energy-efficient. However, storing items in a mobile home that’s always on the go can be a pain in the butt. The constant clinking and clanking of plates, bowls, glasses, and cutlery can make you want to shove in your earplugs! A solution that can keep stuff stowed away safely and quietly is called the Froli All-Purpose Holder.
Why is it noteworthy?
The Froli All-Purpose Holder (Froli Alleshalter) is a modular system that holds small kitchen objects from rattling or slipping while stored inside a cabinet or a drawer. One packaged set features 16 individual plastic concave square parts that can be easily plugged in and connected to create compact storage for your moving home or vehicle. The extra side connecting pieces can be removed to fit most cupboards.
What we like
- Can accommodate glasses and cups of different shapes and sizes
- A buildable design you can assemble by yourself
What we dislike
- No complaints!
7. SOC Lunch Box
As relaxing and recalibrating as sitting down to eat a proper meal can be, work always seems to come first. SOC is a lunch box created by designers at Midea who hope to bring back the ceremony of enjoying a meal, even during the busier workdays.
Why is it noteworthy?
SOC Lunch Box is a three-tier lunch container packaged inside a magnetic carrying case that doubles as a tablecloth. The three levels of SOC provide space for the user’s different food items to be separated and neatly arranged, with enough room inside for utensils and a metal cover that keeps the food steamed throughout the day. With three enclosed compartments, each meal taken from SOC will taste as fresh as when it was made. Once each meal is properly placed inside SOC, the closed lunch box gets folded into its case which securely locks with a magnetic buckle.
What we like
- A magnetic carrying case unfolds to create a tablecloth or placemat for mealtime
- SOC Lunch Box comes in three layers, with enough room for a full meal, steam cover, and utensils
What we dislike
- No complaints!
8. The 4T7 Smart Chopping Board
The 4T7 Smart Chopping Board is one of those amazing kitchen appliances that help you in almost every stage of the cooking process, while also counting calories as you weigh the ingredients that’ll go into your meal. Healthy meal prep can often be complicated and tedious, but this smart chopping board makes the entire process streamlined and easier!
Why is it noteworthy?
4T7 breaks meal prep into its different components, adding good design and tech wherever necessary. The board comes with 4 distinct parts, a main bamboo chopping board, a secondary silver-ion anti-bacterial board for veggies to prevent cross-contamination, and a third heat-conducting defrosting tray that helps rapidly thaw frozen foods, and lastly, the 4T7’s base, which has its own built-in weighing scale. The only part of the 4T7 experience to exist outside the actual board is its smartphone app, which counts calories as you weigh your ingredients. Once your prep-work is done, the digital display on the 4T7 can also function as a kitchen timer, while the board itself becomes a magnetic knife-holder.
What we like
- All of 4T7’s components are designed to be wonderfully functional as independent items
- The board works equally well for fruits/veggies as well as for meats
What we dislike
- No complaints!
9. The ECLIPSE
Meet the ECLIPSE, a portable tea brewing station that isn’t as limiting or as archaic as the teabag. It combines a travel thermos and a french-press-style brewing system in one easy-to-use, easy-to-carry design, and lets you brew two cups (or one large mug) of the tea of your choice.
Why is it noteworthy?
In all fairness, I’m not surprised that a device like the ECLIPSE hasn’t become ubiquitous all this while. Tea is the second-most consumed beverage in the world, and as far as tea cultures go, its brewing methods are still deeply rooted in tradition. What ECLIPSE does is simply modernize it, by providing the same steps you’d expect in regular tea brewing. The multi-part travel press comes with a measuring cup, a brewing teapot, a plunger (that acts as a strainer), and a drinking vessel.
What we like
- Portable and easy-to-carry design
- The inner layer of the ECLIPSE is lined with a ceramic coating to honor the traditional practice of brewing in ceramic teapots
What we dislike
- No complaints!
10. BORA x BO Smart Steam Oven
BORA’s latest innovation, the BORA X BO flex oven, comes close to being the ultimate dream smart oven, automating and taking care of many parts of the cooking process, leaving you free to focus on preparing and then enjoying your healthy dish.
Why is it noteworthy?
Cooking is a multi-step process that may feel overwhelming for some, especially when they think about the cleanup they have to do afterward. Ovens, in particular, are notorious for being hard to clean, especially to get rid of odors. Keeping tabs on the food’s temperature and making sure you don’t stink up the whole house are tiring jobs in themselves, and you’ll be forgiven if you wished that ovens were smart enough to do that themselves. The BORA X BO is, thankfully, and it makes the cooking process a lot less burdensome, especially for the parts you might have taken for granted.
What we like
- All its operations are driven by a bright and colorful 19-inch touch display on top, including setting food preferences, looking up recipes, or manually tweaking each and every possible option there is
- BORA included an animated guide right on the screen
What we dislike
- No complaints!
