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 a tiny modular tabletop griller that lets you cook in 7 different ways to an eco-friendly coffee capsule machine – 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. The Cavdle WasteCycler
Working both as a garbage disposal system and a compost generator, the Cavdle WasteCycler isn’t the kind of device you’d hide away in the shed. Its cutting-edge design borrows from the aesthetic seen on washing machines, with a clear tinted lid that lets you see the Cavdle WasteCycler go to work at your food waste, breaking it down rapidly using aerobic decomposition.
Why is it noteworthy?
The Cavdle WasteCycler relies on 5 parameters to help turn organic substances into compost – Time, Humidity, Temperature, Dry Organics, and Oxygen. It then goes to work, creating compost without the smell, the mess, or even the sound. Operating at just under 35 decibels, the Cavdle WasteCycler grinds down your food waste while heating it up to the exact temperature needed to help good bacteria thrive while killing off the bad bacteria. At the end of the day, you’re left with a natural fertilizer that you can then use to nourish your plants while resting assured that your food waste isn’t going into a landfill where it generates methane and contributes to global warming.
What we like
- The kitchen gadget comes with a transparent-window lid that lets you see how full-empty your device is
What we dislike
- No complaints!
2. The Slush Machine
This iconic-looking device is called the Slush Machine, and mimics an inverted ice cone! It shaves ice on demand and dispenses fine slush into the vessel positioned below to make delicious frozen desserts and slushies.
Why is it noteworthy?
The Slush Machine is an incredibly intuitive-looking appliance with a single-button interface on the top. The appliance stands upright on any countertop surface, with a hollow space underneath for collecting the shaved ice. Just plug it in and press the PUSH button on top for as long as you want and the Slush Machine will keep dispensing shaved ice.
What we like
- The Slush Machine’s design evokes a minimalist simplicity
What we dislike
- No complaints!
3. The Kokãir Cooking Curifier
The Kokãir Cooking Curifier is a device that you use with your desktop cookers if the room you’re cooking in doesn’t have proper ventilation. It is able to absorb the fumes when you’re cooking with oil.
Why is it noteworthy?
There is an internal fan cyclone that uses centrifugal force to collect the oil into a cup underneath for easy disposal and cleaning later on. The oil fumes go through the HEPA filter for cleaning. This will be a huge help especially when you cook a lot in your small space.
What we like
- It’s small enough that it will not crowd your desktop cooker whether you place it on the side or above the cooker
What we dislike
- It’s still a concept!
4. The +Base modular griller
When people think of cooking outdoors, they often presume it’s all about grills, mostly because it’s the most common type of cooking you can’t conveniently do indoors. Of course, that’s probably not the only kind of food you’d want to eat, but other styles of cooking would require other cookware and, consequently, a larger space. The +Base modular griller, however, supports almost any kind of cooking you’d want, from frying (teppanyaki), smoking, stewing, grilling, or even keeping wine warm.
Why is it noteworthy?
Made by a small family-owned Japanese factory that specializes in sheet metal fabrication, the All-in-One Grill is carefully designed to maximize the limited amount of space available, like small grooves on the grill’s frame that keep the skewers in place. The wooden base that protects tables from the grill’s hot bottom also acts as a lid when the griller has to be stowed away.
What we like
- Let’s you cook in seven different ways
- Simplifies outdoor cooking
What we dislike
- No complaints!
5. JIU
Chefs take great care when arranging food on plates, but those of us who cook at home might not have the same talent. Or perhaps you simply want to cut out the middle man and just eat immediately after a meal has been cooked. Whichever way you want it to go, this iron frying pan and plate in one lets you do exactly that and in a beautiful design that embodies Japanese minimalism.
Why is it noteworthy?
It might sound ridiculous at first. Why would anyone want to eat out of a frying pan in the first place? Of course, that question is valid if you only consider those large, messy, and sticky frying pans in everyone’s kitchens. JIU, however, is different. You could almost say that it’s a plate that you can cook your food on or a frying plate with a removable handle. Whatever you call it, it’s definitely a novel way to look at cooking and eating.
What we like
- Since you don’t have to transfer the food from pan to plate, you can enjoy your meal while it’s warm
What we dislike
- No complaints!
6. Coffee Balls
Swedish coffee brand CoffeeB has come up with a coffee machine that uses eco-friendly single-serve Coffee Balls. So basically it’s similar to the coffee pod machines except this one doesn’t have any plastic pods or capsules so you don’t contribute to the world’s plastic waste.
Why is it noteworthy?
You won’t feel guilty using these single-serve energy balls if you need a quick caffeine jolt and you have no patience for the slower coffee machines that you normally use.
What we like
- These coffee beans are made round by an almost invisible outer casing that is made from seaweed
What we dislike
- No complaints!
7. FOAM
Built from soft, shock-absorbing, yet sturdy EVA foam, the eponymously named FOAM portable cooler ticks all boxes. Combining the best parts of your fabric-based cooler bags and the large and clunky (yet effective) rugged coolers, FOAM is built to be light but durable, compact but all-accommodating, leak-proof yet easy to clean.
Why is it noteworthy?
The name FOAM gives you all the information you need to know about the portable cooler. It’s made entirely from EVA foam (NOT styrofoam) that offers incredible insulation along with a lightweight yet virtually indestructible build. Apparently, you could run over the cooler with your 4X4 and it would simply bend back into shape after the onslaught. You may want to conduct those experiments WITHOUT pressurized cans of beverages inside the cooler, though.
What we like
- Keeps your contents chilled for 72 hours
- Durable and virtually indestructible
What we dislike
- No complaints!
8. The Haptics of Cooking
Cooking is not for the blind because the preparation of ingredients can be difficult. But in a world where everything must be inclusive, we must think of ways to include the visually impaired. The person behind the ‘Haptics of Cooking’ believes there are kitchen tools that can help. The term “haptic” describes to us that the absence of sight can be replaced by the sense of touch and motion. With good design, anything is possible even when it comes to food preparation and cooking.
Why is it noteworthy?
The Haptics of Cooking is a special series of cooking utensils designed for the blind. Boey Wang presented this design at the Design Intelligence Award last year. The Chinese designer is a narrator at heart with his ability to tell stories. Through his creation’s visual and functional design, he aims for people to experience the world. His five cooking tools offer such an experience: Cutting Board, Knife, Tall Measuring Cap, Low Measuring Cup, and a Pan Lid.
What we like
- Makes the cooking process simple + safe for the visually impaired
What we dislike
- No complaints!
9. BKID’s Graphene Toaster
Working partially like a toaster as well as a panini press, BKID’s Graphene Toaster grills your slices of bread but also lets you watch it in action. The horizontal format of the toaster means you can even use it to make grilled sandwiches, and potentially even use the flat top to heat beverages. If there ever was a clever idea, this would clearly be it!
Why is it noteworthy?
“Graphene can reach up to 200 degrees Celsius in just 90 seconds”, says BongKyu Song, founder of BKID. This effectively allows the sheets of glass to work just as well as the coiled wire inside a toaster does, but in a manner that results in a much more evenly browned slice of toast without those burns and grill marks created by hot zones.
What we like
- The Graphene Toaster actually lets you watch the bread turn brown in real-time
What we dislike
- The toaster doesn’t ‘pop’ out the bread
10. The Range Pop
Called the Range Pop, this innovative microwave is super unique! It features a door and a microwave tray, but they open upwards, instead of being located at the front! It allows your food to descend into the microwave for heating, and ascend upwards when heated.
Why is it noteworthy?
The Range Pop’s new format presents a different experience that has its own set of pros and cons. For starters, the chances of electromagnetic waves leaking out through the chamber are reduced, and it’s easier to access your food without bending over or spilling something. On the flip side, the Range Pop requires vertical space – something that most homes and a few office canteens may not be able to provide… and unlike conventional ovens, you don’t get to see your food rotating on the turntable as it heats.
What we like
- Features an intriguing vertical popping-tray
What we dislike
- No complaints!