For someone who spent most of her life avoiding cooking, I now find it surprisingly therapeutic, after taking it up during the lockdown. I love cooking up some of my comfort dishes, cozying up in my blanket, and chomping down on them while watching my favorite Netflix show. What really helps me with my cooking process are a bunch of trusty kitchen appliances! They help make tedious kitchen chores easier and faster, and also help me with any intricate cooking techniques. Playing around with nifty little kitchen gadgets and cooking up a storm has now become one of my favorite weekend routines. So, here are a collection of kitchen appliances that are a definite must-have on my kitchen wish-list, and they really do deserve a place on yours as well!
Ordine by Adriano Design is an innovative cooking solution designed for the modern user. Optimized for small spaces, the design eliminates the need for a bulky traditional stove, clearing the way for more cabinet and counter space. The design features two hob units that are mounted on a central power hub on the wall. Elevated neatly out of the way, the user must simply grab one or both hobs off the wall and set the desired temperature to activate.
Shaped like a stainless steel handbag, Jacqueline is an electric tea kettle that comes with Bluetooth connectivity, allowing users to monitor and set the perfect heating conditions for boiling water. Unlike typical electric tea kettles that require just a measly flip of a switch, Jacqueline is laden with smart technology to assure users that a flavorful, hot cup of tea is always just a few moments away. Ditching the light switch, for a smart handle, Jacqueline comes with an interactive, digital display screen that indicates each brew’s water temperature and level as well as a signal that shows whether or not the kettle’s been turned on. In addition to this display screen, Bugatti boasts that Jacqueline can pair with your smartphone or tablet through Bluetooth, allowing users to operate Jacqueline from a distance through Bugatti’s accompanying app, Bugatti B Chef.
The Cheat Sheets by Chris Place & Will Matters of Prepd are basically, and this reference couldn’t be more relevant, social distancing containers for your ingredients. You use the same baking tray, but the Cheat Sheets silicone containers sit ON the tray, giving you miniature compartments to cook your food in. Veggies like asparagus that need shorter cook times can be added in the same tray as salmon, which needs more time in the oven. Once you feel like the asparagus is done, just reach in with your baking mitten and pull just the asparagus container out of the oven and let the salmon still cook inside. It’s easy, simple, and here’s the best part – your baking tray never gets dirty!
Chopbox is a smart chopping board that has so many unique features but the most relevant one in these ‘unprecedented times’ is the fact that it can actually kill germs on your cooking tools and space! Get rid of counter clutter and those extra kitchen accessories with this much-needed upgrade. You can easily sanitize your knives and cutting surfaces, embrace your inner quarantine chef with germ-free cooking thanks to Chopbox’s built-in disinfecting UVC light – see I told you, this board is lit and literally! We clean our knives but do we ever think about the germs in knife blocks or the crevices of our cutting boards? With Chopbox all you have to do place your knife in between the two cutting surfaces and activate the small but powerful 254nm UVC light that can sanitize up to 3 knives at once as well as both the cutting surfaces.
Designed to be your go-to for any cooking measurements, the Kitchen Cube integrates all measuring vessels into its singular, yellow, cube-shaped body. With over 19+ measuring units designed into its 6-sided shape, the Kitchen Cube can be used to measure anything from teaspoons and tablespoons to even cups, working with both wet and dry ingredients alike. The cube comes with both metric and US measuring units molded into its unique design, allowing you to even measure out your ingredients in milliliters if the recipe calls for it.
The Infinite Line Dual Cook is designed for better integration within the furniture while simultaneously offering an exceptional user experience. The designers believed in the need to find new ways of innovation, not only centered in technology but more towards culture and behavioral changes in society which echoes the sentiments of JaeSeung Lee (President & Head of Samsung Electronics’ Digital Appliances Division) who said, “Consumers, especially millennials, are spending more time at home and demanding products that enhance their everyday lives with customized features. Great, reliable performance is now a basic expectation. The standard for a better, smarter home experience is now decided by how closely appliances can be ‘fit’ to various customer lifestyles,” and that is where form can upgrade the functionality of tech.
Made from heat-resistant and food-safe plastic, the Egguins by Peleg Design is an innovative way to store, boil, or serve eggs. The hollow penguin shape allows you to slide eggs (both small and large) into it, completing it visually and making it look like a flock of Emperor Penguins ready to dash right into the water – the visual metaphor of connecting the egg, the bird, and the water is just perfect! The uniform placement of the eggs also ensures they are cooked evenly, perfect for every new cook. Whoever said cooking cannot be fun.
It sounds like a bizarre question, but to be honest, it’s all in the physics of knife-work. When you need your wrists to put in the work, a knife with a heavy handle serves best. When you need a knife’s blade to do the work for you, a heavier blade allows for better cutting, so rather than having different knives for different applications, the Ecriture Perfect Knives come with a switch on the handle that lets you shift the knife’s center of gravity. A sliding weight inside the hollow handle allows you to decide the knife’s balancing point, giving you better control based on your technique. The Ecriture Perfect Knives come in a set of 6 exquisitely designed blades for handling a variety of tasks. From mincing to filleting, julienning to slicing, there’s a blade for every occasion and a patented weight-switching mechanism in each handle for every individual.
The genius of the Visual Measuring Cups is that not only do they provide a fixed, standard measurement, but they’re also visually indicative too. Designed by Pam Daniels to look like the fractions they represent, the cups make it easier to understand measurements. The quarter cup is quadrant-shaped, the half-cup is semi-circular. This sheer sensibility makes it quicker to measure out multiple ingredients without worrying about whether your measurements are accurate, because you know for sure they are! The Visual Measuring Cups turn textual references into visual references, helping us understand the measurements better. While most measuring beakers and cups use indicative lines to ‘tell’ you how much half a cup is, the Visual Measuring Cup ‘shows’ you how much half a cup is, giving you a quicker, better understanding of fractional metrics.
The Nest Oven tins feature a simple innovation that solves a familiar problem – removing hot oven dishes whilst wearing thick & cumbersome oven-gloves. A specially designed lip on the front of the tray makes it easier to pull the tray out of the oven, and wide handles on the side let you hold the tray once it’s out of the oven… you know, so you don’t risk fumbling with your tray of food, much like Kevin with his famous chili. And here’s the best part – like all of the products in the Joseph Joseph Nest™ line, the oven tins nest right within each other for easy storage!
