Top 10 kitchen appliances to help you brush up on your cooking skills

Do you remember when the pandemic awakened the inner chef within all of us? Well, the lockdown ensured that we had no option but to COOK at home. But, with life regaining normalcy, the days of banana bread, dalgona coffee, and disastrous cooking experiments at home seem like a far-off dream. Takeaway and restaurants that I love are open and ready to serve me every day. The need to cook is barely existent, and the desire to cook is completely non-existent. Cooking your own food is healthier and more cost-effective than buying readymade meals. We gathered Masterchef-level cooking skills during the lockdown and have curated a selection of handy kitchen appliances to help us encourage more people to cook. 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 rice cooker that keeps a watch over your blood pressure to a smart grill that makes grilling more efficient and mess-free – this collection of kitchen appliances promises to transform cooking from a Herculean feat to an approachable and enjoyable process! These innovative kitchen appliances will let you unleash your inner chef!

1. The Barbecue Nx

The smart grill concept has been designed by Swapnil Yeutkar who is a Product Designer for Whirlpool India. It’s only an idea but the Barbecue Nx has the potential to be big when it becomes a reality. It goes beyond its stylish form but it doesn’t look anything like the common grills we see in the market. It looks like an oven toaster or small air fryer at first. From another angle, it appears like an oven toaster.

Why is it noteworthy?

This grilling device is unique because it allows for more efficient and low-smoke grilling. A centrifugal fan helps in grilling so everything is efficient. It’s what powers the grill and sends out air to the chimney via two input manifolds. The fire plate ignites the fire gel according to the design. The machine is ready for grilling in five minutes.

What we like

• Ready to grill within five minutes
• Separable grill that can be easily cleaned, and is user friendly for cooking veggies + meat at once
• Unique low smoke technology

What we dislike

• Not very portable
• Looks more like an air fryer, than a barbecue grill

2. The Aura refrigerator

The Aura refrigerator is a modern home appliance equipped with smart technology to optimize storage and use.

Why is it noteworthy?

As we sink deeper into the world of technology, so do our homes and home appliances. Modern kitchen appliances such as refrigerators and dishwashers are controlled by smart technology. However, their appearance has mostly remained unchanged in recent years. Aura, a brand new refrigerator from FUHUA Design Studio, aims to modernize the fridge’s structure and technological fittings in order to meet today’s environmental and smart technology needs. Designed by FUHUA Design Studio, the Aura refrigerator breaks down the conventional fridge into smaller compartments to allocate the energy used and minimize its impact.

What we like

• The refrigerator automatically turns its lights off when users aren’t around
• Aura is designed for optimal organization, allowing users to easily pullout food and drink items according to their designated compartment

What we dislike

No complaints!

3. LESHAN smart rice cooker concept

For some cultures, rice is more than just a side dish, and this beautiful rice cooker idea makes it possible to cook this staple food wherever you go, for better health, of course.

Why is it noteworthy?

This smart rice cooker concept tries to take the middle road by encouraging the consumption of rice in the proper amounts. This regulation mostly happens through a mobile app, which is able to not only check particular stats but also control the operation of the rice cooker itself. That feature definitely doesn’t sound that special in light of the number of smart cookware today, but it’s the design of LESHAN that really captures the eyes and the imagination.

What we like

• Keeps a watch over your blood pressure
• Portable design

What we dislike

• The design doesn’t sound that special in light of the number of smart cookware today

4. Rekook

Rekook is a modular kitchen system designed for the digital nomads of today to bring their kitchen with them anywhere work takes them. Rekook combines the IKEA design language with an interchangeable modular build. It is designed to make digital nomads feel at home, wherever they go.

Why is it noteworthy?

Constructing Rekook, product designer Edoardo Gouffran hoped to build a flatpack kitchen system that allowed digital nomads to bring their kitchen with them as they move from one space to another. Depending on the space they move into, digital nomads can configure Rekook to fit their culinary and spatial needs.

What we like

• The kitchen respects the rule of the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
• Easy and quick to assemble

What we dislike

No complaints!

5. The Panasonic HomeCHEF 7-in-1 Compact Oven

The Panasonic HomeCHEF 7-in-1 Compact Oven has functions such as Steam and Steam Convection. Because they preserve more nutrients than other methods, these two functions promise healthier meals. That brings the number of functions to seven (hence the name), including Air Fry, Convection Bake, Slow Cook, Sanitize, and Ferment.

Why is it noteworthy?

The Panasonic HomeCHEF 7-in-1 Compact Oven is expanding its size and its features in order to also expand the number of healthy dishes one can prepare at home. Although it doesn’t completely remove the work that needs to be done to prepare these meals (not to mention the cleanup afterward), it tries to reduce the number of cooking appliances you have to juggle. Although it’s tempting to minimize these conveniences, ease of use as well as reducing friction in getting started can go a long ways towards promoting healthier living.

What we like

• The Steam and Steam Convection functions preserve more nutrients compared to other cooking methods

What we dislike

• Calling the HomeCHEF 7-in-1 “compact” might be a bit of a stretch, at least when compared to its siblings. This newest addition to the lineup is larger to accommodate the more spacious 20L capacity and bigger 800ml water tank

6. Timer Bob

I’m not much of a cook but the few times that I did find myself in the kitchen, it’s to try and follow a recipe to the letter. Most of the time that involves using timers aka my smartphone. Sometimes, however, I’m preoccupied or my hands get dirty so it can be a pain to use a smartphone. My phone can get dirty, or I need to wash my hands more often. This may result in missing seconds and minutes. A new product concept will help solve that problem.

Why is it noteworthy?

The device is simply named Timer Bob and is described as a “sleepy kitchen timer”. Because it is likely to be a friend in the kitchen, the designers decided to give the device a personality. You can use the device without touching it, which is great for those who have messy hands. There is also some sort of interactivity between the user and the timer, hence the need to add a “personality”.

What we like

• The product has a ‘personality’
• You can use it without touching it

What we dislike

• The storyboard and explanation don’t include how the alarm works

7. The NOOK Built-in Water Purifier

Built-in water purifiers are preferred, but you can also have something that looks as inviting as the NOOK Built-in Water Purifier. This water purifier was designed by Hyunbin Yan in South Korea. It can be placed in a corner. It will not interfere with the rest of your sink or kitchen counter because of its slim and sleek build. It does not take much space in a small sink, so it can be the perfect choice for tiny homes or apartments.

Why is it noteworthy?

The NOOK Built-in Water Purifier’s interesting features are what make it unique. It features an attachable drip tray. The magnet on the body’s bottom can also be adjusted to user preference. At first glance, it looks like a sleek coffee machine, but it is just a purifier. The black button at the top lets you know when water is out. You can adjust the temperature and amount of water by touching the controller.

What we like

• Visually pleasing aesthetics, unlike regular purifiers
• Space-friendly
• Movable head, allowing you to adjust the cup size

What we dislike

• Not very easy to clean

8. The Uphold Cup

Designed on the principles of Origami, the Uphold Cup is a foldable, portable, reusable travel cup that goes from a tumbler to a flat-packed disc when not in use. The cup’s materials are food-grade, BPA-free, and can carry beverages of up to 100degC in temperature. Polymer Polypropylene (PP), which has a stiff body, can be folded multiple times without cracking (live hinging).

Why is it noteworthy?

The Uphold cup’s unique form encourages an almost telescopic-inspired folding action. To allow the cup to fold and open in its unique way, it uses a mathematically-designed method. Although the cup’s unique shape is only due to its function, it adds a distinctive characteristic to the Uphold that creates a tactile and visual delight. Sure, the cup’s primary function is to hold your liquids when you need it to, and fold down to its puck shape when you don’t… but just the interaction built into the Uphold is so incredibly engaging, I won’t be surprised if I find myself constantly opening and closing the cup just as a fidget toy!

What we like

• Portable design
• Reusable and compact

What we dislike

No complaints!

9. DADO

This minimalist-looking capsule tea machine is a concept design that can maybe someday fulfill my wish. The DADO is a name that refers in East Asia to the formal preparation of tea. The device doesn’t look like what you would use in a typical tea ceremony but the designer created something inspired by it but with a modern twist. The kettle part is inspired by what is used in traditional tea making and the minimalist design aims to bring a sense of calm and peace, things usually associated with drinking this caffeinated beverage.

Why is it noteworthy?

If you have used a coffee capsule maker, this is the exact same process. There is a kettle and two cups placed on top of a “heating pad” that looks like an induction stovetop or a wireless charger. You need to fill the kettle with water in the bucket part located at the back. Then you have to preheat the cup or cups that are beside the kettle and all you have to do is press a button. The traditional DADO cup is pre-heated and part of the ceremony. This modern addition to the DADO concept is quite nice.

What we like

• A mix of traditional + minimal aesthetics
• Different flavors for the tea capsules

What we dislike

• Disposable capsules with a substantial carbon footprint

10. The Fresh Fridge

Ditching trendy diets for mindful eating, the Fresh Fridge designed by Tati Feruccio is paired with an array of technical features that encourage a health-conscious lifestyle. Fresh Fridge, a smart fridge that analyses each person’s eating habits and determines how much food they eat to provide healthy meals. Its main feature is its digital interface, located above the small fridge.

Why is it noteworthy?

The digital interface broadcasts mindful facts and recipes, allowing you to create your personal cooking program for different meals every day. The interface’s space to prepare meals is located just below it. This makes it easy for you to follow along and chop up your produce.

What we like

• Encourages mindful eating over trendy short-term diets
• An integrated digital interface

What we dislike

• We don’t know how well would the fridge’s analyzed portions work for everyone