29 Mar Tech Tuesday | In the Kitchen: Smart Gadgets

If you’ve ever been invited to a bridal shower, you know just how quickly you can get overwhelmed by staring at the isles of kitchen gadgets, as you slowly crumple the registry paper in your fist. The choices just go on and on, and it’s easy to convince oneself that each are necessary to having a well-rounded, happy home.

To help take (some of) the brain work out of the sea of smart kitchen gadgets on the market, this Tech Tuesday we’ve gone ahead and complied a short list of the products that might actually make themselves useful in your, likely, already cluttered kitchen!

Range: Cooking Thermometer

The next time you find yourself tasked with a Thanksgiving butterball or a Memorial Day brisket, or even home brewing and home-made candy, consider the Range cooking thermometer. This handy little gadget can be left in the grill or hooked onto a pot, to deliver real time temp readings to your iPhone or iPad. The app also comes with handy presets for food-safe temperatures, ensuring that you never have to sacrifice food safety for the perfect medium-rare.

More info: www.supermechanical.com
Cost: $69.95/ea

Pantelligent: Smart Frying Pan

Before you roll your eyes (“really, a smart frying pan?”), this product has some serious merit to it, with smart technology, to boot. The Pantelligent smart frying pan optimizes food’s cook time and temperature ensuring you get the perfect dish each time you fire up the stove. The pan is outfitted with a hidden sensor that monitors the food’s temperature from the moment it touches the surface. Simply plug in the food’s characteristics – thickness, cut, desired doneness – in the Pantelligent app, click “Start Cooking”, and the app automatically syncs with the pan. The app will notify you when to flip, when to add finishes or ingredients, and when your food is fully cooked. Just like that, you have a perfectly cooked dinner!

More Info: www.pantelligent.com
Cost: $199

The Orange Chef Prep Pad
Connective Food Scale

Prep Pad brings a digital connection between you and your food in a way your Fitbit or MyFitnessPal app cannot. It’s a smart food scale that connects with the Countertop App, that weighs each ingredient you use as you add it to the dish. Once the Prep Pad weighs your meal, simply input the ingredients to Countertop App, which will deliver a breakdown of not only calories, but your portions of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. The aluminum design is very sharp-looking, and is topped with a non-porous recycled paper composite that can be wiped clean and sanitized, so it’s as functional as it is smart!

More Info: The Orange Chef Prep Pad on Amazon
Cost: $99.80 (with Amazon Prime)

Mr. Coffee Smart Optimal Brew with Wemo

Let’s be honest — when we really need a helping hand is upon waking. Connected via WiFi, this device is the kind of thing that just makes everything a little bit easier: you can set up a weekly schedule so that your coffee brews fresh whenever you wake up, and you can hit snooze on it if you decide from your smartphone. Traveling? Simply cancel or reschedule your coffee service from your smartphone. The app sends you notifications to refill the water, and lets you know when your coffee is ready in the morning. How’s that for a step up in the morning?

More Info: www.mrcoffee.com
Cost: $149.99

Williams-Sonoma Smart Tools for iPad

Use your iPad for recipes and cooking how-to’s? This one’s for you. Williams-Sonoma’s new line of smart tools features handy gadgets for your iPad, allowing you to fully utilize the tablet’s features while cooking. The line consists of the separate products that can be purchased separately, or as a set. The Screen Shield ($14.95) provides protection for all the cooks in the kitchen (young and old!), and secures to little bumpers at each corner. The screen protects from sticky fingers while maintaining responsiveness to pause or play videos, then easily snaps off for cleaning. Next, the weighted Kitchen Stand ($49.95) allows you to mount up the tablet vertically or horizontally, and at four different angles. Finally, the Bluetooth Speaker ($149.95) connects to the tablet to play music or your cooking videos. Not so much about function here (plus, it’s the priciest of the set), but it does allow for a more dynamic cooking experience.

More info: www.williams-sonoma.com
Cost: $199.95/set

Which kitchen gadgets can you not live without? 

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