Kitchen - Equipment
Powerpoints in the cupboards Gone are the days of storing your toaster and kettle on the kitchen bench. The trend these days is to hide your appliances away in a cupboard. To this end, you need to ensure you plan for electric sockets to be installed inside your cupboards, so your appliances can actually be plugged in. I would suggest installing more than one double socket, as we are using more and more appliances these days. The humble toaster and kettle don’t cut it anymore – we have coffee machines, mix-masters and food processors. So install two double sockets so you can have all your appliances on the go!
Apuro Extra Wide Countertop Electric Griddle Electric Cooking Equipment Electric $660 If you're looking for a highly reliable, huge capacity professional griddle, the Apuro extra wide version could be the perfect appliance for your kitchen. Designed for heavy duty use, the Apuro has everything you need to deliver a perfect service - from a powerful 2.9kW output to its independently controlled cooking zones, you have the flexibility and performance at your fingertips. Cleaning and maintenance is easy too, thanks to the built-in grease channel which drains into a handy removable fat collection drawer. Product features Dimensions 241(H) x 742(W) x 462(D)mm Dimensions - cooking area 738 x 330mm Power Type 2.9kW Temperature Range 60oC to 300oC Voltage 230V Warranty 1 Year Weight 34.2kg Heavy duty commercial grade elements Concealed removable drip tray Easy-clean stainless steel exterior Dial temperature control Dual temperature zones Adjustable feet Please note this item exceeds 30kg and as such our carrier may require assistance at point of delivery https://www.catch.com.au/product/apuro-extra-wide-countertop-electric-griddle-...
Retire your kettle Perhaps the most desirable kitchen innovation of all is the boiling-water tap (some dispense boiling water and some nearly-boiling, so do your research). It means no more waiting around for the kettle. A boiling-water tap is not the cheapest investment, but once you’ve got one, you really wouldn’t want to go back. In fact, make sure you shop around because prices are definitely coming down. You can buy these with the kettle function integral to the main tap – they normally have a safety feature on the boiling water valve that makes it harder for children to twist on. Others are separate, standalone taps that you can put near the main water tap or even elsewhere in the kitchen out of reach of little hands. There’s a storage canister, which is housed below the sink, so before you take the plunge, you’ll need to check on available space.
Embrace drawers not doors In the quest for simple, easy-to-access storage, the drawer is an ideal vehicle. Some kitchens are designed entirely with deep drawers, because it’s so much easier to get to your heavy pans from above than scrabbling at the back of a cupboard. Now appliance makers have caught on: you can get a pull-out dishwasher, fridge or freezer contained in a sleek drawer. With a bird’s-eye view, it’s much harder to lose a sorry pot of hoummus at the back of the fridge. And who knows – when the dishwasher is this easy to unstack, members of the household might even fight for the privilege!
Let your oven clean itself Scrubbing away at baked-on grease deep in the belly of an oven has to be one of the toughest cleaning jobs there is. So next time you upgrade your cooker, opt for a self-cleaning model. One of the most effective technologies to accomplish this is the pyrolytic cleaning function. The oven heats to an extremely high temperature, which enables it to burn away grease and spills. You can then wipe the ash away with a damp cloth. Alternatively, ovens fitted with catalytic liners are a less pricey option. The liners are fitted to the sides of the oven, and are created to absorb and then burn off grease at 200ºC. They only clean the sides, however, so you’ll need to deal with the trays and door.
Ceiling exhaust system Another option for above an island bench is to select a range hood or exhaust system that can be built in flush with the ceiling. These range hoods will be a more expensive option, as they need to be extremely powerful to suck up greasy air and odours from such a distance. The advantage of this type of range hood is that the area above the island and the view to other parts of the home beyond it remain completely unobstructed.
Downdraft exhaust system This is one of my favourite extraction solutions when a stovetop is located on an island bench. It is unobtrusive and doesn’t become visible until in use. A downdraft extractor is built into the cabinetry below the benchtop, and either behind or to the side of a stovetop, and sits flush with the top of the bench when not in use. With the touch of a button, the extractor rises out of the benchtop to extract odours and grease from the cooking area. These extractors are extremely powerful and can be costly. Careful planning is required to ensure that such a system can be incorporated into a new kitchen design, as the extracted air needs to be ducted outside through the floor. It isn’t always possible to do this in an existing home, so it may be necessary to choose a recirculating model instead.
No range hood Depending on where you live there will be different building regulations and guidelines that must be adhered to when designing a new kitchen. Some building codes will deem that it is not essential to have a range hood in the kitchen, as long as there is adequate ventilation. This isn’t a very popular choice, as most people prefer to have some means by which to quickly extract grease and odours from the air when cooking.
Some top-of-the-range stovetops now come with an optional in-built exhaust system. Again, these are a great option for island benches or in a space where there are no overhead cabinets to accommodate a concealed range hood. They operate in a similar fashion to downdraft extractors, except nothing rises up – instead, the exhaust system sucks steam and odours down using powerful fans. The air can then either be ducted outside, or cleaned and recirculated back into the room.
SmegConnect, the Smeg iOS and Android app for smartphones and tablets Connected kitchens Internet-enabled kitchens deserve a separate section here, because more and more companies are introducing smart home automation systems, increasingly in more affordable models as well. Apps already on the market allow you to peek inside your camera-equipped fridge to see what you’ll need before you go shopping, turn the oven on and monitor what is happening inside while on your way home from work and even set your washing machine and dishwasher cycles. This year, Smeg enhanced its SmegConnect app to work with its wine cooler. The app allows the user to adjust the temperature in the wine cooler remotely, monitor stock and make purchases. It also connects to major Italian food websites, allowing novice wine lovers to learn more about wine storage and pairing. Stay tuned for linkups with international brands. Last but not least, first generation web-connected kitchens used smartphones and tablets as an interface; now everything is on a touchscreen that is integrated into the appliance itself. These screens have become increasingly large, intuitive and multi-coloured, and now even offer video ...
Induction stove with integrated InductionAir extractor hood system by Siemens Innovations to induction stovetops and stoves were also presented. Siemens, for example, has developed flexMotion, which remembers the cook settings of each element, allowing you to quickly move pots to another part of the stove. They also integrated a powerful extractor with a liquid collection tray for cleaning up spills. “The vapours produced while cooking are not necessarily sucked away immediately,” says Giuseppe Rago, a training manager at BSH Home Appliances Group. “For example, this could happen when you are using a very high-walled pot. But the high power level of this hood makes it extremely effective. Our integrated ventilation system, in fact, can filter up to 690 cubic metres of air per hour and is therefore suitable even for large spaces.”
High-tech ovens and stoves Having debuted last September at the IFA in Berlin, the Dialog oven is a completely new approach to making food. Once the user has selected the type of food to be cooked on the touchscreen, two internal sensors direct electromagnetic waves at changing frequencies. They detect the weight of the food to be cooked, automatically adjust the amount of energy released, and distribute the waves as needed through the oven during the cooking process. This means that unlike traditional ovens, which cook from the outside in, the Dialog cooks food evenly all the way through, or directs the energy to where it’s needed most. It can therefore cook a dish made up of several components, such as a roast surrounded by vegetables, to perfection all at once, saving time and effort. It is completely different from its cousin, the microwave oven, despite what you might think at first: “The frequency of the waves is different, the effectiveness is different and the operating principle is different,” says Carlo Santeroni, a product and sales trainer at Miele. “The Dialog by Miele ‘converses’ with the food – hence the name – while a traditional microwave is only a monologue.”
Blastchiller by Electrolux Commercial appliances for the home More and more solutions born in restaurant kitchens are making their way into our homes. One example is the blast chiller, which freezes food with reduced crystalisation and minimal effect on taste and texture. These are now available for the domestic market. Electrolux’s BlastChiller has three settings: soft chilling at 5°C, hard chilling at 3°C and shock freezing at -18°C. These can be activated either manually, by entering the weight of the food to be frozen, or automatically through a thermometer that measures the inside temperature of the food. The KeepHeat oven by Hoover is another crossover from the world of commercial kitchens. It can bake, but also keep food warm and fresh for prolonged periods of time, maintaining a constant temperature of 62°C. A technician at the Hoover booth told us that food that has been vacuum sealed can be safely stored at this temperature for up to two weeks. The oven is targeted at those who only have time to cook on the weekends and want to have food ready on demand over the next few days, or for hosts who want to keep food fresh for their guests’ arrival.
A wine fridge Love your wine? A wine fridge or cooler (sometimes referred to as wine cellars or storage cabinets) that can be incorporated into your kitchen design can be an appealing option. Premium models let you tailor the internal temperature and conditions to different types of wine for optimal storage and maturation, and many offer two separate temperature zones as well as UV protection for your bottles. Take your pick from full-size models and compact styles that fit neatly under your benchtop.
A vacuum drawer You can preserve cooked and raw foods for longer and reduce the marinating process for meat from hours to just 10 minutes when using a vacuum drawer. Food is sealed in a special pouch in the vacuum drawer so it is ready for storage or gentle, sous-vide cooking that results in super-tender, moist dishes.
A blast chiller These nifty chillers allow you to safely store cooked and raw foods by rapidly lowering the fridge or freezer temperature. Unlike a traditional fridge or freezer, blast chillers retain the original texture, colour and nutrients in ingredients, and can minimise bacterial growth so food stays fresher for far longer.
A steam-assist oven Steam cooking is rapidly gaining popularity among professional and home chefs alike, and it’s easy to see why. Cooking with steam is incredibly healthy as less fat and oil are required. Plus, it’s great for preserving the moisture in food and creating a crispy crust on bread and pizza. To save time and hassle, look for a steam-assist oven with automatic programs that allow you to create restaurant-quality meals at the touch of a button. Or, if you want the versatility to choose between different cooking methods, choose a combi-steam oven that offers three different types of cooking in the one machine (pure steam, convection cooking and steam-convection combination cooking).
Steam oven
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