From One Cup Coffee Makers To
By R.L. Fielding, Fri Dec 9th
The modern kitchen would not be complete without a refrigerator,an oven, a microwave, and a coffee maker. As fixtures in one ofthe most important rooms in the house, these appliances are onthe forefront of the battle for greater convenience and lowerenergy costs. Here is a look at a few of the technologicalmakeovers which can help you save both time and money.
"Smart" Refrigerators
Has this ever happened to you? On your way home from work, youstop at the supermarket for groceries. While picking up food fordinner, you can't remember whether there's a steak in thefreezer or if you still have enough butter for the mashedpotatoes. Instead of placing a call to your significant other,let your refrigerator check the inventory for you.
Using a cell phone, it is possible to remotely access anup-to-the-minute list of the contents of the "smart"refrigerator via an Internet connection. LG Electronic'sInternet Refrigerator is capable of alerting its user when aproduct has expired. The potential for this technology isenormous, but the limited availability of online groceryservices has slowed its spread. Manufacturers hope to eventuallydevelop a system by which refrigerators will not just keep tabson the food inside, but will make lists of what is needed andautomatically place an order with online grocers.
One drawback of the current technology is the effort that goesinto keeping your refrigerator's records up-to-date. As therefrigerator is stocked, the product names and expiration datesmust be logged manually. When an item is removed from therefrigerator, the data must be entered as well. The convenienceof knowing what's in your refrigerator at any time may beoutweighed by the inconvenience of keeping such meticulousrecords.
Another popular focus for the newly-developed technologyinvolves reducing energy costs. For instance, the Fisher &Paykell Active Smart Refrigerator offers multipleenergy-conserving features which, when combined, contribute tothe overall efficiency of the product. The Active Smartelectronic intelligence and multiple sensors monitor theinternal temperature while a Variable Capacity Compressorensures the refrigerator runs at its peak.
Energy-efficiency is particularly important when it comes torefrigerators because they are the only kitchen appliances thatrun 24-hours per day. By purchasing ecologically-friendlytechnology you'll reduce your electricity bills and keep moremoney in your wallet.
Convenient Coffee Makers
A recent development in coffee consumption is the vacuum brewingsystem, as highlighted by the Clear Electric Santos coffee makerby Bodum. The machine promises to brew six to twelve cups ofstrong coffee within eight minutes using an easy-to-cleanfiltration system. This is an ideal appliance for people wholove a full-bodied cup of joe.
The days of boiling whole pots of water just to have a singlecup of coffee are over. The one cup coffee maker can brew your favorite gourmettea or coffee in less than a minute, eliminating the need toprepare a whole pot. For people on-the-go, these fast brewingmachines are a welcome addition to the home or workplace.
The single cup coffeemaker is also a great energy saver. In the time it mighttake to heat up one pot of regular coffee or to drive over toStarbucks, a one cup coffee maker by Keurig can brew severaldifferently flavored hot drinks in 40 seconds each. Another perkof this machine is the variety of drinks it can produce. Keurigprovides customers with over 70 different coffee or tea "K-Cups"
from which to choose. K-Cups areeasy-to-insert dispensers, which fit neatly into the coffeecompany's machine with little effort and no clean-up.
Multifunctional Ovens
Forget slaving over a hot stove for hours just to get dinner onthe table. Thanks to new ovens with automatic time andtemperature controls dinner can practically make itself. Want ameal to be ready by the time you get home? Simply place yourfavorite dish in the oven and let the appliance do the rest.
The Intelligent Oven by TMIO refrigerates food until the useractivates the cooking function. The oven's Internet connectivityallows you to control this feature remotely with your cell phoneor computer. Meals are not only delicious, but perfectly timedfor your convenience. Additional advances have made the productsafer and more energy-efficient, making it both user- andenvironmentally-friendly.
For real fast food, look for appliances such as the Sharp HighSpeed Convection/Microwave Oven. A 5-pound roasted chicken wouldtake up to 140 minutes or more in a standard oven but, with thenew high-speed ovens, the same meal can be ready within 28minutes. By using a mix of super-heated circulating air andmicrowave energy, meals cook up to 80 percent faster.
In a step that brings to mind scenes from a work ofscience-fiction, General Electric is among the companiesdeveloping ovens which respond to voice commands and recognizeover 200 regional accents. Rather than pushing a pre-set button,key phrases would activate the already programmed cooking timesand temperatures. Such technology may not be a long way off, butits price tag may prove to be beyond the reach of many consumers.
High-tech Microwaves
Trying to find quick and easy recipes? Put down the cookbook.You can easily download hundreds of recipes directly from yourmicrowave with the push of a button.
Using the LG Lifestyle MG-5682NL microwave oven, you candownload recipes or other cooking information from the company'sweb site. Sharp also sells a microwave that downloads cookinginstructions for various meals, then automatically programs thetime and power settings required to zap your meal to perfection.In a slight variation on the theme, a new microwave by Samsungis programmed to read cooking directions by scanning product barcodes with a special sensor. The microwave then pulls thespecific cooking instructions off the Internet and cooks themeal accordingly. Many models now come with cooking pre-sets forpopular food items, such as popcorn or frozen meals. Simplypress one of the clearly-labeled option buttons on themicrowave's touchpad and the appliance will automatically adjustthe time and power level. Another feature that you won't wantyour microwave to be without is a moisture sensor. Microwavesheat food by using radio waves to excite the molecules. Toprevent overcooking your food, the moisture sensor willcalculate how much time is still needed to cook based on howlong it took for the food to begin steaming.
Since the kitchen is a natural hub of activity for anyhousehold, a few small changes can mean big savings in more waysthan one. These kitchen innovations will not only free up moreof your time, but can help you save money on the monthly energybills. A little efficiency can go a long way!
About the author:R.L. Fielding has been a freelance writer for 10 years, offeringher expertise and skills to a variety of major organizations inthe education, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, financialservices, and manufacturing industries. She lives in New Jerseywith her dog and two cats and enjoys rock climbing andornamental gardening.
