Cooking in the Clever Kitchen: Gadgets for the Culinary Mind

The gadget world is a multi-faceted place, as exemplified by the current trend for smaller, more powerful, more versatile technology. But speaking as someone who once lost an iPod Touch for three days only to find it folded neatly into the Joy of Cooking, the kitchen is also one of the best places for smart technology (albeit slightly more conspicuous, perhaps). And it's not just a matter of making good food, it's creating gadgets that serve multiple purposes and functions, working to change the way we go about making, preparing, and purchasing food.

Here's a look at some of the promising tech primed for the culinary-minded gadget geeks among us:

• The SmartShopper Grocery List Organizer - The SmartShopper (at left), both in its original incarnation and a newer deluxe version, attempts to rectify some of the issues inherent in grocery list making (bad handwriting, missed items, multiple lists/requests) by centralizing the process. With voice recognition, auto-categorization, and a nifty little thermal printer, as well as reasonable pricetag, this handy gadget looks to force even the most disorganized shoppers into submission.

• Oster 4207 Electric Wine-Bottle Opener - Winos rejoice along with me. While there have been many oft-lauded wine openers in the past, few seem to get it right. Oster's shiny little number is just under $20 dollars and does those "rabbit" openers one better: it's rechargeable, wireless, and sleek as sin, not to mention it's got a slew of great reviews. A shorter time between me and my wine? Sign me up.

• Taylor Digital Measuring Cup and Scale - Behold, the king of multi-taskers (shown at right). While I'm not exactly sure how it works, it does look promising. Basically it combines a measuring cup with a digital scale, meaning you can weigh items directly in the cup instead of using another gadget (and, in my case, incurring more mess). It has an impressive 4.4 pound capacity and can weigh and measure both wet and dry ingredients. Pretty darned handy, I say.

• Eastman Outdoors 38229 Reveo MariVac Food Tumbler - As many good cooks know, the key to flavor, in many cases, is a good marinade. But what happens when you have a hankering for something meaty and marinaded, and you don't have the 24 hours to let it soak? That's where the MariVac Food Tumbler comes in to play. Though it's got a bit of a hefty pricetag, just under $200, it does seem like a great way to get good flavor in a short time. Plus, something about spinning and vacuums make it feel all space-age. From Popular Science's review:

This vacuum tumbler cuts marinating time by hours, first extracting air to expand the meat´s fibers and then spinning it so that every area is exposed to your sauce of choice.

And for a glimpse at the future? How about this prototype of a cutting board with a built-in LCD screen? Hard to forget the recipe when you're staring straight at it. With planned wifi capability, this looks a bit like a curvy Apple Tablet you can cut on (if you want to take a knife to it, that is...).

Which begs the question: which way are gadgets going to go, kitchen wise, in the next few years? It seems that integration with local networks and smartphones might be the next plausible step. While there have already been some DIY hacks and jaw-droppingly expensive models available for some time, I wouldn't be surprised to see some real integration in the market as we head into the new decade that's both functional and cost-effective.

Cue fantasy of programming the coffee maker from my iPod.

Comments

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