Special Series: Appliances
Part Two: Technology Takes Over Today’s Appliances

But the real innovation is the use of a magnetic field to heat your pot or pan. The cooktop senses the size of the pan and only heats that area. And once the pan is removed, the cooktop cools within seconds. Induction also allows for amazing precision, with 12 different cooking settings that can do everything from boil a lobster pot to gently melt chocolate. One drawback is that induction cooking requires the use of enamel, stainless-steel with a magnetic bottom or cast-iron cookware. Sharp SuperSteam Convection Oven Ovens: Steam and Speed The Sharp SuperSteam Convection Oven heats water to 570 degrees to produce steam that cooks tasty, healthy and juicy food without any oils or sauces. This model is also smarter than your average range. Cooking lasagna or a Thanksgiving turkey? Don’t worry about figuring out the perfect temperature or cook time. The SuperSteam console comes pre-programmed with the perfect cooking instructions for dozens of meals, ensuring your meals are cooked at the right temperature for the perfect amount of time. Simply select your food item, put it in the oven, hit start and know that soon you’ll be putting a sumptuous meal on your dinner table. For those skeptical about steam cooking, convection ovens are an alternative. An in-oven fan system ensures that everything from your brownies to your leg of lamb will cook uniformly. LG Electronics offers a Dual-Convection Electric Range with two fans meant to optimize the even cooking idea, and Bosch’s Genuine TurboChef SpeedCook Oven European Convection boasts a seven-minute pre-heat cycle, an appealing option for time-strapped chefs. Viking Range Corporation’s Professional Dual Fuel 30-Inch Range features Vari-Speed Dual Flow convection, which is not only the largest fan in a convection oven but has two speeds and is reversible, ensuring better airflow and heat distribution. For those who need to get dinner on the table as quickly as possible, there’s the TurboChef SpeedCook Oven. The 30-inch wall oven cooks meals 15 times faster than conventional ovens, meaning you can cook a Thanksgiving turkey in less than an hour. TurboChef offers a Double Wall model that combines the SpeedCook with a second conventional oven. GE Profile’s SmartDispense Front-Load Washers Washers and Dryers Get Smart The old way: Pour in detergent, hit start. Repeat this process with each load. The new way: GE Profile’s SmartDispense Front-Load Washers allow you to prefill your washer with up to six months’ worth of detergent. The unit will automatically dispense the perfect amount of detergent based on the water hardness, cycle selection, fabric type and size, and soil level of the load. If you’d like to save money and energy while cleaning those grass stains, consider LG’s SteamWasher and SteamDryer. The SteamWasher boasts improved cleaning performance while reducing allergens in your clothing by 95 percent. Using the SteamDryer also means less time at the ironing board. Wrinkles and odors are reduced with TrueSteam technology, and a ReduceStatic cycle ensures your favorite skirt will swish, not stick to your legs. Thermador Easy Lift Chimney Hood Retractable Range Hoods You want to remove the steam and smoke that rise from your cooktop, but you don’t want to sacrifice the headroom necessary to peer into your biggest pot. The solution is the Thermador Easy Lift Chimney Hood that can be lowered to clear smoke and then lifted to make cooking easier. And because smoke from cooking can pollute your kitchen’s air, Best Range Hoods has developed “smart” units that sense cooking vapors and automatically start ventilating the room. The sensor also selects the required fan speed and shuts the unit off automatically once cooking has stopped. The IP29 line also includes an optional remote control, which eliminates the need to reach high above the cooktop to control the range hood. As these latest models show, today’s appliances are smart. But tomorrow’s appliances are likely to be even smarter. Technology has only begun to spread into the world of large appliances. Before you know it, a refrigerator that senses an upcoming milk shortage and places a grocery store order won’t just be fantasy but a timesaving reality. Read more Special Series: Appliances articles here.

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