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A smart trash can that opens at the sound of your voice
Hands slippery with raw chicken or full of leftovers in need of tossing? No problem! Simply tell your simplehuman voice- and motion-activated kitchen trash can to open up, and voilà—the lid flips open, allowing you to dump kitchen trash without depositing germs or grunge all over the bin. Available at The Home Depot; $200.
Related: 50 Great Gadgets for a Smarter Home
A smart kitchen scale that does a lot more than just measure ingredients
No digging out your measuring cups and spoons, or just eyeballing ingredients, when you have the Perfect Bake 2.0 Smart Scale. This handy gadget measures as you pour, tells you when you’re done, and can even adjust recipes to suit the desired number of servings. It also keeps track of your shopping list and finds recipes that use the ingredients you already have on hand. Available on Amazon; $19.95.
A smoothie blender that provides full nutritional information
The NutriBullet Balance Smart Blender does a superior job of whipping ingredients into smoothies, soups, and other blended treats. But it then goes above and beyond by tallying up calories and nutritional information, updating your grocery list, and offering hundreds of recipes. Available at Target; $129.99.
A smart sous vide cooker that will help you prepare the perfect steak
Sous vide cooking has long been a staple of fine restaurant kitchens, but now it’s available for the home chef as well. The Anova Precision Cooker Nano keeps water circulating and heated to the perfect temperature so your food cooks evenly, with juicy and delectable results. You can even control and monitor the entire process remotely from your phone. Available at Target; $99.
A smart plug that turns all your kitchen appliances into geniuses
If you have an Amazon Echo, or even just the Alexa app downloaded on your phone, then the Amazon Smart Plug will let you turn almost any appliance into a smarter version of itself. Go ahead and plug your coffee maker, slow cooker, electric kettle, or other electric kitchen gadget into the Smart Plug, and you can have Alexa get your coffee brewing, switch the slow cooker on or off, or start that morning cup of tea. Available on Amazon; $24.99.
Related: The 12 Biggest Mistakes You Could Make with a Smart Home
A kitchen robot that makes it easy to keep your floors clean
Spills happen, especially in the kitchen. To keep your kitchen floor—along with other hard floors in your home—looking its best, try the iRobot Braava, a mopping robot. Just attach the appropriate pad to the robot (it comes with pads for mopping, damp mopping, and dry sweeping), and let it do its thing. In an hour or two, you’ll have clean floors, effortlessly. Available at The Home Depot; $248.
A smart thermometer that will save you from having to hover over the grill
There’s nothing like a burger or steak cooked in the great outdoors… except when you end up with a burnt chunk of meat because your attention drifted away from the grill. Make barbecue disappointment a thing of the past with the Chugod Bluetooth Cooking Thermometer. The device has six probe ports (although it comes with only two probes), so you can track up to six different pieces of meat on the grill from up to 164 feet away. When your food reaches the recommended temperature, you’ll get a warning beep. Available on Amazon; $39.99.
A kitchen faucet that turns on at the sound of your voice
Are your hands full, but you need the water running? Then you’ll appreciate the Delta Faucet Trinsic Single-Handle Touch Kitchen Sink Faucet with Pull-Down Sprayer and TouchIQ Alexa Voice-Activated Technology. Give the faucet a touch, or ask Alexa to switch on the water, and just like magic, your will is done. You can even specify an amount of water, or warm it up. Available on Amazon; $543.49.
An Instant Pot that cooks fast and slow, and does so much more
An Instant Pot takes the place of several kitchen appliances: pressure cooker, slow cooker, yogurt maker, and rice steamer, to name just a few. Combine that versatility with a handy Wi-Fi app that lets you control time, temperature, and pressure from a distance, and you have an appliance that makes cooking easier, faster, and just plain better. Available on Amazon; $149.95.
A microwave that will obey voice commands
You’ll need an Amazon Echo device to pair with the AmazonBasics Microwave, but once you have both, go ahead and tell the microwave what it is you need heated—popcorn, frozen vegetables, a cup of coffee, leftovers—and the oven will select the right preset and get cookin’. Available on Amazon; $59.99.