The role of the kitchen in our homes has changed dramatically over the years. Modern kitchens in the digital age are equipped with touchless technology, voice automation, and app-controlled appliances. More and more designers and appliance makers increasingly rely on technological innovations to update the traditional tasks of cooking, storing, and cleaning up. Now the evolution of food is facing a new milestone and brings new, intelligent approaches to the table.
IKEA and IDEO, a design and innovation consulting firm, collaborated with design students from Lund University and the Eindhoven University of Technology to predict scenarios for the future in kitchen design, called Concept Kitchen 2025.
Take a look at 5 futuristic kitchen innovations shaping the future of cooking.
1. Smart Appliances
The pandemic is changing basic expectations for the kitchen, according to a new survey compiled by the National Kitchen and Bath Association. Companies are seeing soaring requests for items that help keep the cooking area more sanitized, such as touchless faucets and antimicrobial surfaces.
Kohler, that specializes in luxury finishes, says a majority of homeowners recently sampled are starting to regard the touchless faucets as must-haves. Kohler now combines voice automation with their touchless feature, allowing you to command your faucet to pour exact amounts of water.
Recently, Miele has also come up with a new kind of oven, called the Dialog Oven, which uses electromagnetic waves to cook closely placed foods with differing energy levels. The oven can cook a roast in an hour, while a nearby pan of vegetables stays al dente.
Thermador, the California-based luxury appliance brand, offers an extra-low simmering feature that, the company says, lets you melt chocolate on a paper plate. Thermador users can connect all appliances categories to the same app, which alerts you that the fridge door is open, lets you preheat your oven, or adjust the temperature of your wine cabinet.
Furthermore, designer-kitchen makers are also going high-tech. Italy’s Boffi is a high-performance ceramic-like material, called MDI, which is for a range of kitchen surfaces, including countertops and filler space around appliances.
2. Interactive Cooking Surfaces
The future of stove cooking, undoubtedly, lies in interactive induction hobs. Induction heating uses magnetic components hidden underneath the cooktop to heat pots and pans. But instead of just heating the bottom of the pot, induction heating heats the entire pot – for faster and even cooking. Pots and pans can be anywhere on the cooking surface, and not on one particular heating area. And the tech doesn’t end there either. Overhead, a projector will beam recipes, cooking information, and other handy notes straight onto the countertop. Grundig’s VUX technology is already leading the way, and will likely be commonplace in future kitchens before long.
Hence, the future of food preparation surfaces will for sure make us more confident cooks and reduce food waste. This technology, coined “The Table of Living”, comprises a camera and projector placed above the table and an induction cooktop underneath the table surface.
3. Green Sinks and Dishwashers
If there’s one future kitchen focus that will have the most impact, it’s the emphasis on wasting less. For instance, bad water from sinks and dishwashers, won’t drain out immediately. But will be divided into safe and unsafe water to feed plants. Food waste will be composted, and devices of the future will have more functionality in smaller packages.
Kitchen designs in the future will also help us become more conscious and aware of our water use. A sink will have two drains. One for reusing water and the other for contaminated water that will reach sewage pipes for treatment.
Buyers of Miele’s new G7000 series dishwashers never have to worry about running out of detergent. When the machine runs low, a sensor prompts smartphones to reorder the brand’s trademark detergent disk from the company’s online shop. Meanwhile, Bosch, Miele’s competitor in the luxury dishwasher market, has introduced Zeolite. It is an alkaline mineral compound, in its new dishwasher series.
4. Smart Kitchen Robot
Robotic devices already have a place in American kitchens thanks to iRobot, the Massachusetts company that introduced the robotic vacuum cleaner in 2002, and, a decade later, the robotic mop. A robot kitchen equipped with two robotic hands that take over the cooking completely. The innovation of Moley Robotics 2019 was even successfully presented at the Hannover Messe. The system has 2000 recipes. The intelligent robot hands imitate the movements of cooks and thus prepare the food.
5. Greentech Home Gardening
You can now bring the herb bed back home. With the “SmartGrow” herb growing device from BOSCH, urban gardening is coming into the kitchen of the future. Numerous herbs, dwarf tomatoes, and edible flowers grow and flourish with the hydroponic device that works without soil. Automatic irrigation and the light system ensure that the plants stay up for at least two weeks.
Step Into the Future of Kitchen Tech
While the pandemic is boosting current sales, kitchen companies are looking to the future. Technologies will therefore continue to determine our food significantly in the future. With constantly evolving technologies and smart additions to our kitchens, the future of kitchen design is bright. Therefore, future kitchens will be technology hubs that reduce food waste, make cooking more intuitive, and be environment-friendly.
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