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If you spend a lot of time at home this holiday season, you can spend at least some of that time in the kitchen preparing delicious meals. There are many smart kitchen gadgets out there, but it seems like the best of them really offer great experiences for smarter, better, and more connected cooking options.
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The all-in-one restaurant replacement
Thermomix TM6
Credit: Thermomix
The Thermomix has been around for a while, but the new TM6 goes one step further to be a one-stop countertop. This new version is packed with smart features, including built-in Wi-Fi, and the built-in touchscreen tablet controls make it not only easy to follow recipe instructions, but also find and save new recipes with Cookidoo, the software companion service on the hardware from Thermomix.
With the ability to mix, blend, chop, sauté, steam, slow cook, sous vide and much more, the Thermomix can really do just about any task associated with cooking. Yes, it comes at a high price, but when you factor in the various kitchen gadgets it replaces – and the added perks it includes, such as the built-in guided recipe service – it becomes clear that the asking price is indeed a steal.
Price: $ 1,499 of Thermomix
The faithful timekeeper
MEAT Plus
Credit: FLESH
If you find that you have no knack for properly cooking meat, all you may be missing is one essential tool – a good meat thermometer. The MEATER Plus is that and more, with connected functions that give you real-time temperature monitoring via a mobile app, as well as a complete guide to correct, safe temperatures for cooking all types of meat and impressive charts and graphs of both the device’s ambient temperature with which you cook, in addition to the internal temperature.
The Plus version of MEATER extends the Bluetooth range via the connected base and offers you enough range to monitor an outdoor cook in your entire house, for example. The completely wireless design and magnet base are a nice touch for storage and convenience, and you can easily hook up other MEATHERS when you cook a variety of things at the same time.
Price: $ 99 of FLESH
The smoking star
Weber SmokeFire EX6
Credit: Weber
I used to be pretty much into barbecuing, but that was before I discovered the joys of a smoker. The Weber SmokeFire EX6 is one of two first pellet smoking grills developed by the legendary outdoor grill company. The larger version offers enough barbecue area to feed a large family or a small sports team.
The SmokeFire EX6 has had some growing issues since its launch earlier this year, but consistent and frequent firmware updates wirelessly sent to its WiFi-connected controller have made it a top performer. You can use built-in cooking programs along with up to four hard-wired temperature probes to perfectly prepare everything you do. Low and slow or high and hot, the EX6 does it all.
Price: $ 1,199 of Amazon
The grill
Spark One
Credit: Spark grills
While there are many benefits to a smoker, especially when cooking at lower temperatures, it is difficult to beat a charcoal grill for everyday use, especially with foods like hamburgers, fish and steaks, and roasted vegetables. The Spark One is a smart grill that takes all the good things about the tried and true “green egg” style stove and updates it with connectivity and convenience.
Spark Grills made grilling charcoal easier with their preformed Briqs. These are one-piece blocks of charcoal fuel that fit perfectly into the Spark One and are quickly ignited via an electric igniter to reach temperature. Built-in fans keep the temperature constant for the best possible, predictable cooks of all types of food.
Price: $ 599 (Black Friday price through Cyber Monday) from Spark grills
The toast master
Revolution Cooking R180
Credit: revolution
The Revolution R180 High Speed Smart Toaster stayed true to its name and cooks toast faster than most. But more than its speed, it deserves praise for its precision: what you see is what you get thanks to a visual doneness selector on the large touchscreen surface. There are also custom modes for bread, bagels, waffles, English muffins, and even toaster pastries, as well as fresh, frozen, and reheated versions of each.
It’s an expensive toaster, but you probably don’t know what toast could be if you haven’t tried the R180’s toast.
Price: $ 240 of Amazon
