get clever in the kitchen

Convert mundane chores into smart fun!

Old-fashioned devices such as cookers and washing machines haven’t changed much over the years, and some of these trusty old devices have proved to be remarkably resistant to new smart technology.

Cookers, in particular, just keep saying ‘no’ to the Internet of Things, as we saw a couple of years ago when LG’s SmartThinQ cooker came and went in the space of about six months. You can, however, pick up some smaller cooking aids to help you out at dinner time. Tefal’s ActiFry Smart XL (£200) is a smart – and healthy – frying pan that requires very little oil, and can use Bluetooth to communicate with your iPhone. The Tefal app includes recipes, and can monitor temperature and cooking time so that you can take a breather while dinner is sizzling away.

One of our favourite kitchen aids is the Drop Scale, which has been available from the Apple Store for a couple of years now. Priced at £80, the Drop Kitchen Scale uses Bluetooth to connect to its iPhone app and, as well as simply weighing ingredients, the Drop app includes recipes and cooking tips, and can even suggest alternatives if you tend to forget at least one important ingredient when you’re out shopping.

The idea of an ‘iKettle’ started as a bit of a joke a few years back, but the Smarter iKettle (£100) actually turned into a real product, and is now on version 3.0. It even works with Amazon’s Alexa, so you can say “make me a cuppa” when