10 Smart New Kitchen Products to Buy in 2016

Posted: 21 Dec 2015 06:00 AM PST

Stock your kitchen with some new products for the new year. Image: Gail Owens Photography

The new year is the perfect time for a fresh start. Why not start with the kitchen? Kitchen innovations are always popping up on the market, so we scoured the web to find the latest, smartest kitchen products, from fun conversation starters to functional tools you won’t believe you ever lived without.

Here are 10 new kitchen products that will give you a smart start in 2016.

Yes, you can get hot coffee from this GE refrigerator. Image: First We Feast

A Fridge That Makes Coffee

GE’s Café Series refrigerators incorporate a Keurig K-Cup Brewing System in the door dispenser, allowing single-serve coffee at the touch of a button. The magic fridges come in French door or side-by-side models.

The CinniBird lets you spice up your latte with personalized art. Image: CinniBird

Latte Art Pen

The CinniBird spice pen allows you to add personalized art to your home-brewed latte. Want a great gift for Valentine’s Day? Penning romantic sayings in your significant other’s cup of coffee (or dessert plate) could certainly spice up your love life.

You can make Smarter Coffee via your smartphone or tablet. Image: Business 2 Community

Wi-Fi Coffee Maker

Programmable coffee pots are nothing new. But how many times have you gone to bed at night forgetting to set the timer and fill the coffee pot, ensuring you have a hot cup first thing in the morning without having to do anything?

The Smarter Coffee machine seems to have solved this dilemma. This Wi-Fi-enabled coffeemaker runs via your smartphone or tablet while you’re still in bed; it even grinds the coffee beans. Alas, it’s available only in Europe. For those of us in the U.S., the Mr. Coffee Smart Wi-Fi Enabled Coffeemaker will do the trick via the free WeMo app.

The Orange Chef Prep Pad is not only a digital scale, but also a nutritional guide. Image: The Orange Chef

Food Prep Pad

A new year often brings resolutions; for many, those include eating more healthfully. Whether you are looking to lose weight or simply improve your overall health, keeping track of what you eat plays an important role.

The Orange Chef Prep Pad works with your iPad or iPhone to serve as not only a digital scale, but also a nutritional guide. It has a “food library” of more than 300,000 items, and gives you the breakdown of calories, fat, protein and carbs.

The Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker can be operated by smartphone. Image: Belkin

High-Tech Slow Cooker

Another high-tech take on a traditional appliance, the Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker with Belkin’s WeMo technology allows you to use your smartphone to turn it on from anywhere (as long as you remember to plug it in before you leave the house).

You can also adjust the cooking temperature remotely, which is especially beneficial when you need it to be on high for a certain amount of time and then turned down. You can also change the cooking time from your smartphone.

Quirky’s Egg Minder keeps an electronic eye on your eggs. Image: Quirky

Smart Egg Tray

Even the person who has everything probably doesn’t have the Quirky Egg Minder. Fill the tray with eggs (it holds up to 14), pop it in your refrigerator and connect it to your smartphone, and the Wink app will let you know when you’re low on eggs and whether they’re going bad. Sure, you could just look in the fridge — but where’s the fun in that?

This storage unit by EuroCave keeps open bottles of wine fresh for days. Image: Wine Enthusiast

Wine Preserver

While some of us finish a bottle of wine in one sitting, others prefer to sip more slowly. The EuroCave Wine Art stores one or two open bottles of wine at the ideal serving temperature for up to 10 days, keeping it as fresh and fragrant as the day you opened it.

The Philips Airfryer gives foods a crunchy texture without all the fat. Image: Phillips

Air-‘Fried’ Cooker

Now you can enjoy “fried” food without breaking your New Year’s resolution. The Philips Airfryer gives you that crispy, crunchy texture you love without all the fat — only a spritz of oil is required. You don’t have to sacrifice the texture of your favorite fried foods, and they won’t ruin your diet: win-win!

The iPort LaunchPort gives you easy access to your iPad (and charges it) while you cook. Image: Future Homes

Charging Station

If you plan to change up your kitchen in 2016, consider adding a charging station. For many, the perfect spot is integrated into the kitchen island, allowing you to charge your electronics all in one location without the hassle of cords.

iPort’s LaunchPort serves as a docking and charging station for your iPad. The base station fits on your kitchen counter; a wall-mount version also is available. Both give you easy access to your tablet while you cook, especially handy for those who who use their tablets as recipe cards.

The Sony Xperia Tablet Z Kitchen Edition is spill-resistant. Image: Sony

Kitchen Tablet

Speaking of tablets in the kitchen, you no longer have to worry about getting food or liquids on yours. The Sony Xperia Tablet Z Kitchen Edition is designed to hold up to spills and greasy hands. In fact, Sony says it can be submerged for up to 30 minutes without being damaged.

The tablet is preloaded with food and cooking apps as well as recipes from Saveur magazine. It also comes with a wireless Bluetooth meat thermometer, so your iGrill app will let you know when your roast is ready.

We hope these new kitchen products will give you a smart start in 2016. Please let us know if you try any of them!

The post 10 Smart New Kitchen Products to Buy in 2016 appeared first on Freshome.com.

Sail Benches Set Adrift on a River in Quebec

Posted: 20 Dec 2015 12:00 PM PST

design modern furniture

If you’ve always wanted to sail but never had the chance, here’s your opportunity to try it safely on dry land. Les Ateliers Guyon developed these Sail Benches in Vercheres, a small town near Montreal, Quebec.

The concept for this urban furniture project was to create an unusual work where the public can sit and listen to the sound of wind and waves along the banks of the St. Lawrence River.
modern furniture (1) The designers wanted to develop a memorial that integrated functional street furniture. They imagined majestic sails of white oak, concrete and metal, echoing a certain chapter in history. The project honors the city’s founders, who arrived in 1740; white oak was used in the 18th century to build boats.

“This area of the St. Lawrence is especially prone to rapidly changing and sometimes violent weather,” the designers said. “Mist, smog, ice and snow can be abundant due to the proximity of the river.

“For aesthetic and ergonomic reasons, the work must be tilted 10 degrees — both to give the impression of sails flying and for users to be comfortable.” What do you think of the Sail Benches? [Information provided by Les Ateliers Guyon; photography by Félix Guyon]
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