The 10 Best Smart Kitchen Appliances
Special Honors
GeniCan Scanner Designed to seriously streamline your kitchen stocking process, this handy device registers spent ingredients as you throw away the package, allowing you to thoroughly track usage of various foods so you know when it's time to get more and how much you're likely to need. genican.com
AeroGarden Bounty Elite Artisan Because fresh herbs are very often superior to dried ones, this innovative device can be a great tool for adding bold and interesting flavors to every meal. Their top-of-the-line model offers sunrise and sunset lighting as well as a vacation mode for when you're away in addition to a variety of other helpful features. aerogarden.com
Editor's Notes
May 21, 2020:
Smart kitchen appliances are an interesting breed. Some add extremely helpful functionality to the cooking process, while others seem to offer minimal help. For example, we struggle to see a whole lot of utility in a Bluetooth-enabled food scale or induction burner, as these are tools that work very well with common digital or analog controls and displays. Then there are things like smart refrigerators, which at first thought seem like they might be incredibly handy, but in real-world applications tend to be clumsy and, most importantly, not made with anywhere near the build quality that their incredibly high cost would suggest. In fact, now that we bring it up, we would recommend against purchasing a smart fridge anytime soon.
Of the most handy devices that we would recommend, not all are meant for wireless control. The iTouchless Trash Can is among our most basic recommendations and it can help any cook keep contamination to a minimum. Though the Revolution Cooking R180 doesn't communicate using and type of wireless technology, it's designed to streamline the toasting process and all but eliminate burning whether you're using sandwich bread or english muffins.
Some, like the Instant Pot 8-in-1, you may have heard of, and this one in particular is very well known for its usefulness and reliability. The Chef IQ Pressure Cooker is similar but with just a bit more power, although it's also more expensive. The Amazon Smart Oven is a quality in-home combination oven that takes the guesswork out of preheating and backing cycles, but if you don't want to spend as much money or take up as much counter space, the Cosori Air Fryer can also handle the healthy convection cooking of small meals and snacks.
We've also included some relatively specialized devices such as the Perfect Drink Pro, an interesting choice for novice bartenders, the Meater Plus, which offers dual-probe wireless temperature monitoring, and the Anova Culinary AN500, which delivers wireless sous vide control to your phone. And, of course, one of the most satisfying appliances we've highlighted is the Hamilton Beach 49350, which lets you get the morning coffee ready without leaving the comfort of your bed.