Handy Household Christmas Helpers

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9 years ago

Handy Household gadgets

Santa has them to give him a hand, so here are tech’s little helpers! To give you a hand with the standard festive season madness!

Whether you’re an old hand at hosting, or you’ve never used an oven in your life, Christmas time can be overwhelming. Set aside for a minute the actual prep, cooking and washing that’s generated by Christmas dinner alone, and think about all the other occasions you have to cater for. Mulled wine and mine pie parties, family baking sessions, having different family members and friends over for nibbles and exchanging presents, Christmas parties, Christmas Eve celebrations, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve…the list goes on. And with every new occasion to celebrate comes a lot of preparation, a lot of food and a lot of mess.

So we wanted to give you a little bit of help, with some seriously useful tech. We know, we know, we’re so generous, but that’s what this season is all about! So here’s a list of the best tech to ease the pressure of the festivities.

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Let’s start small. If you’re a technophobe, but could still do with a little extra help achieving poultry perfection then this little gadget could be crucial cutlery! The premise is simple; a meat thermometer in a fork, but it has a smart twist. The fork allows you to choose which food type you’re cooking and how well-done you would like it, then its backlit display changes colour when it’s done! All whilst displaying the current temperature. Pretty nifty!

Click here for more info:

: Brookstone Perfect Drink App-Controlled Bartending System. (PRNewsFoto/Brookstone)

Getting slightly more technical now and also turning to the beverage side of entertaining. Everyone knows that Christmas wouldn’t be anywhere near as jolly without a “cup of cheer”, and what better way to prove your hosting skills than with an impeccable cocktail? Don’t worry if you don’t actually possess the skills, that’s where tech comes in; to quietly do the hard work for us. Introducing The Perfect Drink; a delicious combo of a smart scale and app filled with cocktail recipes and instructions. Simply select which drink you wish to create and this duo will talk you through, step-by-step, even giving you real-time pouring instructions, for perfect proportions every time! What’s more, if you want to make Uncle Allen’s Old Fashioned extra jolly, then the app will adjust the measurements accordingly!

Because not everyone loves egg nog, buy here.

Sticking to this super-handy set up, our next pick helps you perfect your baking skills! Whether you’re aiming for a brilliant brioche, the perfect panna cotta or a delicious danish, this gadget will help you master it! May we present Drop Scales. The genius smart-scales that link to your iPad, helping you follow step-by-step recipes – from its accompanying app – flawlessly! The scales know which ingredient you’re adding and measure how much you need to add for you! Want to make that epic chocolate gateau for 10 instead of 8? Easy! Just let the app know and it will adjust the recipe accordingly; genius! A life-saver when last minute guests suddenly RSVP yes! You’ll be looking like a culinary mastermind this Christmas! You’re welcome.

For more details on this great little gizmo click here.

From prep to cooking now with our fourth pick. When you have to cook a four or five course dinner for twenty people, there’s no room for error and multi-tasking is a must! So gadgets that will help you get on with other things and ensure cooking perfection are pretty much a holiday miracle!

Well we’re here to make dreams a reality! (Well…we’re here to fix phones and tablets, but you know what I mean) So we’ve brought you the perfection kitchen partner; Cinder Smart Grill. Cinder is a smart-grill that can, not only
learn what meat you’re grilling and how heavy it is, but also how “done” you’d like it and will adjust the temperature accordingly. Yes, you tell it what you’re cooking and how you want it done and it’ll handle the rest! It’s everyone’s dream! What’s more, it can never overcook you food. Yup, NEVER! Here’s a quote from Cinder’s website to explain the science properly:

“We’ve learned from food science that the maximum doneness of a food is the highest temperature that it has reached. So if you are cooking a steak to medium rare, we take Cinder’s cooking chamber to that temperature and hold it there; you can leave a steak for up to 2 hours and it won’t overcook.”

Like we said; a holiday miracle! Click here to believe!

Imagine rushing around preparing the perfect Christmas dinner. Chopping, weighing, mixing, boiling, whipping and frying up the perfect feast!! What if we could give you yet another incredible culinary companion to help clear away Christmas constraints? (ok, we got carried away with alliteration). May we introduce the KitchenAid Artisan Cook Processor! This marvellous machine can chop, mince, knead, emulsify, purée and whip ingredients to your desired consistency and then actually cook them for you! Yes, this gadget is capable of boiling, frying, stewing or steaming your dishes to perfection; taking out prep and cooking from your dishes…is this real life?! Soups, bread, pastries, stews, sauces; taken care of!! Combine this with the mini-bowl and accompanying mixer – perfect for pesto or pastes – and the free step-by-step recipe app and you’ve basically bought culinary capability. How to make Christmas dinner stress free!

Click here for more information and to buy.

Perfect cooking is about timing; how long to heat the oven or pan for, when to flip your ingredients, when to add more and – obviously – when it’s done. We’re sure you have enough to worry about this holiday season, so here’s another gadget to take care of those things for you, while you get on with hosting! Pantelligent is, as the name suggests, a smart pan which will help you produce precisely cooked dishes every time! It syncs to your smartphone or tablet, through the free app, allowing you to enter ingredient details (weight, cut etc) and how “done” you would like it. Then you simply press “start cooking” on the app and it will automatically sync with the pan. From there, depending on the recipe you’ve selected, the app will notify you when it’s time to flip, add ingredients or finishing touches, or when your dish is done. Simple!

Click here for more details.

We understand that not all holiday headaches are based around cooking, there’s also the issue of all the extra linen, bedding and accidental mulled-wine infused spills that need taking care of. So why not opt for a smarter way to wash? The Whirlpool 6th sense smart washing machine doesn’t sync to your smartphone, but it will save you “50%” on energy, water and time! How does it do this you ask? With its Sixth Sense Technology, the machine’s sensors can adapt the cycle depending on the size and type of the load. Meaning you won’t be wasting extra water and energy on smaller loads! Not to mention, with an “A+++” energy efficiency rating, the Whirlpool washing machine can actually save you money! Exactly what you need during the gift-giving season!

Click here for more info.

Now, what would smart washing be without smart drying?? Double your dose of smart, efficient, money saving appliances with a smart dryer. Once again, it won’t be controlled by an app (is that necessary?) but it’s smart capabilities mean it can adjust to the moisture in your clothes and the hardness of the water. Not only that, but they can actually sense when your drying is done and turn themselves off! Saving you the trouble of crispy jumpers and wasted energy. Certain models will even recycle the air they use so that they’re not heating up from cold each time…This technology malarkey is really making things easy for you this Christmas!! After all, you deserve to be treated too!

Click here for more details.

Ok, so we’ve handled your multi-tasking dilemmas, eased the pressure of cooking to perfection, handed you the key to brilliant tipples and even erased the burden of washing and drying bills! Now after all that we’re sure you’re dying for a good ol’ brew and to put your feet up! Well how about if we told you you could do both? Yes, you could ask your guests to do it, but if you want to truly win the “Host With The Most” prize then they shouldn’t have to lift a finger! But we don’t believe you should necessarily have to either.

Introducing iKettle 2.0; the smart kettle. It might sound ridiculous, but this gadget could save you a lot of time and really become one your house’s most convenient appliances! Picture, if you would, that you’re trying to entertain your mother in law, negotiate your rather difficult aunt and keep everyone refreshed at the same time; standard Christmas scenario. But now you’ve got to try and peel yourself away from your comfortable sofa because your fussy Uncle wants a perfectly brewed cup of tea. Well now you don’t have to! iKettle will sync to your phone or tablet so you can check its water levels, adjust temperature and (of course) make it start boiling without moving!

Unfortunately it can’t pour it for you yet, but surely a quick break from all of those guests wouldn’t be the end of the world right?

Click here to learn more.

However, if you do want to stay put, then we have found you a coffee machine that will grind and brew fresh coffee from your phone or tablet!! That’s right, no need to move until you want to go and collect your perfectly created cup of coffee, fresh and ready to go! You can even choose just to make one cup, or twelve, so no more wastage! Perfect coffee every time. And it won’t get your name wrong or make you queue for 30 minutes.

As promised, we have got you covered this holiday season!!

Click here for more info.

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That’s it for our handy household Christmas helpers, but there are so many more brilliant, smart gadgets we would love to write about! If you like this type of post then please let us know in the comments below and we’ll get right on it!