Quick Shopping Guide for Smart Gadgets for a Better Kitchen

A well-designed smart gadget takes the hassle (and hustle) out of kitchen prep. Thanks to connected devices that can be controlled from your smartphone or via Alexa or Google Home, home cooks now have the ability to get dinner started without even being at home. While the term “car cook” or “phone cook” might not catch on any time soon, smart gadgets are hot sellers. It’s no wonder so many companies are expanding their lines of smart kitchen gadgets.

To help you get up to speed on the latest in smart kitchen gadgets, we’ve compiled this quick guide to introduce you to commonly offered features, along with recommendations for specific gadgets.

Smart Pressure Cooker

What can it do?

• Control the cooker through common smart home devices.
• Control the cooker with an iOS or Android device.
• Monitor the progress of your meals from anywhere.
• Receive alerts and notifications on your mobile device.

We recommend: Instant Pot Smart WiFi 6 Qt. In addition to the above features, this Instant Pot includes an app that provides you with more than 750 preprogrammed recipes, with new recipes added daily. You can cook beans and lentils with no presoaking or have risotto in 30 minutes. With the Less, Normal, and More settings, the Instant Pot will prepare food to your preferred level of doneness. The next-level microprocessor means that all of the variables — pressure, temperature, time, duration and volume — are being constantly monitored and adjusted for an ideal outcome.

Smart Blender

What can it do?

• Connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth.
• Measure ingredients for recipes.
• Keep track of health goals.

We recommend: NutriBullet Balance. While plenty of programmable blenders have hi-tech features, few actually connect wirelessly to other devices (which is the definition of a smart device). This one does connect and offers a wide range of options via its smartphone app. You can select from over 100 recipes or create your own, and you can specify health goals (like weight loss, energy boosting, etc.) and dietary restrictions. The nutritional data is tallied as you add ingredients.

Smart Thermometer

What can it do?

• Use multiple probes to monitor multiple items at one time.
• Connect wirelessly via Bluetooth.
• Monitor progress on your smartphone with proprietary apps.
• Be used in a variety of ways: cooking, grilling, BBQ, oven, meat and boiling.
• Resist heat and fire up to certain temperatures.
• Lightweight and portable.

We recommend: Inkbird BT-6XS Smart Wireless BBQ Bluetooth Thermometer and MEATER. Inkbird’s thermometer comes with six probes and can monitor temperatures up to 482 degrees Fahrenheit and has a wireless range of 150 feet. For home cooks who are particularly design oriented, MEATER’s gorgeous product (yes, a meat thermometer can be gorgeous!) has wireless probes, which is something other smart thermometers do not offer.

Smart Nutritional Scale

What can it do?

• Weigh and measure ingredients accurately.
• Provide nutritional data and track specific health goals.
• Share data with health and fitness apps.
• Connect to your smartphone with Bluetooth.
• Convert units using your smartphone.

We recommend: Etekcity Digital Kitchen Scale. In addition to measuring ingredients, this scale comes with a free app that helps you measure and track your health goals, as well as gain access to nutritional data for nearly 8,000 food items and keep a nutrition diary.

Smart Baking Scale

What can it do?

• Weigh and measure ingredients accurately.
• Connect to your smartphone with Bluetooth.
• Measure ingredients for recipes via the proprietary app.
• Scale recipes and ingredients automatically.
• Make it easy to get great baking results.
• Eliminate the need to do math.

We recommend: Perfect Bake Pro. With this smart scale, you can simply pour ingredients until you hear the ding! No need for measuring cups or spoons. In addition, this smart scale also includes timers that align with your chosen recipe.

Tablet Stand

What can it do?

• Keep tablet in place with rubberized areas while you cook or bake.
• Keep tablet at a convenient angle while reading or scrolling through a recipe.
• Include a stylus that’s easy to hold and clean.

We recommend: Prepara iPrep Tablet Holder. OK, so this one isn’t a smart device, but a stand for your tablet or phone is a really, really helpful tool in any smart kitchen. If you’re using a tablet or smartphone to control appliances or gadgets, or even just to follow recipes, you’ll love this tablet holder.