Technology
The best gadgets for every kitchen Now that many of us are cooking so much more at home, there are lots of gadgets that promise to make our kitchen time better. Some of them enable you to do much more with much less washing up; others ensure brilliant results for every meal; and still others enable you to cook like the pros. One of our favourite kitchen gadgets is the electric pressure cooker. The most famous one is the Instant Pot, but there are lots of rivals. It’s a one-pot machine that you can use to make soup, stews, casseroles and even yogurt, and unlike many multi-cook devices it’s good at all of them. One of the best things about it is that it enables you to slow cook quickly: pressure cooking means you get all the flavour and tenderness of slow cooking in less than an hour. And when you’re done, there’s only one dishwasher-safe pot to clean. Another firm favourite in our kitchen is the air fryer, which gives you deep fried taste without the mess, smell or unhealthiness. They’ve come a very long way in just a few years and they’re brilliant for fantastic fried chicken, amazing chips and quickly reheating takeaways: the only thing they’re not great at is food with lots of runny batter, which just falls off. If you’re feeling really fancy, a Thermomix can do pretty much everything: it can vacuum cook meat, fish and vegetables for sous vide cooking; it can slow cook; it can caramelise, brown, blend, boil, knead, emulsify and more. It even has a display to show you video tutorials. It’s very expensive but it’s an incredible device. If you prefer to cook manually we’d thoroughly recommend the Thermapen, an instant thermometer that enables you to test the temperature of things like large roasts. It takes the guesswork out of cooking times, ensuring that every roast is perfectly done, and it’s also really useful in barbecue season when you don’t want to risk giving people undercooked meat.
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Thermomix TM6 The TM6 is incredibly expensive but it’s a truly extraordinary intelligent cooking machine that’ll replace many of your existing appliances. £1,145, Vorwerk.co.uk
Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus This isn’t the cheapest Instant Pot – the Duo is half the price – but this is more flexible and has a brilliant display that makes it even easier to use. £129.99, Amazon.co.uk
Philips Avance Collection Air Fryer Philips’ air fryers are easy to use, easy to clean and deliver excellent results. This is one of the larger models, with a 1.2kg capacity that makes it ideal for families. £250, Amazon.co.uk Thermapen This instant-read digital thermometer takes the guesswork out of cooking meat, fish and bread, and while clones are cheaper they’re not as accurate. £51, Thermapen.co.uk Anova Precision Cooker Nano Sous Vide – gently cooking food for hours in warm water – delivers incredible tenderness and flavour, and the Anova enables you to do it in any big pot. It’s app-controlled, easy to use and produces amazing results. £129, Anovaculinary.com
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