Today's kitchens reflect an increased focus on design, style and technology. In step with this, appliance manufacturers are providing high functionality in their products, along with a homogeneous look to appli-ances that have a greater variety of textures and colours.
Recent innovations in the kitchen centre around steam-based cooking; induction cook-tops; ovens that clean themselves; bench top appliances such as steamers, wok burners and barbecue grills; and ovens that combine several functions – for example, the oven and the microwave.
Alan Bell, southern regional manager, Miele Australia, says that in general people are looking for products that will either save them time or assist in producing quality food. Bell thinks that Australians are taking a more open-minded approach to home cooking and are being influenced by Asian and European cuisine, trying to replicate what is available in restaurants.
Hot and Steamy
Using steam as the sole source of heat in preparing foods is gaining a foothold locally.
"The great benefit of steaming is that it retains all the flavours, texture, colours and nutrients of the original produce but it is almost as fast as a microwave," says Bell.
Since steam cooking doesn't require fatty oils and sauces, foods prepared this way are lower in fat than those prepared by other cooking methods.
Miele's DG155 Convection Steam Oven, for example, is based on an injection steam system that ensures steam only enters the cooking chamber after it achieves optimum injection pressure. The resulting rapid exchange of
heat between steam and heat seals in more moisture, colour and flavour than conventional steam cooking. It retails for about $2500. Mark Tragear, general sales manager, Sampford & Staff, which distributes high-end kitchen appliances from manufacturers, including Gaggenau and Neff, concurs that people are initially nervous about using steam as it involves changing the way they cook. But after seeing demonstrations they tend to get excited about the potential.
"Cooking with steam is one of the biggest movements in home cooking and is going to spread as people see the difference in taste and quality of the produce," Tragear predicts. "People don't have a lot of spare time these days; the last thing they want to do is spend a lot of time preparing dinner. With steam, it's all quick and healthy."
Gaggenau has introduced the built-in combination steam oven, which combines the advantages of the pressureless steam oven and a fan-forced oven in a single unit. Retailing for around $8000, the ED220 introduces a technique that was previously only available in professional kitchens.
