Kitchen Gadgets of the Future
Ever dreamed of strawberry-flavored snow? I’m not talking about Snow Cone–style shaved ice; I’m talkin’ straight-up pink, fruity, scrumptious snow. It sounds like something Willy Wonka would dream up, but it has actually been developed by Philip Preston, president of the laboratory equipment manufacturer PolyScience. With the help of a refrigerant pipe, an acrylic tube, an injection of liquid carbon dioxide, a man-made tornado, an airbrush, and some liquid strawberries, he whipped up a batch for his wife (who must feel pretty lucky that she married a scientist with a sweet tooth). Forbes talked with Preston and other inventors about the kitchen innovations that may change the way we cook.
For busy restaurant chefs or home cooks with short attention spans, PolyScience offers the Anti-Griddle, which instantly freezes food, the way a regular grill heats it. And Panasonic is developing a high-speed oven, which can cut cooking times from an hour to 10 minutes. (If this thing flies, soon Rachael Ray’s gonna be struggling to make her meal preparations last a full 30 minutes!)
Meanwhile, a professor and a student at MIT are developing the slightly ridiculous Dishmaker, which can shape acrylic discs into the plate or bowl of your choice, and then reshape them for your next meal, if needed. The idea is that you can save room in your china cabinet … though something tells me that the Dishmaker would take up more space than my current plate-stacked shelf.
But perhaps the most intriguing invention on the list is PolyScience’s Smoking Gun, which infuses smoke into foods at room temperature:
The company’s president, Philip Preston, likes to infuse Peachwood smoke into wild mushroom soup. New York Chef Wylie Dufresne uses it to smoke blanched lettuce, which is then wrapped around raw oysters
At $50, the Smoking Gun (which was previously mentioned in our Gear column) proves that new kitchen technology need not break the bank. They aren’t carrying this thing at Williams-Sonoma—not yet, anyway—but it seems like a hot registry item for grooms-to-be, right?
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| Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 7:20am
| 3 comments
Tagged with: strawberry snow, snow cone, willy wonka, philip preston, polyscience, forbes, anti-griddle, panasonic high-speed oven, rachael ray, mit, dishmaker, smoking gun, williams-sonoma
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Thanks Kara. We've actually featured three PolyScience products so far in the Gear column:
Thermal Circulator http://www.chow.com/stories/10145
Anti-Griddle http://www.chow.com/stories/10167
You'll also be able to see Philip in action in the "Inventors" episode of Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie on PBS. His episode premieres on March 29 - check your local listings for air date and time http://www.movable-feast.com/2008/01/...
Although I tend to be somewhat of a stick-in-the-mud vis-a-vis my gadgets, or rather, lack thereof (I've got my wooden spoon and cast iron, and I'll walk three miles, uphill in a snowstorm, to use 'em, by gum!), I was enthralled by the "Inventors" episode of "Diary of a Foodie!" The sheer curiosity of humans continues to amaze and delight me, and when it results in feeding ourselves, the curiosity results in an earthy practicality that appeals to me greatly.
The only thing that rankles the curmudgeon in me is this: in an era when we are thinking local and organic, reducing our carbon footprint, and simplifying, is this higher tech approach to food furthering the aforementioned or not? I think not...or at least, not right now, as the equipment is not common, very expensive, in some ways producing more inorganic waste (think of all those sous vide plastic bags while we're toting our canvas satchels to market), and the food itself, to be experienced, requires a significant outlay of cash, thus out of the reach of most people in todays economic landscape.
Still, my thrall holds. I would ask more clued-n posters to make an argument for this new gastronomic technology in terms of sustainability, as I still want to believe that creativity is a good thing. Anyone want to fill my head with rhetoric? I'm in a receptive mood after that "Inventors" episode.
Cay
Cay - I kiss your wooden spoon and cast iron pan in appreciation for watching the show - and your very thoughtful comments. I think there's room for both the lovably curmudgeonly luddite and the brash culinary inventor - and I strongly support both schools. It is my hope that sous-vide bags - and all the other stupid one-use plastic bags in the world - will be made with more environmentally friendly, reusable material, because one of the beauties of this method of cooking in restaurants has meant less food waste because of better control. Ironically I haven't seen the finished episode myself yet so I don't know if what Herve This said about how induction cooking could save the world made it into the final cut.