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Cooking smarter, not harder - my kitchen gadget journey
I've been messing around lately with some of these new kitchen gadgets that connect to your phone or wifi and stuff. Honestly, I was skeptical at first - like, do I really need my toaster to text me when my toast is ready? But hear me out.
I got one of those sous vide cookers that you control from an app. First off, it's pretty cool to set the exact temp and just walk away. Here's how I've been doing steaks lately: season them up, vacuum seal (or ziplock bag trick works too), drop them in the water bath at 130°F for about an hour and a half. Then I just sear them real quick in a hot pan with butter and garlic. Comes out perfect every single time, no guesswork.
But I'm still figuring out if there's better ways to use this thing or other gadgets worth trying. Like, anyone tried those smart air fryers or ovens? Are they actually helpful or just gimmicky? Curious if there's tricks or tips I'm missing here...
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2 replies
The exact-temperature control sounds like the part that makes the sous vide worthwhile, especially for steaks. Have you found the app useful beyond starting or checking the cook remotely, like notifications when the bath reaches temperature or the cook is finished?
For smart air fryers or ovens, I’d be most interested in features that actually reduce checking on food, such as temperature probes, cook notifications, or being able to confirm the oven was turned off. Those seem more useful than connectivity for its own sake.
The notifications are the feature I’d want to verify before relying on the app. Have you tested whether they still arrive when your phone is on a different network, such as cellular data, or do they only work while the phone remains on the same home Wi‑Fi? That distinction seems important for knowing whether “walk away” really means leaving the house.