HTC
TrueCookPlus on a Kenmore microwave oven.
(Credit: TrueCookPlus)The microwave oven is no doubt one of the most popular kitchen appliances available. But before its ubiquity, people had to get used to the idea that a few button presses (or physical dial turn as the case may have been) could produce a hot meal with seemingly little work. Then reality sunk in as this common phrase started to hit home: "Cooking time in your microwave oven may vary." While microwave ovens did not prove to be the easy answer to a properly cooked meal, the promise was certainly still there.
Fast-forward to now, and the promise of the microwave as the gateway to properly cooked quick meals has begun once again. The TrueCookPlus code system for microwave cooking is a simple-to-use numeric code that people punch into their microwave ovens to assure proper cooking time and power level depending on what item they are cooking. More than just a convenient code calibrated to the wattage of a particular brand of microwave, the parameters adjust for your microwave oven.
The code system takes into consideration such factors as voltage, wattage, oven age, hot or cold oven, power levels, and even elevation. (A simple one-time input of your zip code handles that.) Of course, food type, size, and weight are also considerations.
The software used in the TrueCookPlus code system works in conjunction with food manufacturers' test kitchens, so don't expect it to know exactly how to reheat your leftovers just yet. The system works in tandem with a traditional microwave (it will still heat those leftovers just as it does now), so consider this a feature to look for in upcoming microwaves. Currently, the feature is available on LG and Kenmore models with many food manufacturers, such as General Mills and Weight Watchers supplying codes for food products.
(Credit:
Appliancist)
Touch screen has made its way from cell phones and computers into the kitchen via the control panels of many of the modern ovens and ranges. Though not the first of its kind, the LG WaveDom is a beautiful example of a touch screen on a convection microwave oven, and it boasts several other fancy features as well.
The microwave is large (30 liters) in a round cavity configuration, and has a large turntable that can hold meals big enough to justify using one of the four auto roast programs that come included in it. In addition to roasting, it can automatically cook, reheat, and defrost with four separate settings for each. Quick Start and Quick Defrost can be used if the thought of preprogramming your microwave oven makes your head spin.
A cool bonus is the Keep Warming function, so you can answer your phone call without worrying that your leftovers are going to have to be heated a third time.
The touch-screen exterior is pretty too, made out of stainless steel and black glass. It has a dial control and VFD display, and it's available in white, black, or silver.
A kitchen remodel takes an enormous amount of planning. Measuring, re-measuring, and losing the sheet with the measurements, browsing tile and appliance shops for hours on end, even more hours spent trying to draw your kitchen layout on graph paper--it's not easy. And if you're in the early stages, you may not really want to put in all that time just yet. Or, you might really want to, but you're not even sure where to start.
A nice place to plunge into kitchen design is with a virtual kitchen planner like this one from LG. Experiment with different kitchen and cabinet styles, modify the cabinet finish, choose countertops and floorings, and add appliances.
You don't need to measure your kitchen, because you're not getting a scale diagram--this is more about seeing how the different elements fit together to create a complete picture. It's a nice way to get a quick feel for the various options available, and in a matter of minutes you can figure out if you want to pursue country styles or go for the modern minimalist look.
LG's virtual kitchen is free and easy to use. No registration required, and you can print your designs, but you can't save them at the site.
Lately, many appliance designers have been focusing on style as well as function. LG is no different: they've recently released the Swarovski side-by-side refrigerator. This bold red fridge is covered in delicate floral designs picked out in Swarovski crystals. It's also available in white and black and has already won a Red Dot Design award.
The Swarovski side-by-side Refrigerator isn't just a pretty face, however. It has all the bells and whistles that you might expect in an upscale refrigerator model, including a LCD control panel. The panel is blue and has soft-touch controls that make it ease to use. The refrigerator has sensors that can respond to food temperatures to keep the interior temperature of the fridge constant, as well as a silver ion coated liner that protects your food from bacteria, fungus, and yeast.
The less technical features of the Swarovski side-by-side refrigerator are also great: the water and ice dispenser lets you fill much larger containers with crushed or cubed ice and chilled water. The water goes through a built-in filtration system. All these features come with a price tag of $4,299, although the Swarovski side-by-side refrigerator is not yet available in the U.S.
(Credit:
LG)
French-door fridges have become increasingly popular lately. Many have freezer drawers. LG's new Fridge 4-Door has upped the stakes by adding a second freezer drawer. The second drawer keeps your freezer organized and uncluttered.
The LG Fridge 4-Door has all the bells and whistles that are practically requirements these days. It has an ice and water dispenser--the tallest water dispenser available, so you can actually fill a pitcher with filtered water rather than being limited to little cups. The exterior is an attractive stainless-steel finish, and the interior is designed with easy access in mind. Recessed LED lighting, low profile shelving, and a huge integrated crisper make storing your food especially easy. The low profile shelving is especially nice: I can't think of a single bottle I can't get into the Fridge 4-Door. Even wine bottles can fit upright with no worry.
You can get the Fridge 4-Door in two sizes:standard depth (34.25 inches deep) and cabinet depth (30.25 inches deep). Both models are 69.75 inches tall and 35.75 inches wide.
It's just not fair. All the really cool appliances seem to be in Europe--like LG's SolarCUBE, a sophisticated oven with microwave and grill functions that comes as a free-standing oven but can be transformed into a built-in appliance.
The whole thing sounds like something from a futuristic superhero world. The SolarCUBE's "light-speed cooking technology" lets you make dinner up to four times faster than in a conventional oven, and it eliminates the need for preheating. So what exactly is the cooking technology here? The SolarCUBE uses a combination of four heat sources--grill, microwave, electricity, and a halogen lamp--to whip up dishes with crispy outsides and succulent taste and texture inside. (Fans of NBC's 30 Rock might already be familiar with this idea: when Tracy Morgan enters in the pilot episode and screams, "I'm the third heat!" he is directly referring to this oven technology. But, the SolarCUBE takes it a step further, adding a fourth heat. What will Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin have to say, we wonder?)
The three-level rack offers the space and placement flexibility of a traditional oven, and the coated Easy-Clean walls make clean up, well, easy. And speaking of easy, forget about wondering how long to bake those potatoes and what temperature you should use. Just select from the oven's built-in programs for many foods and take the guesswork out of the kitchen.
LG says that the SolarCUBE can replace several kitchen appliances--oven, microwave, and grill -- thus saving valuable kitchen space. And it looks good, too--the oven's sleek controls are as attractive as they are functional. No word on when--or if--the SolarCUBE will be available stateside, but in the meantime it's a good choice for your weekend chalet in Europe. (The fictional GE characters on 30 Rock can breathe a sigh of relief...for now.)
Loyal readers of the blog know that we're fans of the dual-purpose appliances. So when LG unveils an appliance called DuoChef, you can bet we're all over it.
The DuoChef MC8088HLC was just announced last week at the IFA--that's the Internationale Funkausstellung in Berlin, of course, the world's largest consumer electronics trade fair (according to the Web site, anyway). And what two features does the DuoChef combine? Well, it's a combination oven and microwave--the first convection microwave oven with a double convection system, which uses two fans to improve baking and defrosting performance.
The two fans in the oven circulate the air quickly and distribute the head more evenly than any other microwave. So that brick of ground beef you forgot to defrost this morning can be made pliable in minutes, and your famous lasagna can still grace the dinner table tonight.
Inside the oven, you'll find the traditional bi-level cooking racks for batch baking and preparing multiple dishes for meals. In addition, the oven offers automatic cooking programs for many foods, including everything from baked potatoes and vegetables to rice, pasta, and even cake. And the Auto Roast menu produces perfectly cooked meat without any hassle or worry.
But it's the Even Defrost feature that LG really touts. Conventional microwave ovens defrost using microwaves alone. The DuoChef uses a combination of microwaves and convection heat to dissolve ice on the surface of the food and penetrate deep inside simultaneously. The process eliminates the hot spots and cooked areas that are all too common when defrosting foods in the microwave. It's gentle enough to defrost even delicate breads without destroying their moisture and texture.
The DuoChef comes in free-standing and built-in configurations.
Yesterday, I mentioned a space-saving stackable washer and dryer unit. But what if even that takes up too much room in your living quarters? Are you doomed to drying your clothes in the bathroom or out the window? Are you going to be deprived of fluffy towels and soft shirts? Not if LG has anything to say about it.
LG's new Washer/Dryer combo is an all-in-one machine that takes your laundry from dirty to dry in a single unit. That's right, you can put in a load of laundry and come home to clean, dry clothes.
To install the washer, you'll need a water hookup and a standard electrical outlet. No outside venting is necessary, because the dryer cycles use a ventless condensing system. Clothes are dried from within the drum; the water that's extracted from the clothes drains through the drum and out the water pump. The process takes a little longer than conventional drying, but the trade-off may be worth it for many apartment dwellers who don't have vent access.
The unit runs on standard electricity; no gas line is needed.
The front load unit has a 2.44 cubic foot capacity and automatically adjusts the water level and wash time to get your clothes clean. During the drying cycle, the sensor dry system takes over and measures the moisture in the drum to adjust the drying time and temperature.
Set the machine to wash only, dry only, or wash to dry to suit your needs, and delay the start up to 19 hours to make your laundry fit your schedule. Choose from nine wash programs and five rinse temperatures, including a sanitary cycle.
The Energy Star unit comes in titanium or white finishes and retails for about $1,600.
Sure, microwaves are much faster than your conventional oven. However, there are some drawbacks. The two appliances just cook food differently. LG has a solution, though: the Light Wave microwave. This unit combines microwave and conventional oven technologies to get an amazingly high quality microwave oven.
The Light Wave guarantees a speedy dinner: it cooks food at much higher temperatures and can cook meals up to three times faster. It's a countertop appliance that can heat food to more than 500 degrees Fahrenheit in less than five minutes. The Light Wave uses LG's Mega Heater System: light waves are created by a combination of different heaters (halogen, sheath, and ceramic) with different heating depths that cook foods evenly. The microwave's round cavity and light reflector circulate heat efficiently.
LG offers the Light Wave microwave in several models, varying in size. None of the models is inexpensive, however. Because of the Light Wave's versatility, LG has priced it near the $600 mark. In its favor, though, the Light Wave can effectively replace both your microwave and your oven, taking up significantly less space in your kitchen. For some cooks, this hybrid may be the perfect solution.
It's possible you've seen all the washers and dryers my colleagues have posted about recently and not one of them has cried out to you and made you feel you must rush out to buy it.
Maybe you thought to yourself, "Those are all fine, but I need a washer that can tell me when it's finished, even if I'm in a different part of the house." Maybe you just can't decide if you want to stack your machines or store them side by side. Or maybe you wanted a system that would ease your allergies during hay fever season and the rest of the year.
Maybe you need to take a look at the new LG SteamWasher and matching dryer. In sleek stainless steel, the washer and dryer can be stacked--or not. The upfront control panel features a trilingual (English/French/Spanish) LCD display--for that je ne sais quoi we all want in the laundry room. (Or, you know, so that the nanny from Luxembourg can do the laundry while the kids are napping.)
The Allergiene cycle promises to reduce dust mites, household pet dander, and other allergens, so you can breathe easy. And the SteamFresh cycle can take your wrinkled work clothes and make them fancy, fresh, and fabulous in just 20 minutes.
The LG Steam laundry line also is compatible with the award-winning LG Remote Monitoring System. This little piece of hardware tracks the laundry's progress and saves you from running up and down the stairs all day to see if the clothes are ready. Plug the remote monitor into any electrical outlet--it connects with the washer and dryer via Power Line Communication (PLC) technology, and the large LCD screen keeps you informed at a glance.
(I know some of you are rolling your eyes and wondering if I have never heard of the buzzer indicator on a washer or dryer. I have, but I wonder if you have ever spent three hours getting a colicky infant to sleep, only to have him awakened by the stupid buzzer. Who's rolling her eyes now?)
