Electrolux Grand Cuisine

If you fell in love with the collaboration between Electrolux and Molteni, the iconic French range manufacturer; you are sure to be impressed with the professional suite of appliances in the Grand Cuisine offering from Electrolux.

Designed with the masters in mind, and already established in the kitchens of Alain Ducasse and Tom Aikens, the Grand Cuisine aims to bring the techniques of the upper echelons of gourmet cooking within reach.

There are nine appliances that make up the Electrolux Grand Cuisine range: a combination steam oven, blast chiller, induction cooktop (induction zone), gas cooktop (gas hob), stainless steel griddle (sear hob), round-bottomed induction wok (surround induction zone), vacuum sealer, bespoke ventilation and stand mixer. To have all eight fitted for your kitchen will set you back $107,000, and excluding the ventilation and the Molteni Range.

Electrolux launched the line in Europe in 2012 with 2013 slated for the US release. While the majority of households struggle to reconcile rising healthcare and fuel prices, the executives at Electrolux say they have spotted a gap in the market with the popularity of cooking programs.

Electrolux describes Grand Cuisine as the first professional cooking system for home use, and the first to allow consumers “to fully recreate Michelin-star restaurant experiences” in their own kitchens.

The Electrolux Grand Cuisine user interface makes cooking as simple, or as complex, as you want it to be. Choose Manual, Program or Automatic Mode simply using a touchscreen. Anything you cook today, you can also cook with Electrolux Grand Cuisine appliances.

To give you full confidence, the Electrolux Grand Cuisine Cooking System comes complete with a private cooking session in your home with a top chef.

The Combination Oven is a large steam oven fitted with sensors to control humidity. Use the 6 sensor probe to detect food’s coolest core temperature.

Food rom the oven or cooktop can go directly into the blast chiller, rapidly reducing temperature to store or freeze. Blast chilling doesn’t allow time for the large ice crystals to form that can destroy food taste and texture.

You can use the entire cooktop surface of the Grand Cuisine Induction Zone for cooking, because pot detection technology knows exactly where the pot needs heat. There is also an option to set the cooktop from hot to cool across the surface.

The Gas Hob evenly heats with Electolux’s patented Flower Flame burners that automatically adjust to pan size. The brass burners come in two sizes – the 5.5 kW and the 3.0 kW.

The energy-efficient Sear Hob has a stain resistant and odor repellent chrome plated stainless steel surface that requires no oil so it is ideal for healthy cooking. It seals in juices without mixing flavors.

The Grand Cuisine Surround Induction Zone is perfectly curved to match the shape of your eastern-style round-bottomed pan and heat it evenly from all sides. The induction wok cooktop is also ideal for steaming, poaching boiling, searing and stewing.

Enjoy sous vide cooking at home just like a Master Chef with Grand Cuisine precision Vacuum Sealer. Additionally, you can store pre-prepared foods and ingredients under vacuum for days, weeks or even months.

The Grand Cuisine Stand Mixer features the planetary movement technology, ergonomic patented bowl lift system, removable stainless bowl guard, aluminum cover and a rage of professional attachments for mixing, kneading and whipping.

August 25, 2013

New Blanco Faucets

I’ve been wanting to write about the new faucets from Blanco for a while and now seems like the perfect time. If you have not already heard, I will be going to London as part of the BlogTour London 2013 founded by Modenus CEO Veronika Miller. Blanco is one of the fine sponsors for this trip.

The new faucet collection from Blanco is making a Splash. Beauty and Performance go hand-in-hand with water-saving options.

The new series includes the Victorian GRACE II, the sleek ALTA COMPACT, the elegant HILAND and the graceful NAPA. Blanco’s tradition of high quality materials and innovative design is carried forward in this collection. With all the possible design and color combinations, most homeowners are sure to find a faucet that fits their style and needs.

Grace II

Traditional Design for today’s world.
Pull-down and Pull-out Faucet Design with dual spray
2.2 GPM flow rate
Chrome or Stainless Steel finish

Alta Compact

Clean contemporary design
120° degree spout swivel
2.2 GPM flow rate
Café Brown, Chrome, Satin Nickel or Anthracite, Biscotti, Cinder, Truffle, White combo finishes

Hiland

Transitional Design for any decor
Pull-out faucet with dual spray
2.2 or 1.8 GPM flow rate
Chrome or Stainless Steel finish

Napa

Elegant high arc design with gentle curves
Pull-down and Pull-out Faucet Design with dual spray
2.2 or 1.8 GPM flow rate
Chrome or Stainless Steel finish

This series of solid brass faucets retail from $375 – $525 and include a Limited lifetime warranty.

About Blanco

For three generations, BLANCO, the German innovator of finely crafted sinks and faucets, has passionately elevated the standards for luxury sinks, faucets and decorative accessories.

BLANCO offers a large variety of award-winning kitchen sink designs at all price points, with bowl configurations, bowl depths and installation styles available in both stainless steel and granite.

BLANCO has a long tradition of environmental stewardship and their production facilities operate to strict DIN EN ISO 14001 environmental performance standards.

Showing their commitment to provide their customers with unsurpassed service, Blanco has produced educational how-to videos on www.blancoamerica.com. The videos offer step-by-step tutorials designed to answer the most frequently asked questions about sinks and faucets including: How-to change a ceramic faucet disk cartridge.

August 18, 2013

Top Brewer

The Scanomat Top Brewer is the ultimate coffee machine for the homeowner that likes an uncluttered countertop. You can control the grinding and brewing hidden below the countertop with a touch pad controller or by using your iPhone or iPad.

The Top Brewer has dual grinders and a height-adjustable goose neck spout that can brew a cup of coffee from a cold start in 45 seconds. Once warmed up the Top Brewer can deliver a hot cup of coffee in 15 seconds or a shot of espresso in 25 seconds. The refrigerated compartment keeps milk fresh for on demand foaming at the correct texture for Lattes, Cappuccinos, Macchiatos or what ever it is you desire.

Another great feature is that the Top Brewer cleans itself automatically. The cleaning system cleans all hoses with water after each cup.

Two models are available; the Pro and the Compact. The Pro requires a drain so some extra planning is required for installation.

If coffee isn’t your thing, the Top Brewer can be configured to dispense hot and cold water, milk, fruit juices or even just steam for blanching vegetables. Pricing is available upon request.

Be your own Barista

The Top Brewer app is easy and intuitive. Adjusting your coffee strength or amount of milk is as simple as moving the slider to your personal preference. You can also save the customized settings in your app. Scanomat built the app with real-time status so you can oversee the whole brewing process.

Those who own more than one Top Brewer can control multiple machines simultaneously via the app’s favorites screen. It gives you control all of your machines in one view, so you can be churning out a variety of drinks with a few taps, turning you into the ultimate barista.

This appliance has benefits outside the home. Imagine your local coffee shop with a team of Top Brewers that lets you order your coffee drink just the way you like it from your iPhone or iPad while you stand in line to pay for the beverage.

August 11, 2013

Another Useless iPhone Accessory

Range is a cooking thermometer designed to plug into your iPhone, iPod or iPad offered currently only on Kickstarter by Supermechanical.

Range was designed in two variations: The Aqua has a six-inch, rounded thermometer tip and three-foot cord for general use, while the Ember has a two-inch, pointed probe and four-foot cord designed specifically for meat. Supermechanical claims Range can withstand temperatures of up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

The networked thermometer concept isn’t new. Competitors such as the iGrill and iCelsius BBQ also plug into your smartphone or tablet. But Supermechanical says neither have the range of Range’s functionality — such as the ability to graph out your temperatures over time.

What set’s Range apart is its ability to graph temperature changes over time so you can compare the batches of food you are preparing. I know more cooks than candy makers and none have ever expressed a need for graphing temperature. What chefs do need is consistent temperature – or at least the knowledge that they have reached the desired temperature.

Supermechanical makes one mention that this as a convenient tool for Beer makers. If any home brewers are reading I’d like to know if you’d find the emperical data helpful.

So, despite the great graphic readout on your phone or tablet and the fancy alarms, this thermometer is no better than most (IMHO) because you can’t leave the room or your will not hear the alarm. Seriously? Why is this not Wi-Fi or Bluetooth enabled to talk to your phone when you have to step away or are cooking a dish with a long roasting time?

Supermechanical claims they don’t use Bluetooth because it’s not reliable. After doing a little further reading I found that they say you can push your notification to another iOS device as long as you have an internet connection.

If you are a candy maker, do you really want to risk getting your phone or tablet all sticky? I wouldn’t. I also wonder about having your iOS device close to heat. While the probe and heat-resistant cable may be able to withstand 450 degree temperatures how will your tablet fare?