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Technology inventions that will make food preparation smarter - Overview
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Thursday, 11 April, 2019, 14 : 00 PM [IST]
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Priyanka Kajla, Vandana Chaudhary and Varsha
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Introduction
Day by day we are increasingly relying on technology to manage our daily chores. It’s safe to say that over the past 15 to 20 years, technology has transformed how we live. And the way we cook is no exception. Cooking is an art, science, technology and craft of preparing food for consumption.
In present scenario, food is not limited only up to 'something edible'. What’s interesting is that the technology hasnot just made improvements and changes in the appliances we use, but it has also shaped the way we now approach cooking. Another way technology has changed the way we cook is in the creation of new cooking appliances as well as improving our existing ones. And not just by making it quicker and easier to make a meal, but also helping ensure that what we cook retains its nutritional value.
The technology of today has changed how we cook and eat in our kitchens. With many gadgets and appliances in the kitchens around the world, we can easily perceive that. With the evolution of kitchen technology, our reliance on these innovative products has also increased. The technology used in kitchen appliances shapes our lives with busy daily schedules. From can openers to ovens, every electrical device uses technology. The good thing about these changes is that the breakthrough has made life much easier. So, here’s a look at technology inventions that will make food preparation smarter.
1. Rapid Beverage Chiller
Sometimes situation arises where one needs a cold drink and don’t have time to put in the fridge, sit around and wait. the “Rapid Beverage Chiller” comes to rescue. It is an appliance that chills any drink, carbonated or any other beverage in just one minute.
Rapid drink coolers pass cool water over the glass bottle or aluminium can or as a roller spins the container. When cool water flows over the can or bottle surface, the water is colder than the surface it touches. This allows the flow of heat energy from the warmer material (beverage container) to the colder material (the cold water passing over the container). The water which is used for cooling the bottle or can is recycled into a compartment filled with ice (which keeps the water at cold temperatures), and the process repeats itself. To ensure uniform cooling, the machine spins bottles or cans with an electric motor. Cans of beer or soda can be chilled down to 3°F (3.3°C) and can also chill wine bottles, down to temperatures 10-12°C. It is 90 times faster than a refrigerator and 40 times faster than a freezer. It's like a microwave for the cold.
Advantages
• Chills on demand as promised
• Handles most bottles and cans
• Can also be used as a quick warmer by inserting hot water instead of ice
• Doesn’t shake carbonated drinks so they pop open normally
• Top-end model has DC-cable for cars and RV use.
Disadvantages
• Cheap plastic construction
• Cannot handle wide bottles such as sparkling wine, spinner gouged wine labels
• Requires 30 ice cubes which are not always handy.
2. Hapi, the Internet connected fork
It is a Bluetooth-enabled fork which works with an app on phone and tells how to eat properly. It informs the person, when the person is trying to devour delicious food too quickly, which could otherwise cause some serious digestive harm. If one is eating too fast, it will happily vibrate and subtly guide to eat at a slower pace.
3. Egg minder
The Egg minder just looks like a 14 eggs regular plastic crate. A closer inspection discloses that it is quite the connected beast--using a Bluetooth smartphone app, it tells you how many eggs are there. Surprisingly, it also warns if eggs are going bad. It even has a blinking LED light that lets the person know specifically which egg is the oldest before cooking.
4. Plastic Bag Sealer
Everyone loves snacking. But once they are open, the problem is to keep them fresh. An “Eco sealer” is the solution to this problem. Heat sealers (also known as bag sealers) are machines used for sealing polythene and plastics in a range of different sizes. The sealers are ideal for plastic tubes as they close off the edges, ensuring that the contents are protected. This appliance can reseal any bag of chips, popcorns and so on.
The sealing bar of this plastic sealer is made up of a heat-resistant material which is further designed to come in direct contact with the heated metal wire. As the sealing bar is closed, a micro switch is switched on and electrical current is sent to the connector terminals. Terminals heat the electrically powered sealing wire. The micro switch also triggers the sealing light to indicate sealing has begun. The heat evolved from the wire melts the material being used. The pressure from the sealing bar being pressed down and the two sides create a seal together. After the sealing is complete, the sealed light turns off indicating that the seal is complete. This sealer is compact, sleek, easy operating and lightweight but cannot be used at large scale.
5. Portable peanut tester
Traces of peanuts can be found in any kind of food. Various pre-packaged and prepared products claim to be free from peanut, but consumers who are prone to peanut allergy generally don’t rely on them. The product may be labelled as peanut free, but be accidentally contaminated with traces of nut. A new device was developed to test foods in real-time for traces of peanut.
It uses a test capsule, in which the food sample is placed, and is then inserted in the sensor. It can detect the allergen up to 10 ppm of proteins in less than 10 minutes. It consists of a pocket-size detector, an electrode chip, and a disposable allergen extraction kit for allergen. The detector sends the results wirelessly to a smartphone app. Allergens found in peanuts, hazelnuts, wheat, milk and eggs can be detected by detector. It can also be used for the detection of other allergens and toxins like pesticides.
6. Smart Frying Pan
With the great technological advances made in recent years, it is no surprise that a wide range of industries have become "smarter". Many of these developments FaceTime, self-driving cars, and 3D printing to name a few have been expected and long awaited. In recent years kitchens have seen a big jump in smart technology. The smart frying pan enables meals to be prepared perfectly without burning.
The build in sensors present at the base of the pan tracks the weight and calories of the added ingredients. It also records the cooking pattern and documents the step as recipes. The built-in temperature sensors guarantee the perfect heat level. The pan is accessible via the smartly pan app where one can follow the cooking instructions. Through this app, one can create and share their own recipes step by step and track its nutritional value. Moreover, this pan could be washed in the dishwasher, but it is not compatible with induction, is expensive and limited number of recipes are available.
7. Edible micro sensor
Biomaterials are safely used in many different applications like medical implants, environmental sensors, and wearable, disposable devices. In food industry, micro sensors are used to ensure freshness of foods.
These super thin microsensors are made with a polymer consisting of potato and corn starch encapsulating a superfine, tightly wound electrical filament made of magnesium, silicon dioxide and nitride. Magnesium is an important component of our diet, while silicon dioxide and nitride are biocompatible and water soluble. These sensors are only 16 mm thick even thinner than a human hair. An external battery with ultra-thin biocompatible zinc cables is used as the power source. The chip sends temperature data to an external computer via Bluetooth. This enables products to be monitored within 10 – 20 m.
8. Drop connected kitchen scale
It is a Bluetooth enabled scale, which works with an app. If one adds ingredients in a bowl, this will tell if enough amount of that ingredient has been added and where to stop. This app is also loaded with a collection of various baking recipes.
9. Smart oven
Smart oven is an ultimate innovation in home automation (well, kitchen automation). It is an Internet connected oven, using Wi-Fi. This means, one can actually control the oven with mobile phone app, and cook food remotely from the phone. Before leaving for work, add all the ingredients, put them in the oven, and once out for work, can start it and return to piping hot food, ready to be eaten. It clearly points to the future of the kitchen.
10. Anti loneliness Ramen Bowl
It is a potentially convenient and usable Ramen bowl with an iPod-dock so that one is never alone. All messages and emails will be right in front of the person while enjoying meals. One can also watch movies and YouTube videos as the screen of the phone is elevated, and is right in the line of sight.
(Kajla and Varsha are from Department of Food Technology, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar and Dhaka is Assistant Professor, Dairy Technology, College of Dairy Science and Technology, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar. They can be contacted at kajlapriyanka18@gmail.com)
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