Cooking like a pro doesn’t require breaking the bank—or even taking a cooking class. With a few key new electric kitchen appliances, all you need is an electrical outlet and the press of a button to take your cooking to the next level. From the totally worth it sous vide to a high-powered blender, these six electrical appliances deserve to be in your kitchen.
- Sous Vide: If you’ve ever ordered a steak at a fancy restaurant, odds are that it was cooked using a sous vide. Instead of paying $55 for a restaurant steak, cook like the pros do using a sous vide at home to evenly cook prime cuts of meat. Using a sous vide involves immersing enclosed food in water, bringing it to temperature, and—if you choose to do so—pan searing to finish. The sous vide is the electric appliance you dip into the water to heat it to the exact, sustained temperature you need. Cooking with a sous vide is 15-40 percent more efficient than using an electric stovetop or gas stove.
- Blender: A high-powered blender can speedily chop, blend, puree, and mix delicious soups, smoothies, and more. Just throw everything together in the blender and press a button. Blenders use about 650 watts per use (assuming the appliance is used for roughly three minutes). Compared to dragging out your cutting board or hand-stirring, a blender is a great appliance to take your kitchen to the next level.
- Pressure Cooker: Pressure cookers have dinner ready quickly cutting your cooking time by up to 65 percent. For example, it might take four to eight hours to cook a delicious soup in a slow cooker, and up to three hours to cook dry beans on the stovetop. A pressure cooker can complete those tasks in a jiffy. Plus, pressure cookers use less energy: after three hours on medium heat, an oven would use about 6 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy. Cooking that meal with the pressure cooker instead cuts energy use down to 2 kWh.
- Coffee Grinder: There’s nothing like a cup of morning coffee made from freshly ground beans. An electric coffee grinder grinds whole coffee beans in just a matter of seconds into fresh, uniform grounds that give you coffee that’s simply better. Just pour whole fresh coffee beans into the grinder, plug in, and press— the amazing smell when you open your grinder will bring a smile to your face.
- Portable Single-Burner Induction Cooktop: Induction burners are more widely used in Europe than in the United States, but their rapid and precise cooking capabilities are slowly catching on all over. Induction cooktops use an electromagnetic field to produce heat and can bring water to a boil 50% faster than a gas or electric stovetop can. And get this: induction cooktops can be set to a specific temperature, like an oven. They also don’t overheat your kitchen and are more energy efficient than conventional electric and gas stovetops.
- Vacuum Sealer : Along with moisture, air is the enemy of food storage. Vacuum sealing food prior to storing helps the food stay fresh longer and also keeps it protected from dehydration and freezer burn. An electric vacuum sealer can also help keep your freezer efficiently organized and serve as a great companion to your sous vide, by professionally sealing plastic pouches of food in preparation for sous vide cooking.
Any one of these relatively uncommon electric kitchen appliances can help take your kitchen to the next level. Professional chefs use electric appliances like induction cooktops and sous vide for a reason. So while you might not have the time or inclination to go to culinary school, you, too, can create masterful meals, easier, by adding one or more of these six electric appliances to your kitchen countertop.
When it comes to maximizing your kitchen with electric appliances, let Mr. Electric® be your guide. From circuit installations to electrical panel upgrades, we can help ensure your kitchen is ready for whatever appliances you use to cook dinner.
This blog is made available by Mr. Electric for educational purposes only to give the reader general information and a general understanding on the specific subject above. The blog should not be used as a substitute for a licensed electrical professional in your state or region. Check with city and state laws before performing any household project.
