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Saturday, March 3, 2001
High-tech Kitchens
New equipment meshes well with busy schedules
By Christine Arpe Gang
Scripps Howard News Service

Caller-Times file

Today's high-tech kitchens won't prepare meals or clean up after you, but they are making it easier to get those tasks done.
   New-age ovens, which combine microwaves with other heat sources, are four to five times faster than conventional ovens. And they will brown, broil and crisp foods, attributes that microwaves alone can't deliver.
   Other cutting-edge equipment includes refrigerated drawers, wine storage units and super-quick and super-quiet dishwashers.
   Smart refrigerators
   On the horizon are refrigerators that allow homeowners to scan bar codes of almost empty products to create their shopping lists. The lists then can be sent electronically to a supermarket or grocery delivery service.
   Although some of these innovations seem pie-in-the-sky, the new-age ovens are something average consumers are expected to embrace - especially when prices come down a bit.
   Quick-roasted chicken
   Anyone who watched the Olympic games on television saw advertisements for G.E.'s new Advantium oven.
   It combines microwave energy with heat from three high-wattage halogen bulbs.
   It will roast a whole chicken in 25 minutes and bake boneless chicken breasts in 8 minutes. The oven needs no preheating and also can function with microwave energy alone.
   For on-the-go family
   "The Advantium is for moms on the go - people who want to cook something quick instead of going to McDonald's," said Debbie Starnes, office manager for Cenwood Appliance Distributors in Nashville, Tenn.
   Starnes demonstrates how fast the new oven cooks chicken and bakes refrigerated rolls to customers who are remodeling kitchens or building new homes.
   "You can do whole meals in 30 minutes," Starnes said.
   Pizza technology
   The halogen system, first developed for the pizza industry, produces a broad spectrum of light that browns and penetrates the food to heat it.
   Starnes predicts that within five years, the Advantium or competitors like it will be standard equipment, much like microwaves are today.
   The New York Times recently put three new-age ovens to the test: G.E.'s Advantium, Jenn-Air's Accellis and Thermador's CJ. The Jenn-Air Accellis and Thermador CJ combine microwaves with high-intensity convection heating.
   Faster cooking
   "The results are nothing short of amazing," wrote Florence Fabricant, a Times staffer who prepared roasted chicken, roasted rack of lamb, salmon fillets, baked potatoes and pound cake in each of the ovens. For comparison, she cooked the same items in her regular oven.
   Not only did the newer ovens cook faster, but some foods also even came out better than they did when prepared conventionally.
   Fabricant reported having the best results with the Jenn-Air and Thermador CJ.
   She found the Advantium did the best job on baked potatoes and produced excellent rack of lamb, even though the crumb crust was slightly underbrowned.
   Pre-programmed times
   To help consumers cope with learning to use the new and convenient ovens, manufacturers have pre-programmed time and temperature requirements for standard dishes.
   The Jenn-Air is about double the price of the Advantium, which costs $1,200 for a model installed over a cooktop and $1,600 for a wall unit, Starnes said.
   Currently, there are no countertop models.
   No-nonsense appliances
   The continuing trend in today's big-deal kitchens is high-performance, professional-style ranges, refrigerators and dishwashers.
   "Everything is either black, white or stainless steel," Starnes said. "Almond is on the way out."
   Radiant cooktops, featuring an electric coil under a glass-ceramic panel, appeal to homeowners who like easy cleanup and a sleek look.
   But kitchen planners and appliance dealers say gas still is the heat source preferred by most cooks.
   Cooler kitchen
   Induction cooktops use alternating electromagnetic fields to raise the temperature of ferrous metal pans - ones that magnets will stick to.
   The pan will get hot, and so does the food, but the kitchen and cooktop do not.
   Induction cooktops have been around for awhile but have never taken off, said Chuck Tracy, certified kitchen designer at Kitchens Unlimited in Memphis, Tenn.
   "Most people prefer gas," he said.
   In the kitchens he designs, appliances are either hidden behind fronts that integrate with the cabinets or stand out with their heavy stainless-steel shells.
   Pro look is popular
   "The professional look is the hot ticket," Tracy said. "Over 50 percent of our clients want it."
   Either look can be designed into traditional - even country-style - kitchen designs.
   Viking, one of the leaders in professional performance appliances, will soon introduce its Viking Designer Series.
   It has the same performance as the original equipment but is designed with a sleeker, more rounded European look that fits into ultra-contemporary kitchens.
   In the oversized kitchens favored today, the triangle formation that used to determine efficiency does not work, Tracy said.
   "Instead we have zoned kitchens based on various tasks," he said.
   Zoned kitchens
   Zones set up for cooking, baking and salad making may be equipped with refrigerated drawers.
   "You could have them near a salad sink or where children might store their yogurts, juices and other snacks," Tracy said.
   Two refrigerated drawers in a base cabinet cost about $2,700.
   Wine storage units, either under a counter or large and free standing, have two or three cooling zones.
   Under-counter units will chill white wines to 40 degrees and reds to 55. The large units also have a cooler setting for soft drinks.
   They will add $2,500 to $5,000 to the cost of the kitchen.
   Advances are appealing
   Just how much high technology consumers choose will depend on their cooking habits and their pocketbooks.
   But at least one New York Times food writer is sold on the new-age ovens.
   "I am not giving up on my regular oven just yet, but one of these would be great to have," Fabricant wrote. "And I'd use it for more than just a 20-minute chicken."

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