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Cuisinart GR-4N 5-in-1 Griddler $185.00 The Cuisinart(tm) Griddler makes “multifunctional” an understatement! Make perfect panini… plus! With four separate cooking options, it can handle everything from pancakes to sausages to grilled cheese to steaks, hamburgers and panini. It helps you prepare more servings of more kinds of food in less time, so you can cook for a crowd — no one has to wait!Simply change the cooking plates and adju… |
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Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker $133.29 Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Bakery with 4 Baking Modes… |
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Back to Basics TEM500 Egg-and-Muffin 2-Slice Toaster and Egg Poacher $52.99 *Multi-function toaster and egg cooker combination *Can be used as a traditional toaster, egg poacher or together to create the ultimate breakfast sandwich *2 slice bread, muffin or bagel *Variable toasting *Automatic pop-up mechanism *Cool touch sides *Automatic shut-off for toaster and egg poacher *Indicator light illuminates when appliance is on *Delivers a convenient breakfast sandwich in appr… |
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Panasonic ER224S Cordless Hair and Beard Trimmer $44.99 The little details are often the most important details. This is especially true when it comes to personal care, and that’s why Emjoi manufactures each of their high-end, personal care products to be as trouble-free and enjoyable as possible. Harnessing the latest technologies in personal grooming, Emjoi has made it their goal to enhance personal appearance as well as the quality of life by provid… |
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Sunbeam 5891 2-Pound Programmable Breadmaker, White $86.05 2 LB LOAF13-HOUR DELAY BAKE;12 COOKING FUNCTIONSEXPRESSBAKE BREAD MAKER CYCLE BAKES IN UNDER 1 HOURLED DISPLAYEASY-CLEAN TOUCH CONTROL PANELNON-STICK REMOVABLE BAKING PANINCLUDES INSTRUCTION BOOK WITH BREAD RECIPESUPC : 027045651783Shipping Dimensions : 18.30in X 14.00in X 13.40inEstimated Shipping Weight : 20.6812… |
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Cuisinart CBK-100 Programmable Breadmaker $84.95 Includes measuring cup, measuring spoon and recipe book… |
Bread Machine Replacement Pan!
OmikeyZ Home Made Baked Fruit Bread done in Bread Maker & Toasted
Bread Machine Replacement Pan Questions
Kitchen Appliances Save More Time, Labor Than Ever Before
Salesman: “This machine will cut your workload at home in half!”
Housewife: “In that case, I’ll take two!”
An old joke, but as the 21st century unfolds, it becomes truer than ever. Compared to previous generations, people today can find working in the kitchen easier and even fun. The gadgets that compete for precious counter space in kitchens across the country are ready to slice, dice, peel, blend, bake and grill in ways that would have amazed the great-grandparents of their owners.
A century ago, the idea of kitchen appliances simply didn’t exist. There were hand-operated vacuums, and many homes had only an icebox, a washtub, and a sink with cold water, usually operated by a pump. Often the pump was outside the back of the house, or in the street for communal usage. With the advent of electricity, the idea of labor-saving devices slowly took hold. Fifty years later, iceboxes were replaced by refrigerators, which did away with having ice delivered. Toasters became one of the first devices anywhere in the home to use power. One early counter top machine seen in many homes was the electric can opener. Seen at the time as a frivolous novelty, nowadays it’s hard to imagine opening cans without them (especially since nobody can remember where the old-fashioned hand crank opener is). Following close behind it was the coffeemaker, taking over from the percolator that used to sit on a burner of the stove. And its close cousin, the teakettle. Machines like the blender were first developed for commercial use, and quickly found their way into domestic service.
The next big advance in kitchen technology was the microwave oven in the 1970′s. It was to kitchens what the VCR was to the living room – revolutionary in itself, it can now be seen as the beginning of a whole wave of gizmos to be lined up beside the sink. Soon afterwards, the market exploded with toaster ovens, sandwich grills, pasta makers, ice cream makers, yogurt makers and the like. This reached a zenith with the advent of the food processor. Seen as a sort of companion to the home computer (a.k.a. the “word processor”, since nobody could think of any other use for a computer in the days before the web), these kings of the counter top combined blender, grater, masher, slicer, dicer and a few more things all in one package.
Right on the heels of the food processor was the bread machine. As the nation longed for a healthier, more natural diet, something that could mix, knead and bake a staple foodstuff such as bread was seen as ushering in a new way of thinking about what we eat. Unfortunately, while many homes have bread machines today, few actually get any use. The loaf pans are smaller than commercially sold loaves, the mix makes the bread much more expensive, the machine needs cleaning after each loaf, and nobody wants to actually have to slice bread anymore. So not every step forward has been fully embraced by the masses.
The future for kitchen appliances however, looks brighter than ever. In a world where the can opener looks quaint alongside the modern no-stick grill, the next big revolution will be the interconnecting of all these devices to a home intranet. By the end of this century, most western kitchens may be a network hive of activity, as devices share information between themselves, larger equipment such as the oven and fridge, and even across the Internet. No doubt new machines will be introduced, some bizarre hybrids of what we already have, some as unknown to us as a microwave would have been in 1907. Our great-grandchildren will chuckle to themselves as they ponder all the effort we put into buttering our toast or stirring our coffee each morning. Are you ready for the kitchen of the future?
About the Author
Michael Carpenter operates The Mechanical Kitchen – selling useful machines for every kitchen.
