This made me realize I’m not sure what counts as a smart appliance. Just stuff with an app or network capabilities?
My Anova sous vide has an app, but it’s not mandatory (I don’t think I’ve used it—just checked and it’s not on my phone) and I don’t think it’s much more than a glorified timer—fuzzy logic rice cookers are a lot “smarter” (in the sense of taking action without user input) and have been around for, what, almost 40 years.
(Oh, I have used a smart coke machine … in the sense of the vending machines you could finger to get their inventory.)
I have a JennAir oven/microwave comb in this place with a digital panel that is the bane of my kitchen. Every button press resets the current program, including adjusting the temperature. Tap. Wait. Tap, slide, wait. I just want a dial!
My Cuisinart convection toaster oven, bought refurbished (!) in 2010, is going strong and does all of these things. No need for “touchscreen controls,” which will undoubtedly get quickly destroyed by the heat of the oven.
If you use blenders extensively, then this Vitamix Ascent X5 is fantastic, especially the preset settings (it can even make hot soup). Also, don’t sleep on the “self-cleaning” function, it works infinitely better than the self-cleaning function normally found in your standard ovens.
Things used to be made to last. I still have a fridge purchased in 1995 for an apartment I was moving in to. Smaller than the average bear, but was good enough back then.
Two moves later (another apartment and now my townhome), it’s in my garage as my “spare fridge”. It saved me from losing everything in the upstairs freezer and fridge when I lost 80% of my electricity in a heat wave Labor Day weekend a couple of years ago (I had converted the power for it and a chest freezer to 20 amp, and somehow it remained up and running!). It’s now used to cool down chicken stock, to air dry beef or a whole chicken that won’t fit in my upstairs fridge, and the freezer space contains frozen butter bought on sale, frozen chicken and corn stock, homemade applesauce, meat sauce or chili I’ve made, and Girl Scout Thin Mints, among other things. (If I keep the Thin Mints down there, I won’t scarf them up in just a few days! )
While it might not be as efficient as modern fridge/freezers, it continues to work, so I’ll keep it until it kicks the bucket, or I move into a nursing home.
As kids my parents bought a Sears upright freezer. Not only was it built to last…all the parts were available for replacement. It was repaired 3 times with replacement parts until a year or two after the pandemic when the parts department was closed….almost 60 years.
The Black & Decker toaster oven was the one I had before getting the Cuisinart. I bought it in 1991 and it lasted until 2010. It did finally give out. I do really like the convection function on the Cuisinart, so in the event you ever need a new toaster oven, you might consider it. In all other respects it’s basically the same as the Black & Decker.
I would imagine so. It was not “low-tier tech” at the time. Pretty cool Mechanical Engineering to me.
I believe that Toastmaster patented the first Pop Up Toaster in 1921.
But just to play devil’s advocate a moment: Yes, these toasters make really great toast and have proven very reliable, but there ARE tradeoffs. Got a thick slice or one that’s especially long? Won’t fit. Bagel? Iffy. And the optical ‘doneness’ detector assumes you are using white bread of some sort.
So, even if we limit the utility to JUST toasting and ignore the ‘oven’ aspect, there are still issues solved by the toaster oven.
I’m general adverse to “smart devices” - most simply mimic the buttons/controls any normal cook has mastered. I really don’t need a “smart toaster” to avoid pushing the “Bagel” button . . .
but . . . always one of those . . . got a Shark robotic vacuum ‘flying saucer’ doohickie.
maps the whole house, you assign ‘rooms’ and ‘no go zones’
on demand it cleans one or more rooms, returns to the docking station, empties it’s onboard ‘dirt bucket’
AI, laser guided, with 'bumper pads. interesting to watch it go under (4) chair legs and bump&twist it’s way out . . .
it’s not “perfect” but it does a dang fine job - and punching up a couple buttons on the app is like seriously easier than dragging out the full size machine . . .
DW, who is decided a-tech, , , commented: “Is it me or does it seem like the place is cleaner now?”
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