Crave

(Credit: KitchAnn Style)

Going "green" is a huge movement, with companies around the world releasing products that have less and less of an environmental impact--or, at least, that's what they want us to believe. As consumers' interest in eco-friendly products gets higher, so does the temptation to embellish a product's green credentials.

According to The Mainichi Daily News, Hitachi Appliances, a subsidiary of Hitachi and currently Japan's biggest refrigerator maker, seems to be the first company to have fallen for the temptation to claim a product is green when it isn't.

Of nine refrigerator models the company released between September and November of last year, including the "Eiyo Ikiiki Shinku Chirudo V" and the "Big & Slim 60", six are not eco-friendly at all and the other three are far from the level of eco-friendliness the company advertised them to be.

(Credit: Yanko Design)

Whatever designer NoJae Park was thinking, he may just have hit the jackpot with this portable kitchen for cubicle rats permanently tethered to their PCs, thanks to deadlines. How many times have we wished we could pack a mini microwave/fridge/pantry right on our desk?

Park's appliance packs the four essentials of a kitchen: a stainless plate for warming meals; an electric stove; a dish drawer; and a mini-fridge. The design cleverly works on energy-saving power and safety features to avoid accidents. Now all that remains is for Electrolux--which organized the contest--to buy into Park's idea, get this into production pronto, and retail it at an affordable price. There'll be no shortage of takers from CNET Asia.

(Via Crave Asia)

Pity the poor toaster. Like a single person surrounded by married couples, it seems destined to be fixed up again and again, with the promise that this coupling will be the match that lasts.

The latest pairing to come to my attention: a Breakfast Set from Team Appliances, which combines a two-slot toaster with a five-cup drip coffee maker. All the expected features are here, from a removable crumb tray and adjustable darkness settings on the toaster to a reusable filter and automatic shut off on the coffee maker. What's missing? A timer to start your coffee brewing before you wake up in the morning. But it's a forgivable omission, given the product's space-saving design (hello, dorm room) and $50 price tag.

If you're not a coffee drinker, fret not: there's a toaster combo appliance for you, too. We've already seen a combination toaster and teakettle from Breville. I've long been a fan of the toaster and egg poacher that a friend acquired several years ago; it lets you prep all the ingredients for a breakfast sandwich at once. (Tefal makes a similar product.) LG makes a $140 microwave oven and toaster combo that's available in black, white, or stainless steel finishes. (So does Daewoo.)

Each of these pairings seems like such a good fit, I have to wonder if the humble stand-alone toaster is an endangered species. Tell me: would you go for any of these hybrids? Or is there any other appliance you'd like to see fixed up with the toaster?

Every Sunday, before I go grocery shopping, I gather my family around the table and ask, "What do you want for dinner this week?" And every Sunday, right after I ask, everyone is suddenly extremely busy counting the tiles in the kitchen backsplash. Which is why I often find myself staring at that same backsplash come 5 p.m., wondering what the heck to feed my brood tonight.

If only my oven could tell me what to make!

The oven's so bright you might have to wear shades.

(Credit: LG)

That's what one of the latest kitchen offerings from LG attempts to do. The new single and double built-in wall ovens (available in October) come complete with a recipe bank preloaded with 100 gourmet recipes across 10 food categories. For about half of those recipes, selecting the recipe automatically sets the oven to the proper cooking cycle.

With the extra-large capacity of 4.7 cubic feet of interior space, you shouldn't have any trouble fitting all your dishes inside. And the oven uses a convection system to preheat faster and distribute heat more evenly, so even if you do put several pans and casseroles inside, everything should come out perfectly cooked.

Controls are accessed via a 7-inch touch screen, and the stainless steel exterior showcases the brilliant blue interior perfectly. You get a sleek look with a splash of unexpected color.

Of course, perfection has its price. The single oven is set to retail at $2,199, and the double oven will set you back $3,399. That's about twice what you'd pay for a more ordinary double wall oven--but then you'd have to figure out what to cook all by yourself.

I have four small kids, so when we plan a large dinner with friends, I do as much cooking as possible ahead of time. But I also live in Houston, so running the oven at 170 degrees to keep the food warm until we sit down to eat doesn't exactly thrill me. I've tried microwaving cooked food, but it delays the start of the meal, because each item has to be placed inside and heated. When I cram in several dishes at once, the turntable sputters, and I end up with spills all over everything.

The LG's look is sleek, but you'll have to get used to the keypad placement.

(Credit: LG)

LG's new over-the-range microwave provides a unique solution--it incorporates a warming lamp using radiant heat---not a bulb or microwaves--that can be set to one of four predetermined temperatures for up to 90 minutes. And it has a roomy 2 cubic foot interior that lets you place large casseroles up to 15 inches long on the sliding tray while the turntable underneath holds dishes up to 12 inches long. So you can serve dinner without breaking a sweat.

Of course, you can use the microwave in a more ordinary fashion as well. An extra-wide viewing window lets you keep a close eye on the food while it cooks. And the machine uses humidity-sensing technology to determine when food is cooked and automatically turn off. No more rubbery reheated chicken!

The keypad runs along the bottom edge of the microwave, which keeps controls at eye level, but also puts them within reach of my very tall four-year-old---not exactly a plus for me, but maybe your children are better behaved (or shorter).

The new LG comes in white, black, and stainless to match any kitchen decor, and retails for $459 to $529 depending on the finish you choose.

(Credit: Noah Balmer)

Forget space, it seems as if the kitchen is the final frontier for computing. Companies have tried for years to create a computer that offers the right mix of design, functionality, and price so that people feel comfortable incorporating it into the household hub. (See also 3Com's Audrey, or even our recent post on Pandigital's kitchen TV.) As our Webware colleagues tend to roll their eyes at "yet another social network," so we kitchen geeks often scoff at yet another kitchen computer.

But even a jaded geek like me has to admit: the Kitchen Sync concept that recently received an International Housewares Association design award looks pretty darn cool. The device combines the best of finding recipes on the Web (collaboration, annotation, and search) with the best of physical cookbooks (portability and durability around liquids). You can use it to store and instantly annotate recipes you've found online, as well as plan menus and generate shopping lists. You can take it into the kitchen with you as you cook and use it to watch cooking videos or chat with other cooks via the Web. When it's not in use, the Kitchen Sync sits in its base charger, which is stored out of the way of kitchen spills.

What I like about this idea is that it is just a waterproof wireless peripheral--there are no moving parts, and the device doesn't try to be anything more than a durable, flexible thin client. What I don't like about this idea is that it's just an idea; the pessimist in me fears that actual execution of the concept would require high-cost or bulky materials that would detract from the device's simple usability. Nevertheless, the concept acts as a clear beacon of where kitchen computing should be going.

Via The Kitchn

NatureMill's automated composter can fit in a regular kitchen cabinet.

(Credit: NatureMill)

The quest to make kitchens around the country more eco-friendly just got a little easier. NatureMill, a San Francisco-based company founded by an MIT grad in 2004, is adding to its lineup of indoor automatic composters.

NatureMill's composters speed up the process of composting by heating, mixing, and aerating the waste that gets put into it. After two weeks, fresh food waste can be turned into nutrient-rich fertilizer for the garden, according to the company. They're small enough to fit into a regular kitchen cabinet (20 inches long by 12 inches wide by 20 inches high), and to reduce the stink, air is forced through a carbon filter when it gets sucked in to oxygenate the waste.

The regular "Plus" model will run you $299 and can process up to 120 pounds of waste per month. And although it's small enough that it could probably fit in a smaller apartment kitchen, it's only useful if you've got a yard in which to use the compost you make. One batch of compost is good for 10 - 40 square feet, according to the company, so you'll need to have a big enough yard to accommodate a fair amount of fertilizer. For people considering setting up a more traditional compost bin, though, the NatureMill system can be kept inside the house to reduce the need to take out kitchen waste so often; used outside, it works faster than passive composting and doesn't require the same kind of attention to acidity, temperature, and aeration that so-called managed composting does. And the company says the composters will hold up in the rain and snow.

Don't look so guilty, little one. One pup's trash is another man's tulips.

(Credit: NatureMill)

NatureMill also makes a professional version that's intended for heavier use. It comes with a foot pedal for hands-free operation, has components made of stainless steel, and can be switched into vacation mode for times when the kitchen is closed. There's even a version for pet owners, which can accept pet and kitchen waste. The pet-friendly composter has its limits though; NatureMill does not recommend it for use with horses or other large animals. Both of those models go for $399.

For those wondering about the trade-off in power usage, the company says it consumes less energy than a standard night-light and costs about 50 cents per month to run.

Clothes dryers are the second biggest hog of household energy, according to the Department of Energy. Most are so similar in terms of power hunger that the Energy Star label of efficient appliances doesn't even mark dryers.

By this fall, however, consumers could enjoy faster, greener, and safer clothes dryers that draw half the power of conventional models, according to Hydromatic Technologies Corporation.

With the Dryer Miser installed, the dryer on the right demands less energy.

(Credit: Hydromatic Technologies Corporation)

Its Dryer Miser technology would dry garments 41 percent more quickly without shrinking as much or stinking them up with the odor of burnt lint, said Michael Brown, the inventor and company president.

He plans to sell the Dryer Miser in the fall as a $300 retrofit kit that he says could be added to existing dryers in 20 minutes by a technician. Up to 40 percent of dryers from Whirlpool, the top brand in the market, as well as others, could be converted.

The company is also working with a large European appliance manufacturer to integrate the technology into a scratch-built dryer model.

The Dryer Miser is installed on the dryer to the left.

(Credit: Hydromatic Technologies Corporation)

Liquid is the key ingredient to drying clothes more quickly, according to Brown.

"We used NASA and MIT engineers to prove the technology is an oxymoron and (that) I'm not a moron," said Brown.

His copper and aluminum system heats a fluid, which mixes with air that is then blown hot into the clothing drum. Each unit would use about three cups of a nontoxic, hydrocarbon-based oil. Unlike natural gas dryers, no carbon dioxide would be produced.

Nor would the noncombustible system, which could be plugged into 110-volt outlets, create a fire hazard, Brown said. Conventional dryers may reach 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit in order to raise the tumbler temperature up to 155 degrees. They are blamed for 15,000 household fires counted each year by the Consumer Safety Product Commission.

The Dryer Miser also would be more effective than relatively efficient heat pump or condensing dryers in Europe and Asia, according to Brown. In those markets, dryers are about half the size as those in the United States.

Brown, a heating and air conditioning technician, invented the device in 2004 in his garage in Kissimmee, Fla. He got the idea from working with boilers. So far he says he has raised $3 million privately and has turned down offers of up to $100 million from venture capitalists.

He hopes his work will lead to the first Energy Star-rated clothes dryers. To that end, Brown plans to submit a rule-making request to the Department of Energy. Energy Star recently raised its energy efficiency requirements for clothes washers.

Brown is also working on an off-grid, solar-powered dryer that would draw power in the daytime from rooftop photovoltaic panels.

The Dryer Miser kit is being demonstrated this week at the International Builders' Show in Orlando. A state utility there has expressed interest in offering rebates for customers who use the system.

Utilities elsewhere are exploring smart meters and networking tools to help people conserve energy. CenterPoint Energy in Texas, for one, is testing a Zigbee networking module that would turn off dryers during peak load times.

Refrigerators and dryers are the hungriest of all household appliances, which make up one-fifth of energy consumption, according to the government's Energy Information Administration. A washer and dryer are found in 9 of 10 single-family American homes.

On a related note, a movement is afoot among green-leaning consumers who are ditching dryers in favor of the clothesline. Members of Project Laundry List assemble online to fight for the right to dry clothes outside without the interference of local NIMBY laws.

Sometimes watching sci-fi shows can be depressing. On the one hand, the imagination blossoms with all the possibilities the future holds. On the other hand, everything you see? You can't have it. Because you know what? You don't live in the future. Sorry. No gagh for you.

So it's with mixed feelings that I point you, dear readers, over to io9, who has put together a list of the best sci-fi kitchen gadgets. The list of neat things you can't have includes such wonders as the knife that toasts your bread while it cuts, and the Star Trek replicator, which pretty much conjures up whatever you want whenever you want it.

Eat your heart out. And try not to think about the fact that, here in the real world, we can't even get a freakin' Internet fridge worth buying.