Tag Archives: kitchen

Top 5 tableware designs to upgrade your mundane dinner table

Posted on by

At Yanko Design, we believe in constantly innovating, creating, and evolving. It’s a philosophy that serves as a lifeline for us, and one of the results of this lifeline is the YD x KeyShot Inspiration Hub! The Inspiration Hub is our ‘ever-expanding encyclopedia’ of design work for you to participate in, to inspire designers, and to get inspired by. Created in collaboration with KeyShot, the Inspiration Hub is your one-stop space for inspiration where designers like you can submit your impressive designs and be awarded to stand out in the crowd and to inspire other like-minded designers.

To kickstart your journey and send some motivation your way, we’ve curated some of our favorite tableware designs from the Inspiration Hub. These unique tableware designs will motivate you to create something spectacular and submit the design, as a gateway to sharing it with the best of the design world. Additionally, we will also be picking our favorite Design of the Week, Design of the Month, and Design of the Year – every week, month, and year from the submissions on the Inspiration Hub. Keep an eye on our Instagram page and the Inspiration Hub to see if your design gets picked. Fingers crossed!

Click here to Download KeyShot Pro (Use Code ‘KSYANKOHUB’ during installation for full Pro + KeyShotWeb trial) to take your sketch from concept to render!

1. The Oku Knife

Designed by Kathleen Reilly, the Oku Knife was inspired by Japanese table settings and features a unique handle that folds at 90 degrees from its blade. The innovative folded shape of the knife allows the handle to be placed on a surface, with the blade sitting perpendicularly away from that particular surface. You can even rest the knife’s blade along the edge of a cutting board or plate.

2. Joseph Joseph Salad Bowl & Servers Set

Element Studio and Joseph Joseph teamed up to create this minimal salad bowl and servers set. This smart space-saving design allows both products to be integrated into one convenient product, while harmoniously unifying form and functionality. It is quite pleasing to look at and also occupies minimum space on your dinner table and kitchen drawers.

3. Brunetti’s Ceramic Mugs

Designed by Frank Brunetti, these ceramic mugs are truly a beauty to look at! He opted for a full matte monochrome appearance, complemented by a touch of glossiness on the edge. He envisioned the mug in a wide array of vibrant color options, so they look like a wholesome and colorful pack of mugs when placed together. These would truly be a vision of your dinner table.

4. Wasteware

Viennese designer, Barbara Gollackner collaborated with Australian chef and restaurant owner Martin Kilga to create the ‘Wasteware’ collection, a range of tableware made using leftover food! The duo created a collection of bowls, plates, and cutlery using industrial and personal food waste. To bring the interesting tableware items to life, the studio utilized food waste such as pork skin, and old bread – from personal and industrial waste.

5. NEST

Designed by Mirko Romanelli, the NEST is a minimalist black and white salt and pepper shaker that draws inspiration from a bird’s nest. The shaker design was built using marble, providing it with a sophisticated yet sturdy identity. “The nest envelops, houses. and protects the egg inside. The aim is to work with marble through simple and geometric shapes such as the sphere and the toroid, enhancing the material aspect of marble and offering the user a product that gives great flexibility of use,” said Romanelli.

Click here to Download KeyShot Pro (Use Code ‘KSYANKOHUB’ during installation for a full Pro + KeyShotWeb trial) to start creating your own design and submit the design to us to get featured on the Inspiration Hub and the Yanko Design Instagram Page.

The post Top 5 tableware designs to upgrade your mundane dinner table first appeared on Yanko Design.

How to design an ergonomic kitchen

Posted on by

Kitchen ergonomics is the science of designing a comfortable environment that adapts to the user and ensures smooth workflow with the least waste of time and energy. Ergonomics originates from the Greek word ‘ergon,’ which means work, and ‘nomos,’ which means laws. An ergonomic kitchen focuses on people, and it is the science of designing a comfortable environment for stress-free cooking. A kitchen is one of the home’s most functional areas where one needs to multitask and get involved in parallel activities like washing dishes, cooking, fetching ingredients from the refrigerator, operating appliances, and so on. Kitchen ergonomics aims to minimize body movements, enables one to maintain correct posture, and makes everyday cooking effortless so that it does not cause chronic pain or fatigue.

What are the advantages of an ergonomic design?

In recent years, ergonomics has become an essential feature in product design which is vital in determining the comfort of various products like a chair, tables, sofas, scissors, different types of accessories, and so on. In short, ergonomics or work laws are the optimizations of product design so that it works efficiently for human use. Similarly, an ergonomic space saves time and effort and ensures all kitchen activities function smoothly.

Designer: Unique Kitchen

What is an ergonomic kitchen?

These kitchens are designed as per the end user’s height, comfort, and working style. Note that kitchen activities like cooking, cleaning, dining, and entertaining might force us to stretch, and reach out for things, resulting in unnecessary bending and twisting or turning of the body that may result in stress. Hence, an ergonomic kitchen is designed to be easy on the back. It reduces the body movements and fatigue that one might go through while cooking and cleaning up.

Discover the science of some ergonomic principles that can make everyday cooking effortless. Factors like the height of various surfaces, distances, and placement of various items can improve the functionality and efficiency of the space.

Zone the Kitchen

The first step is to divide the kitchen into five zones: the cooking area (hob), washing area (sink), food preparation, and storage of perishable as well as non-perishable items. A good kitchen design understands the workflow of the user. The distance between these areas is considered so that one can shuffle between one activity and the other without crisscrossing or getting in each other’s way. For example, there should be ample space on both sides of the hob so that work people can simultaneously cook together if required.

Designer: Azzurri Kitchens

The Kitchen Triangle

An ergonomic kitchen triangle is a rule of thumb that has been used for decades and is fundamental to a good kitchen design. The three important areas of the kitchen include the refrigerator, the sink, and the hob; one can connect these areas with an imaginary line called the kitchen work triangle. There should be a clear, unimpeded path between these three points, and the distance between each of these areas should be minimized and unobstructed. This allows one to efficiently multitask between each of these areas for cooking, cleaning, and food preparation. Note that the length of each side of the triangle should range between 4 to 9 feet, and the length of all three sides, when added together, should range between 13 to 26 feet.

Designer: Elham Elezzi Design

Designer: British Standard by Plain English

Working height in the kitchen

The user does not have to adapt to the standard height of the countertop as it is tailor-made and customized according to the height of the actual user. The height of the countertop, storage, sinks, and oven head cabinets are customized to make it easy to work without exertion on the back. Also, one should easily access the overhead cabinets, so they should not be very high on the wall. Furthermore, all the utensils should be within the reachable height, and one should be able to operate the appliances easily without straining the back. The optimal working height of the countertop ranges between 85 to 95 cm. To be more specific, the elbow’s height determines the functional countertop’s height. The elbow should form a right angle 10 cm above the countertop when standing. Note that if there are disability and mobility issues, the countertop should be of lower height as per the user’s comfort.

The depth of the overhead kitchen cabinets should be around 38 cm so that one does not bump their head into these cabinets while cooking. Plus, the clearance between the countertop and the overhead cabinets should be at least 60 cm.

Organization

A well-organized kitchen boosts productivity and has everything in the right place. A combination of well-organized cabinets, kitchen tools within hand reach, and cleverly designed pullouts create a clutter-free space. Introduce organizers in differently-sized drawers so that they can be used for storing different objects and creating a neat environment. All the spices, oils, and pans should be near the stove. The liquid soap, dish sponge, and dishcloth should be near the sink. The waste disposal should be near the sink so leftovers from plates can be disposed of.

Designer: Sheerin Bespoke

Make optimum use of the corners of U-shaped or L-shaped cabinets inaccessible with corner modular accessories. Place cooking supplies and edibles in a single layer of drawers and segregate them as per their sizes to be visible in one go. A pullout pantry can ensure efficient storage and should be placed in one countertop corner. Place the plates, glass, cutlery cabinet, and dishwasher near the sink and store them neatly in the place where it is first used. Pullouts should open entirely to get a view of all the contents. Group all electric items, and it is recommended to go for awning-style top-hung cabinets and make them safe to use, considering they have the tendency to hit the head.

Designer: Novex Kitchen

Note: If you are a left-hander or a right-hander, organize the kitchen as per your comfort and how you intend to use it.

Good Lighting

Lighting forms an essential component of an ergonomic kitchen design. There should be ample general lighting where ceiling and pendant lights should be centrally placed. Since the overhead cabinets are projected, they cast shadows on the countertop, and this dark spot makes it difficult to see. Make provision for concentrated lighting above the cooktop so that the surfaces are well-illuminated with LED strip lights. It makes food preparation and cleaning much easier, reduces shadows, and creates a bright countertop. Overhead lighting will provide the necessary ambient lighting. There should be a window in the kitchen that can bring in maximum natural light during the day. Ensure the cabinets do not obstruct the sunlight entering the kitchen.

Designer: Berla Mundi

Flooring

Hard flooring surfaces like tile and marble can take a toll on you. Softer flooring materials like cork and bamboo are accessible on the body, providing enhanced comfort and easing the joints. If the flooring is hard, opt for kitchen mats in front of frequently used areas like the sink and hob to add a little bounce to the step.

Designer: German Kitchens London

Their ergonomic solutions are bound to improve the interaction between men and the entire kitchen. Embrace the science of ergonomics in your kitchen design, as a good organization is an excellent method of minimizing unnecessary body movements while working in the kitchen.

The post How to design an ergonomic kitchen first appeared on Yanko Design.

Top 10 kitchen appliances designed to turn you into a kitchen wiz with ease

Posted on by

If you’re a passionate lover of cooking, or you’ve recently kickstarted your cooking journey, and want to accelerate it even further then you’ve reached the right place. Having an efficient and streamlined cooking process is the key to preparing dishes that simply taste excellent! And the number one aid you need in having an effortless process is an arsenal of great kitchen appliances.  With the right kitchen tools and appliances, cooking can be an increasingly fun and simplified process. The right products can reduce your prep time in half, make the little cooking tasks much easier, and help you with tedious and complicated techniques. From the ‘Tesla of Ovens’ to a multifunctional smart cooker that turns you into a kitchen wiz – these innovative and exceptional appliances are all you need in your kitchen.

1. The COit

Designed for LG, the COit is a robot that can serve as a hub in the kitchen ecosystem. Adequate for use by a novice (who can get cooking guidelines) and professional chefs (who can instantly share their prep), this is more of an autonomous device that brings your focus back from videography to cooking, which is primarily what you set out to do at the first place.

Why is it noteworthy?

Comprising a mountable rail with a circular display surrounded by a camera, projector, light, and a smart grip. All of these modules can move freely and independently on the small rail to cover the entire prep area or away from the fire and vapors.

What we like

  • These modules – that clip onto the rail with built-in magnets – can be customized in orientation, depending on user requirements

What we dislike

  • Food over the globe has such diversity, trying to standardise the recipe as per one instruction set would impact the diversity of that dish

2. Brava

Meet Brava, an oven that harnesses the power of pure light to cook food to perfection. Unlike radiant heat, which heats the entire oven chamber, light can be precisely delivered to specific zones within the oven chamber, allowing you to cook with precise control and no energy wastage.

Why is it noteworthy?

>With three dedicated zones on the cooking tray and lights above and below it to match, Brava can cook three-part meals at three different temperatures at the same time, on the same tray, and in minutes as opposed to hours on a grill or oven

What we like

  • The three light zones help focus the heat into three distinct categories, letting you cook meats and veggies on one tray, but at different temperatures
  • A camera built into the smart oven gives you a literal window into the oven’s interiors, letting you see your lasagna bake and your meat sear in real-time

What we dislike

  • Some people may prefer ovens with transparent displays

3. Porsche Pepper Grinder

Say no to tedious twisting or manual grinding. Enter, Porsche’s pepper grinder to freshly ground peppercorns and season your dishes in an instant!

Why is it noteworthy?

Are you a foodie who appreciates finer things in life and has a taste for uber luxe? This Porsche Pepper Grinder is a perfect kitchen gadget designed for your special interests. Conceived keeping a discerning auto enthusiast in mind, this gear stick-inspired pepper grinder draws timeless Porsche design elements to deliver an unparalleled grinding experience.

What we like

  • The intuitive one-touch operation ensures ease of use, making seasoning your favorite dishes a breeze
  • A standout feature of the Porsche Pepper Grinder is its unique rotor-like grind-level adjustment

What we dislike

  • There is minimal transparent/see through space to judge the quantity of material in the grinder

4. Pronto

Rather aptly named the Pronto, this relatively compact gadget handles every part of the cooking process, from weighing to sautéing, slow-cooking, simmering, reheating, and even air-frying thanks to its modular companion, the Alto.

Why is it noteworthy?

With its small footprint and multipurpose design, the dynamic duo of Pronto and Alto occupy a fraction of the countertop space and let you prep elaborate meals without all the messy dishes and dread-inducing clean-up. Pronto and Alto were designed to take the effort out of cooking, so you can focus on the most important part… eating!

What we like

  • Multipurpose design
  • Make meal prep easier, faster, and smarter

What we dislike

  • There is a learning curve involved in getting used to the design

5. The Affinitea Brewing System

Designed as an elegant tabletop device, the Affinitea Brewing System expertly makes you a fresh cup of luxury loose-leaf tea in just 90 seconds. The Clearview re-usable chamber takes care of every aspect from agitating, pressurizing, and steeping the tea brew, before straining and dispensing it directly into your cup.

Why is it noteworthy?

The patented chamber uses pressure and agitation to handle the steeping cycle perfectly, creating a brew that has fewer tannins (the chemical that creates that bitter aftertaste) while extracting the maximum flavor.

What we like

  • An LCD screen right above the control panel lets you view and confirm your choices
  • Has a subscription service allowing you to try different teas

What we dislike

  • Space-consuming and bulky design, especially in kitchens that are already crowded with appliances

6. Breeze

Breeze, designed for the South Korean coffee brand Dongsuh, drastically changes the appearance of a capsule coffee machine. This comparatively newer breed of coffee makers often have more stylish and less industrial designs, but they still can’t get rid of that shiny metallic luster common to kitchen appliances and tools. In contrast, Breeze applies a refreshing and softer color palette, favoring pastel variants of white, charcoal, and pink to convey a gentler personality.

Why is it noteworthy?

A ridged surface wraps around the base, contrasting with the smoother texture of the head. Another point of contrast is the tall water tank at the back, a transparent container that projects an image of clarity that, when taken together with the more subdued hues of the machine, seems to send a message of calm.

What we like

  • The design includes a more tactile interface to operate the machine, using clearly marked LED-backlit buttons at the top of the head

What we dislike

  • It’s a capsule-based coffee machine but there is no knowledge shared on how to make the process reduce wastage or make it more sustainable

7. Makit’s Portable Microwave

This cordless microwave uses the cordless XTGT system to help you heat your meals and snacks when you’re on the go. It has 40-volt rechargeable batteries and can use up to 500 watts for eight minutes and then 350 watts after that to save energy.

Why is it noteworthy?

When the batteries are fully charged, it will be able to warm up 11 meals or 20 drinks. It also has a USB port so you can also juice up your smartphone or a gadget, but of course, you’ll probably have to choose between your meal or your device. The microwave also comes with a handle and a strap so you can carry it around with you.

What we like

  • If you’re worried about safety, the design has safety measures in place for the user’s convenience
  • It also deactivates when it’s tilted or when the door is opened

What we dislike

  • If you’re warming up frozen meals, it might take up more energy so you’ll be able to reheat fewer meals

8. The SüpKüp

The SüpKüp is a travel mug that is not really a mug in itself but serves more as an alternative to the disposable paper coffee sleeves. It is able to hold the paper cups (medium and large at least) that most coffee shops provide, including the still pretty popular Starbucks.

Why is it noteworthy?

It is made from durable polycarbonate and has a pretty elegant and minimalist design that can still display whatever cup is snugly placed inside. This holder doesn’t need any liquid transfer or constant cleaning that’s why it’s more convenient.

What we like

  • Your hot drink can remain hot for longer, 50% longer, than when you just hold your paper cup
  • Has a double helix screw ejector that lets you eject the cup when you’ve finished just by twisting the rotating base

What we dislike

  • It helps retain your coffee drinkability rather than an alternative to disposable cups, leaving more scope for future sustainable improvements which we hope to see soon

9. Roll

Roll is an attempt to preserve not only the flavors of food but also their presentation. It eschews the traditional square or rectangular shape of food containers in favor of something round.

Why is it noteworthy?

What makes Roll different from bowl food containers (which do exist, of course) is that it wholeheartedly embraces the culture of using the lid or dish cap as a plate. That’s why the cap itself was made to look presentable, using soft and clean tones like ivory, sky blue, and terracotta. The idea is that you set the freshly cooked food on the lid itself and then later just cover it with the glass bowl when it’s time to put it away.

What we like

  • The next time you want to eat the food, you don’t have to rearrange the food again to make it presentable
  • Roll takes the food container concept upside-down, literally, by making it usable, whether as a bowl with a round lid or a plate with a bowl cover

What we dislike

  • Not the most shape-efficient design/shape for storage in a refrigerator

10. The Monolith

Designed by Italian kitchen brand Falmec and designers Studio Ferriani, the Monolith is an extractor hood that can be integrated into the benchtop, and also used as a nifty storage space for utensils.

Why is it noteworthy?

The extractor hood is a part of the Elements Collection and features a 90-centimeter-long suction element. It has also been equipped with differently sized storage units that can be placed and arranged in different custom configurations.

What we like

  • Integrates storage units
  • Sleek clean aesthetics

What we dislike

  • Occupies space in a premium location, the cooking hub. Would be great if there was a stand/alternate method of placing the hood

The post Top 10 kitchen appliances designed to turn you into a kitchen wiz with ease first appeared on Yanko Design.

This might be the most elegant water purifier ever designed

Posted on by

With a classiness one could attribute to Scandinavian or Japanese minimalism, the Luvia water-purifying jug believes in absolute transparency – both literally and metaphorically. Made entirely from glass, the Luvia jug helps you see the water as it’s being purified, and is minimally designed enough to make it worthy of keeping on your tabletop or kitchen counter. While most water purifiers have the appearance of an industrial appliance, the Luvia styles itself as a decor-worthy jug that’s beautiful to look at, with a compact catalytic carbon filter suspended in the center, and a chic bamboo lid that lets you keep the jug covered at most times.

Designer: Jacob Shumaker

Click Here to Buy Now: 89 $180 (51% off). Hurry, only 5/100 left!

The usage of glass serves multiple design and functional purposes. On purely the aesthetic front, the all-glass jar is nothing short of stunning. Made with a one-piece design, the jar has a double-walled construction with two levels – one for the water you pour in, and another for the water that gets purified by the Luvia jar.

The jar’s borosilicate construction gives it crystal clarity while a 3mm cross-section makes the jar virtually shatter-proof and more rugged than most. Finally, the usage of all-glass means that there’s no plastic used anywhere in the Luvia’s design. Not only does that make the jar environmentally friendly (and somewhat recyclable), but it also means there’s no danger of unwanted compounds leaching into your water.

Sustainable Carbon Foam Filter – Independently tested to meet the NSF 42 and NSF 53 standards. It significantly reduces harmful substances such as chlorine, chloramine, PFOA/PFAS, pharmaceuticals, herbicides/pesticides, and trace heavy metals.

Simple Filter Setup – Made using eco-friendly materials and production techniques, their filter requires no additional housing, significantly reducing waste.

The Luvia is what we call in industrial parlance a ‘gravity filter’. Pour water into the top, and gravity forces it to pass through the filter into the vessel at the bottom. Without motors, pumps, or any electrical components, gravity helps purify the water, giving you clear H2O that’s fresh, pure, and odor-free. The water, in Luvia’s case, travels through a catalytic carbon filter that traps harmful substances such as chlorine, chloramine, PFOA/PFAS, pharmaceuticals, herbicides/pesticides, trace heavy metals, and more. Additionally, the filter helps with pH neutralization to give your water its great taste. The filter, like the jug itself, is sustainably made with a zero-waste zero-plastic approach.

The Luvia has a pristine, almost heirloom-like quality to it. Its clear design with the simple bamboo lid makes it a wonderful addition to most tabletops and countertops, while cleverly masking that the Luvia is, in fact, a purifier and not merely a regular jug. The Luvia comes with a two-liter capacity, and costs $104 for early bird backers on Kickstarter, while filter replacements are available as add-ons.

Click Here to Buy Now: 89 $180 (51% off). Hurry, only 5/100 left!

The post This might be the most elegant water purifier ever designed first appeared on Yanko Design.

This portable three-way smoker makes you the Master of the Pit anywhere you go

Posted on by

There are many techniques and tricks these days that try to recreate certain food smells and tastes with minimum fuss, but they can only go so far. The distinct flavor and scent of smoked food, for example, is extremely difficult to emulate without actually smoking the ingredients. Unfortunately, typical smokers are large and cumbersome to use, and they can only be used outdoors. Smoker guns, on the other hand, are too simplistic and sacrifice quality for convenience. Fortunately, the situation isn’t as hopeless as it sounds, and this portable smoker isn’t just easy to use indoors and outdoors, it even supports three styles of smoking to suit your food and your taste.

Designer: KIWAMIYATEI

Click Here to Buy Now: $159 $250 ($91 off). Hurry, less than 72 hours left! Raised over $182,000.

Barbecues and smoked food are some of the more difficult types of dishes to make, mostly because of the inconvenience of where you can do the smoking. Measuring only 24cm x 24cm by 21cm, SMOKER-X tears down those barriers and lets you smoke wherever you want to, even indoors. In fact, this smoker’s body is so compact that it works with any kind of stove top, whether it’s gas, electric, or induction. Whenever you feel the craving for a good smoked dish, you can quickly whip out the SMOKER-X to satisfy your appetite.

Mouth-watering hot bacon.

Hot Smoking – Fire up your wood chips and smoke passes right through to cook your food and infuse it with smoky goodness.

Portability, however, is just one of the tricks up the SMOKER-X’s sleeve. Its versatility lets you smoke any type of food or ingredient using the exact same smoker. Want a traditional hot barbecue? Just place some wood chips inside the main frame, light up a fire underneath, and you’re on your way to a great slab of bacon or steak. The built-in thermometer gives you a precise readout of how hot it is inside.

Perfect cold smoked salmon.

Cold Smoking with Ice – Add ice cubes to the saucer and place it over the wood chips. The smoke cools off as it passes through the ice, infusing your fresh salmon, cheeses and meats with smoky flavor without them heating up or melting.

Smoking more delicate food like salmon, nuts, and cheese? Put ice on the saucer between the wood chips and mesh rack, and you have an instant cold smoker that separates the heat from the smoke.

Wine-infused wings.

Water Smoking with Beer or Wine – The smoke from the wood chips passes through the liquid so that the smoke and beer/wine vapor is absorbed, resulting in juicy spare ribs or chicken infused with flavor.

Cook savory meats by pouring wine into the saucer for water smoking, infusing the food with a special blend of flavors in the process. Whatever the smoking style you want or need, SMOKER-X can handle it without breaking a sweat. Part of the secret is the smoker’s unique design that creates a narrow 6mm pathway for the smoke to pass through the saucer, making it possible to create all types of smoked foods.

Despite its small size, this multi-talented smoker is built to last. Unlike typical smokers that rust over time, SMOKER-X is made from durable and rust-resistant materials, employing three layers of stainless steel 304, aluminum, and stainless steel 404 for good measure. At the same time, the smoker is easy to clean as well and can be safely placed inside dishwashers. They say that productivity is about working smarter rather than harder, and smoking doesn’t get any smarter than this. With a portable yet durable construction and its three-way smoking capability, the SMOKER-X lets you become the barbecue hero of the party anytime, anywhere.

Click Here to Buy Now: $159 $250 ($91 off). Hurry, less than 72 hours left! Raised over $182,000.

The post This portable three-way smoker makes you the Master of the Pit anywhere you go first appeared on Yanko Design.

The ultimate electric pepper grinder for discerning food enthusiasts and Porsche fans

Posted on by

Say no to tedious twisting or manual grinding. Enter, Porsche’s pepper grinder to freshly ground peppercorns and season your dishes in an instant!

Are you a foodie who appreciates finer things in life and has a taste for uber luxe? This Porsche Pepper Grinder is a perfect kitchen gadget designed for your special interests. Conceived keeping a discerning auto enthusiast in mind, this gear stick-inspired pepper grinder draws timeless Porsche design elements to deliver an unparalleled grinding experience.

Designer: Sanjith Kumar R

At the heart of this concept grinder is a powerful electric motor, which can effortlessly grind even the toughest peppercorns with just a press of the power button sitting on the top of the grinder. The intuitive one-touch operation ensures ease of use, making seasoning your favorite dishes a breeze.

A standout feature of the Porsche Pepper Grinder is its unique rotor-like grind level adjustment. Staying true to Porsche’s precision engineering and bespoke tire rim spokes, the grinder can be easily adjusted by simple rotation to customize the coarseness of your pepper that suits your personal taste preferences.

The grind level is indicated by three LED lights – red for fine grind, yellow for medium grind, and green for coarse grind – providing a visual cue for the perfect seasoning every time.

Sanjith’s pepper grinder is provided with a charging dock, adding to its convenience and functionality. The minimalist dock not only serves as a stylish storage solution, it also ensures your pepper grinder is always ready for use whenever you need it. By only placing the grinder on the charging dock, it can be recharged and ready to go for your next culinary adventure.

However, Porsche Pepper Grinder concept is not only about functionality but also about aesthetics. Its iconic Porsche design: sleek lines, premium materials, and attention to detail, makes it a true statement piece in any motorhead’s kitchen. So, are you buckled up to experience the thrill of precision seasoning like never before?

The post The ultimate electric pepper grinder for discerning food enthusiasts and Porsche fans first appeared on Yanko Design.

Flat-packed dish rack has a beautiful but questionable design

Posted on by

Flat-packed furniture and products have become popular these days because of their simplicity and their economy of space. If needed, you can easily disassemble some of these products and move them to another location without taking up too much space in transport. Of course, you won’t be moving a table or chair around that much, but smaller items are free game. Some furniture might even be designed to be portable from the get-go, easily folding or collapsing when it’s time to pack up and go. At first glance, this set of minimalist dish racks seems to be made exactly for that purpose, but its choice of material might make one wonder if it was really designed to hold wet tableware in the first place.

Designer: Ernest Perera

Dish racks are designed not just for holding plates, utensils, or drinkware, though there might be a few that are indeed made for that purpose only. In most cases, however, they’re also meant to help dry this tableware by letting water drip off them. This is the reason why most drying dish racks are made from stainless steel, coated metal, or even plastic, materials that don’t get easily ruined by water or moisture.

The Aurea collection of dryers and racks, however, is noted to be made from “stratify wood,” which might be a translation error for layered wood veneers. Whatever the correct translation might be, the choice of wood remains an odd one. Even with some coating, the wooden surface would still stain and be damaged over time, especially when repeatedly exposed to liquid.

It’s a shame, though, since the Aurea racks are quite visually and mechanically interesting. At first glance, they almost look like cardboard cutouts, except they’re made of wood, of course. That wouldn’t be far from the truth, though, as the pieces do seem to have been cut out in such a fashion to provide insets and gaps for putting plates in, holes for wine bottles, and protrusions for cups. There is also a variety of color options offered, including ones that try to emulate natural wood grains.

The racks also assemble like those wooden model toys, and their construction looks simple enough to assemble and disassemble repeatedly. This makes them ideal for use in outdoor trips or camping, except for the fact that they might not be able to weather the wear and tear of such use cases, not to mention constantly getting wet from holding wet plates and cutlery.

The post Flat-packed dish rack has a beautiful but questionable design first appeared on Yanko Design.

This multifunctional smart cooker turns you into a kitchen wiz with ease

Posted on by

Food is one of the most important needs of humans, and eating can be a very enjoyable experience. Cooking, however, isn’t something a lot of people look forward to because of all the work involved, from preparing to cleaning up. We do have smarter kitchen appliances today, but most of those just take care of the cooking part. There are just so many things to juggle, from weighing containers to different processes to multiple cooking appliances for each one. It can be a veritable mess on your kitchen countertop, which can take the joy out of cooking delicious, healthy meals. What if you can reduce all those to just one or two, especially ones that can be smarter and safer than any other in the market? That’s what the dynamic duo of CookingPal Pronto and Alto bring to your table, or rather your kitchen, to make preparing and cooking easy as pie.

Designers: Lars Junker & Mark Fung

Click Here to Buy Now: $259 $398 (35% off). Hurry, less than 48 hours left!

There is no shortage of pressure cookers in the market these days, some of them boasting a few Internet-connected, mobile-controlled smarts. Pronto, however, easily stands above the rest, and not just because it can Slow Cook, Pressure Cook, Sauté, Steam, Ferment, Keep Warm, or even Sterilize. It also has a built-in kitchen scale, so you don’t have to use separate containers just to weigh ingredients. That’s eight functions in one, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

A Smarter Way to Pressure Cook – Cook smarter with Pronto’s color screen and their clean & intuitive mobile app.

Precise and Smart Built-in Scale – Save time and reduce dirty dishes with Pronto’s smart built-in scale. Leave the slow mechanical kitchen scales in the past.

Automatic Pressure Release – Enjoy Pronto’s gentle automatic pressure release system with safety sensors and steam diffuser cap for maximum peace of mind.

Pronto isn’t just designed for convenience; it’s also designed for your safety. A hands-free pressure release makes short work of one of the scariest parts of pressure cooking, while heat-resistant easy-grip bowl handles bid farewell to burned fingers. In the same spirit of saving space, the hinged lid makes sure you have one less thing to keep track of and one less thing to take up space on your countertop. Plus, it has a built-in drip tray, so you don’t have to worry about the mess from the accumulated water, either.

Clutter-free Lid – Pronto’s hinged lid stays put as soon as you open it, and let the drip tray catch all the water.

Replace Multiple Appliances – Replace multiple appliances with Pronto and Alto’s combined 8-in-one multifunctionality for a cleaner, tidier kitchen.

One of the most popular trends for healthy cooking lately is an air fryer, and Alto brings that function to your kitchen without taking up additional space. It functions as a lid that can sit on top of most 6QT pressure cookers, such as the Cooking Pal Pronto, for example, removing the need to make room for yet another bulky cooking appliance. Alto can Air-Fry, Roast, Bake, and even Grill, with less unhealthy oil and consuming less power than a conventional air fryer.

Of course, both Pronto and Alto are smart appliances, but not just because they can be remotely controlled with a smartphone. The intuitive mobile app is a portal to all your cooking needs, from step-by-step recipes, nutritional information, and even free cooking classes with an in-house chef. And it doesn’t stop there, either, with more features coming, including a shopping list manager and user-generated recipes. It is your literal cooking pal for tastier and healthier dishes all year round. And for a Trailblazer promo price of $259 only, the unbeatable tag team of the CookingPal Pronto and Alto will bring not only convenience and safety but also fun to your kitchen life.

Click Here to Buy Now: $259 $398 (35% off). Hurry, less than 48 hours left!

The post This multifunctional smart cooker turns you into a kitchen wiz with ease first appeared on Yanko Design.

This LG kitchen hub makes preparing and recording culinary videos effortless for food bloggers

Posted on by

Making cooking videos to post on your Instagram handle can be a fun and engaging way to share your culinary skills with others. Incorporating modern-day gadgets in the process can make your content more interesting and relevant to today’s audience: the Gen Z.

While cameras and lighting have come of age for the good of home cooks leveraging their social footprints for personal recognition; they require human intervention to record, create, and share. This creates a void to be filled by a comprehensive device, which would leave you nothing to do but ‘cook.’ Enter, the LG COit, a kitchen hub, worthy of your needs.

Designer: Jiun Park and Seohee Lee

Designed for LG, the COit is a robot that can serve as a hub in the kitchen ecosystem. Adequate for use by a novice (who can get cooking guidelines) and professional chefs (who can instantly share their prep), this is more of an autonomous device that brings your focus back from videography to cooking, which is primarily what you set out to do at the first place.

Comprising a mountable rail with a circular display surrounded by a camera, projector, light and a smart grip. All of these modules can move freely and independent on the small rail to cover the entire prep area or away from the fire and vapors. These modules – that clip onto the rail with built-in magnets – can be customized in orientation, depending on user requirements.

When put to use, the camera with a depth sensor can recognize items and intimate in real-time about the correct quantity for the dish. The smart gripper can mark out where to dice or chop, and the display can recognize hand gestures to flip between cooking instructions, or upload a created culinary video for the social media followers to appreciate.

The post This LG kitchen hub makes preparing and recording culinary videos effortless for food bloggers first appeared on Yanko Design.

Top 10 kitchen appliances designed for quick, easy and efficient meal prep

Posted on by

If you’re a passionate lover of cooking, or you’ve recently kickstarted your cooking journey, and want to accelerate it even further in 2023, then you’ve reached the right place. Having an efficient and streamlined cooking process is the key to preparing dishes that simply taste excellent! And the number one aid you need in having an effortless process is an arsenal of great kitchen appliances.  With the right kitchen tools and appliances, cooking can be an increasingly fun and simplified process. The right products can reduce your prep time in half, make the little cooking tasks much easier, and help you with tedious and complicated techniques. From ‘The Tesla of Ovens’ to a compact induction cooker that fits every conceivable cooking method in its modular stackable design – these innovative and exceptional appliances are all you need in your kitchen.

1. Brava

Meet Brava, an oven that harnesses the power of pure light to cook food to perfection. Unlike radiant heat, which heats the entire oven chamber, light can be precisely delivered to specific zones within the oven chamber, allowing you to cook with precise control and no energy wastage.

Why is it noteworthy?

With three dedicated zones on the cooking tray, and lights above and below it to match, Brava can cook three-part meals at three different temperatures at the same time, on the same tray, and in minutes as opposed to hours on a grill or oven

What we like

  • The three light zones help focus the heat into three distinct categories, letting you cook meats and veggies on one tray, but at different temperatures
  • A camera built into the smart oven gives you a literal window into the oven’s interiors, letting you see your lasagna bake and your meat sear in real-time

What we dislike

  • Some people may prefer ovens with transparent displays

2. The BlendQuik

Designed to be used on the kitchen countertop as well as on a mountaintop, the BlendQuik is the world’s first mason jar-style portable blender that can do everything from making smoothies at home and protein shakes at the gym to churning up quick guacamole at a picnic or even a frappe in your car.

Why is it noteworthy?

The BlendQuik is a nifty blender with a vessel big enough to hold your daily smoothie, and a 10-blade design powerful enough to cut right through dense ingredients like carrots, nuts, ice cubes, etc. The blender’s motor and blades are built right into its leak-proof cap. Chuck your ingredients into the mason jar, lock the cap in place, and hit the power button before flipping it over.

What we like

  • Makes everything from shakes to dips, cocktails, slushies, batters, emulsions, purees, and everything else you’d otherwise need a large blender for
  • Features a portable design, so it’s  not restricted to the kitchen

What we dislike

  • We don’t know how durable it is, so it could get damaged when you travel

3. Pronto

Rather aptly named the Pronto, this relatively compact gadget handles every part of the cooking process, from weighing to sautéing, slow-cooking, simmering, reheating, and even air-frying thanks to its modular companion, the Alto.

Why is it noteworthy?

With its small footprint and multipurpose design, the dynamic duo of Pronto and Alto occupy a fraction of the countertop space and let you prep elaborate meals without all the messy dishes and dread-inducing clean-up. Pronto and Alto were designed to take the effort out of cooking, so you can focus on the most important part… eating!

What we like

  • Multipurpose design
  • Make meal prep easier, faster, and smarter

What we dislike

  • There is a learning curve involved in getting used to the design

4. The Affinitea Brewing System

Designed as an elegant tabletop device, the Affinitea Brewing System expertly makes you a fresh cup of luxury loose-leaf tea in just 90 seconds. The Clearview re-usable chamber takes care of every aspect from agitating, pressurizing, and steeping the tea brew, before straining and dispensing it directly into your cup.

Why is it noteworthy?

The patented chamber uses pressure and agitation to handle the steeping cycle perfectly, creating a brew that has fewer tannins (the chemical that creates that bitter aftertaste) while extracting the maximum flavour.

What we like

  • An LCD screen right above the control panel lets you view and confirm your choices
  • Has a subscription service allowing you to try different teas

What we dislike

  • Space-consuming and bulky design

5. Makit’s Portable Microwave

This cordless microwave uses the cordless XTGT system to help you heat your meals and snacks when you’re on the go. It has 40-volt rechargeable batteries and can use up to 500 watts for eight minutes and then 350 watts after that to save energy.

Why is it noteworthy?

When the batteries are fully charged, it will be able to warm up 11 meals or 20 drinks. It also has a USB port so you can also juice up your smartphone or a gadget, but of course, you’ll probably have to choose between your meal or your device. The microwave also comes with a handle and a strap so you can carry it around with you.

What we like

  • If you’re worried about safety, the design has safety measures in place for user’s convenience
  • It also deactivates when it’s tilted or when the door is opened

What we dislike

  • If you’re warming up frozen meals, it might take up more energy so you’ll be able to reheat fewer meals

6. The Slide Toaster

The toasting process begins in the Slide toaster with an LED ring indicating the toasting level and completion. The slide-up tray has a translucent design element to it so that you can keep an eye on the toast turning perfectly brown to your delight Level of the toast crispness can be set with an adjustment dial like all other toasters we’ve seen countless times. This is ably aided by audio indications to keep the user well-informed.

Why is it noteworthy?

Harry Rigler wants to reinvent the trusted image of the toaster with a detour to the soft form design of this household kitchen appliance. That too keeps in mind the requirements of modern users, and the present as well as future design progression of kitchen interiors. Rather than being a pop-up toaster like most out there, this is the Slide toaster which rolls the toasting grill to the side like a rollable smartphone. The tray slides out – you put in the bread and slide it back in.

What we like

  • Audio indications to update the user on their toast
  • Unique slide-out tray

What we dislike

  • The radically changed design may not be easily accepted in households

7. The CookMate

Designed for this new, ‘smaller than life’ home, the Cookmate is an all-in-one kitchen appliance that goes from prep to cooking to serving, in one device. Its modular design has stackable pieces that turn the cooktop into a pan, crock pot, and even a steamer. The induction coil on the inside works on electricity, saving the need to place a gas cylinder under the hob.

Why is it noteworthy?

The Cookmate looks at the cooking process as something that goes from idea to ingredient to table. Rather than focusing on just the cooking, this induction cooktop (although it seems highly reductive to call it just that) considers every aspect of the cooking process. This isn’t just clever, holistic design thinking, it also helps the Cookmate be more universally applicable so you save effort, energy, and space with other utensils.

What we like

  • Features an integrated weighing scale
  • Can be split into 6 parts

What we dislike

  • As we can either use one at a time or them all together, the cooking time has to be finely balanced for each layer

8. The SüpKüp

The SüpKüp is a travel mug that is not really a mug in itself but serves more as an alternative to the disposable paper coffee sleeves. It is able to hold the paper cups (medium and large at least) that most coffee shops provide, including the still pretty popular Starbucks.

Why is it noteworthy?

It is made from durable polycarbonate and has a pretty elegant and minimalist design that can still display whatever cup is snugly placed inside. This holder doesn’t need any liquid transfer or constant cleaning that’s why it’s more convenient.

What we like

  • Your hot drink can remain hot for longer, 50% longer, than when you just hold your paper cup
  • Has a double helix screw ejector that lets you eject the cup when you’ve finished just by twisting the rotating base

What we dislike

  • It helps retain your coffee drinkability rather than an alternative to disposable cups, leaving scope for future plastic-free design

9. The 4T7 Smart Chopping Board

The 4T7 Smart Chopping Board is meant to help simplify every stage of meal prep and go beyond it as well. Made up of different parts, all the components of the chopping board come together to create a rather innovative, united, and creative product.

Why is it noteworthy?

The 4T7 breaks meal prep into its different components, adding good design and tech wherever necessary. The board comes with 4 distinct parts, a main bamboo chopping board, a secondary silver-ion anti-bacterial board for veggies to prevent cross-contamination, a third heat-conducting defrosting tray that helps rapidly thaw frozen foods, and lastly, the 4T7’s base, which has its own built-in weighing scale. The only part of the 4T7 experience to exist outside the actual board is its smartphone app, which counts calories as you weigh your ingredients. Once your prep work is done, the digital display on the 4T7 can also function as a kitchen timer, while the board itself becomes a magnetic knife holder.

What we like

  • All of 4T7’s components are designed to be wonderfully functional as independent items
  • The board works equally well for fruits/veggies as well as for meats

What we dislike

  • It precisely counts calories for you, which isn’t always the best route to healthy eating, since many users can get unhealthily hooked on counting calories

10. Roll

Roll is an attempt to preserve not only the flavors of food but also their presentation. It eschews the traditional square or rectangular shape of food containers in favor of something round.

Why is it noteworthy?

What makes Roll different from bowl food containers (which do exist, of course) is that it wholeheartedly embraces the culture of using the lid or dish cap as a plate. That’s why the cap itself was made to look presentable, using soft and clean tones like ivory, sky blue, and terracotta. The idea is that you set the freshly cooked food on the lid itself and then later just cover it with the glass bowl when it’s time to put it away.

What we like

  • The next time you want to eat the food, you don’t have to rearrange the food again to make it presentable
  • Roll takes the food container concept upside-down, literally, by making it usable, whether as a bowl with a round lid or a plate with a bowl cover

What we dislike

  • Not the most shape-efficient design/shape for storage in a refridgerator

The post Top 10 kitchen appliances designed for quick, easy and efficient meal prep first appeared on Yanko Design.