Google Max Hub
When you think about tech for the kitchen, you might consider things like smart large and small appliances. You don’t often think about smart speakers. But these handy devices are just as welcome in the kitchen as in the living room, bedroom, and home office.
Sonos Era 100
The most obvious reason is to play music while you cook or clean. An apron, glass of wine, and a favourite playlist while cooking or baking makes the task less of a chore and more of a fun activity. But there are many other ways you can leverage a smart speaker beyond music.
Measurement Conversions
You might be in the middle of measuring ingredients for a complex set of French macarons and realize the recipe you’re using measures by grams and not ounces. A quick voice command will help you make the conversion so you don’t need to wash up and Google it on your phone, wasting precious time and breaking your baking flow.
Cooking and Baking Advice
You can also ask for answers to other queries as well, like the rule of thumb for cooking a turkey in the oven (ideal to ask by voice while you are wrist deep in stuffing mix), or how many minutes it takes for potatoes to fully cook in the Instant Pot. If you’re in the middle of cooking or baking and realize you’re out of a specific ingredient, a quick ask of the assistant for common substitutes means you can keep going without missing a beat.
Smart displays add another level of assistance, allowing you to follow along with cooking videos. Call up visual detailed instructions on how to properly chop an onion or French a rack of lamb as well.
Setting Timers
Some stoves have multiple timers, but even that’s not enough, especially if you have multiple dishes going at once, like steak searing in a cast iron pan on one burner, gravy boiling on the other, and dessert baking in the oven. You can use the timer on a smartwatch or phone as well, but that requires getting your grubby fingers on them.
(Though some do work with voice assistants, too).
With a smart speaker, you can set multiple timers to go off with a reminder and chime for each one. And all it requires is a simple set of voice commands.
Taking Calls
Amazon Echo Dot 3rd generation
It seems like your spouse, kids, parents, or colleagues always call at the worst times, right when you’re elbow deep in dough or ground beef mixture and have to wash up just to answer. Rather than go through this process or try to talk and listen through the phone’s built-in speaker, pair your phone with a smart speaker and answer the call from there, using it as a speakerphone. You’ll get better audio and still be able to answer hands-free.
Amazon Echo Dot 5th generation
Up the ante with a smart display to accept (and make) video calls, too. With a model like the Amazon Echo Show 10, the display twists and turns to move with you. You stay in the frame, even as you move from the oven to the sink to the kitchen island while baking and prepping a fresh batch of cookies or muffins.
A Smart Speaker is a High-Tech Kitchen Tool
Add a smart speaker to your kitchen and you’ll end up using it every day. Whether it’s to play upbeat music or smooth jazz, call your partner to find out when they’ll be home for dinner, listen to the news headphones, get cooking tips, set timers, and more, they’re versatile kitchen assistants.
A smart display functions the same way though it’s usually bigger and adds the benefit of a screen as well. Call up a Martha Stewart, Gordon Ramsay, or Julia Child instructional cooking video and follow along, chat with friends and family, or even watch the local news while you cook.
Bose Smart Speaker
Smart speakers come built in with voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant. They’re available from plenty of third-party brands, not just Amazon and Google. These include ones like Bose, Sonos, Harmon Kardon, Samsung, LG, and others, each with their own unique design, audio capabilities, and special features.
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