By DEBORAH G. SCANLON
You’re in the supermarket doing your weekly shopping and can’t remember if you need milk and orange juice. Darn. Oh wait, you can check the app on your iPhone for your Samsung Family Hub fridge touch screen. It will show you a photo of the inside of your refrigerator, up-to-date as of the last time someone closed the fridge door.
It’s an understatement to say that kitchen appliances have changed in the past couple decades. The GE Cafe refrigerator will brew a cup of coffee in the Keurig on its French door, while the Thermador speed oven, which combines microwave, convection and steam, will cook a 14-pound Thanksgiving turkey in 90 minutes.
Naturally, these appliances are going to be priced higher than basic appliances, and you might not feel the need to take a picture of the inside of your fridge, but there are many options for kitchen equipment that include size, placement and price, as well as increased energy efficiency and safety.
“Kitchens are quickly becoming the most popular and used room in the home, and not just for cooking,” said Donna Longval of Crane Appliance on Teaticket Highway. “It’s the heart of a home.”
Bianca Brummerloh, sales associate at Crane, pointed out the induction stove, which uses magnets to heat iron or steel cookware. She said it is very responsive: faster to boil than gas or electricity, and it uses less energy. It cools off very quickly, therefore, it is safer for kids who tend to reach up to touch items on the stove. Another advantage is that you can clean it quickly.
Steam ovens are a popular and healthy trend. They keep the moisture in food when heating or reheating, so it’s not necessary to cook with oil or fat to add moisture. You can cook vegetables, fish, poultry and baked goods in the steam oven, which works by heating moisture that you either add in a container or by a direct plumbing connection.
Refrigerators now are “bigger, taller, deeper, and more energy efficient with better insulation,” she said.
“Convenience, convenience, convenience” is a motivating factor in the appliance industry, said Donna Longval at Crane Appliance. One example are the popular under-counter drawers for refrigeration and freezer. Called Cool Drawers, they change from refrigerator to freezer at the touch of a button. These drawers provide five temperature settings to deliver flexibility—freezer, chill, fridge, pantry and wine modes.
Another option is the WiFi Connect that preheats your oven from afar, sets timers and changes the oven’s temperature. It will also check on your dishwasher, alerting you if there is a problem or telling you how much time is left on the cycle.
Trendy colors for appliances these days are slate, black stainless steel, smudge-proof stainless steel and classic white.
The showroom at Lambco TV and Appliance on Route 28A in Cataumet reflected those color choices in appliances with lots of new technology. There was a refrigerator that dispenses sparking water, and an icemaker on the door of another, popular because it doesn’t take up space inside. Counter-depth refrigerators are an option, and drawer style microwaves are a choice for many because it frees up the space above a range, allowing the homeowner to have an exhaust hood.
Washing machines have increased capacity and water savings, and high efficiency electric dryers have lots of options. (The Whirlpool Accudry sensor control has a specific setting for jeans, which would be very popular with my friends—and me.)
Many homeowners who visit Gail O’Rourke at White Wood Kitchens, a kitchen design and project management business on Route 6A in Sandwich, are going for the smaller fridge. Full size is not that popular with her clients, she said, and multiple refrigerators are common, placed under the counter and in the garage.
The Cape’s aging population likes an accessible height for ovens, she noted. And because of the gas moratorium on the mid and lower Cape—National Grid replaced gas lines and placed a moratorium on new gas hookups—nduction cook tops and double ovens are popular. Microwave/conductive combinations are also the choice of many.
As for colors, Ms. O’Rourke said her older clients who are remodeling their homes are going with color such as aqua and blue-grays, while the younger customers, ages 35 to 50, are buying white or gray.
A disadvantage to these new appliances is that with computerized control panels, they don’t last as long, Ms. Brummerloh said.
I was amused at a recent concert by folk/country singer Lori McKenna when she mentioned buying her third washing machine in 10 years (I can’t remember the tie-in to the song that followed) because my experience has been about the same. Then I read a “Consumer Reports” article from June of this year online that noted “As washers became more complex machines loaded with useful features, they got better at cleaning while using less water. But breakage rates are surprisingly high for some, ranging from an estimated 14 to 29 percent by the fifth year of ownership.”
So simpler may be better, but that fridge with the touch screen that shows you the contents when you’re away sure sounds nice.