The kitchen is often dubbed the 'heart of the home' — it's a place of connection, nourishment, conversation and sure, sometimes a little chaos.
That's why in the last few years, technology has taken off to help streamline these spaces and make the lives of New Zealand families easier. Viewers of The Block NZ this week would have seen that all four teams opted to stock their new kitchen and dining areas with state-of-the-art appliances from Samsung's Family Hub range, guaranteed to appeal to their future buyers.
But how can recent advancements in appliance technology actually help our lives? Surely the fridge we use can't help elevate a recipe, or help us spend more time with sullen teens? Surely good cooking is all down to a foodie's intuition?
Not according to Samsung's Head of Retail in Consumer Electronics Angus Macmillan, who told Newshub they've seen a huge trend towards Samsung smart appliances that are turning the heart of the home into the brain, as well.
"The emergence of the new wi-fi oven from Samsung has been a real game changer," says Macmillan. "The oven will connect with your phone via the SmartThings app, which allows you to adjust temperatures and be notified once your oven has reached its pre-set temperature."
Macmillan says a huge drawcard is the Dual Cook functionality, which allows users to cook two very different meals in one oven at different temperatures and with different cooking modes at once.
"[And] the split door allows you to check on the top half of the oven without affecting the temperature of the bottom half at all, perfect for when cooking a temperature-sensitive cake or soufflé!"
But the biggest drawcard for many families — as it was for our Block NZ teams this week — will be the Family Hub French Door Fridge, which holds a whopping 640L and is the model Macmillan recommends to all families looking to store and manage food with ease.
"The French Door category has really emerged in the past few years overtaking the traditional side-by-side category — these fridges are perfect for families, allowing a whole heap more to be stored in them and reducing trips to the supermarket!" he said.
If you're a fan of entertaining, you'll be able to store large plates and platters in the wide open shelves, he says. Like to prep the kids' lunches? Some models have the ability to change the bottom right freezer compartment from fridge to freezer allowing you to customise the space as the situation requires. Holding Christmas at your house? Use the extra fridge space for drinks.
And instead of occasionally spotting your children's torso sticking out of the fridge as they peruse for snacks, Macmillan says the Family Hub is designed to bring the whole family together.
"Whether that be through sharing communal shopping lists or messages, displaying family photos, listening to Spotify together or just keeping in touch with what is on your Samsung Smart TV through screen mirroring," he explained.
We've picked some of our favourite ways these smart appliances turn the kitchen into the brain of the home:
Keep in touch
Between ballet recitals, sports practice, after-school study sessions and late-night meetings — keeping track of family schedules can be chaotic at the best of times. But using the fridge's Calendar app, you can share and check the schedules of family members easily at a glance and sync it to your phone. You can also easily make hands-free phone calls if plans spontaneously change while you're elbow-deep in cooking dinner — as well as keep an eye on a baby monitor in the other room.
Improve your food game
We've all suffered the pain of our phone going to sleep while we're right at the crux of a recipe, or trying to scroll on our laptops while covered in sauce. But now you can have your favourite recipes at eye level, with both hands left free to knead, saute and mix. Want to go even smarter? Connect it to the very oven Macmillan mentioned, choose your favourite recipe and the fridge will set the oven to the right settings. Oh, and you can view the contents of your fridge from anywhere using your phone — so no more trying to rack your brains over whether you bought mayonnaise last supermarket trip (you probably did).
Let loose a little
For many of us, the kitchen is a time for de-stress and enjoyment. If you love to listen to your favourite podcast while cooking or have a special cooking playlist, tuning in to tune out just got easier. The Family Hub french Door fridge gives you access to all your favourite TV shows and tunes right from the kitchen, so you can shut off the rest of the world and just escape into your own little world. No more missing The Block NZ because it's school lunch prep time — it's playing right in front of you.
This article was created for Samsung Electronics.
