Smart counter tops and singing fridges: Meet the kitchen of the future

There’s a new reason for foodies of the future to get excited about home cooking. It involves smart counter tops and singing appliances.

Whirlpool showed off its kitchen of 2020 at the 2014 International Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Included is an interactive cooktop that will allow you to do anything from find recipes on Pinterest to post pictures of your food on Facebook.

And if you feel inclined to make that recipe for macaroni and cheese you just looked up on your touch screen counter, with the touch of a finger you can turn the counter into a stovetop and start cooking. Or turn on a burner just by talking to it (it has voice recognition).

“Fluid interaction, just-in-time feedback and intuitive cooking technology will enable flexible and efficient use of the appliance,” said Jason Tippetts, Whirpool brand studio design manager of global consumer design in a Q&A. “It provides information you need to make dinner intentions into dinner plans, lets you engage with friends and loved ones while cooking safely, and brings a sense of surprise and delight to the kitchen through approachable, cutting edge and intuitive design.”

None of these cool kitchen gadgets actually exists yet, but Whirlpool is presenting them as possibilities for the future.

The company is getting closer to its ideal smart kitchen with its new Bluetooth-enabled refrigerators, for those who like a kitchen soundtrack. The appliances can stream music from any Bluetooth-enabled device and come with a CoolVoxT Sound System and Harman/Kardon speakers. No word yet on how much these musical fridges will cost.

These innovations seem to be moving toward a smartphone/tablet-free experience in the kitchen. But even if your counter top finds a recipe for gazpacho, and your refrigerator plays your favorite song, we hope there will still be a need for Samuel L. Jackson to say “Hot spacho” in a iPhone commercial.

Want more techie food news? Follow me on Twitter: @Jenn_Harris_

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