India has seen a significant growth in cooking appliances over the past few decades. From plain jane ovens and stoves to newer, more high-tech ones that make home cooking easier and better. One of those is the smart oven, something I didn’t even know existed before writing this. Smart ovens have WiFi connectivity, touchscreens and mobile apps that allow you to monitor what you’re cooking from anywhere in your house. These ovens are slowly becoming more popular among Indian households who want their home cooked meals to taste like they were made in a 5-star restaurant. Here we’ll explore some of the benefits of smart ovens and how these trendy ovens are changing home cooking all around India.
Benefits of Smart Ovens
Precise Temperature Control
Most smart ovens let you control the temperature with extreme precision. This helps chefs achieve their desired results by allowing them to cook their food at the exact temperature it requires for optimum taste each time they open it up. The oven can be used to bake bread or cook meat with precision so you never have to guess how long or hot something should be cooked again.
Even Heating
Smart ovens also use advanced heating technology so that your meal gets an even amount of heat throughout its entirety. That way, everything cooks evenly and consistently which is what you need if you don’t want one half of your dish to be undercooked while the other half is dried out.
Pre-Programmed Modes
Instead of having to change temperatures for different recipes, smart ovens come equipped with pre-set programs for baking, reheating, roasting and grilling so all you have to do is select what kind of food you’re trying to make! If I had one of these I’d probably still find a way to burn my toast though.
Remote Monitoring
With WiFi capabilities and mobile apps, people can control what’s going on in their oven from just about anywhere using their phone! This could be really convenient when cooking a meal that requires you to preheat your oven for an extended period of time or when cooking something that takes hours because you won’t have to keep going into the kitchen and checking on it.
Automated Cooking
Some high-end smart ovens can practically cook meals for you from start to finish. They come equipped with built-in interior cameras that identify the food items placed inside using advanced image recognition technology. Based on the detected food, they can automatically choose the optimal cooking mode, temperature, and time required.
Energy Efficient
Smart ovens use less energy than conventional ovens due to better insulation and strategic heating controls. Preheating is much faster too. Combined with features like delayed start, you can save energy by scheduling the oven to start cooking later. This both reduces electricity usage and also avoids heating up the kitchen during hot summer afternoons.
How Smart Ovens Improve the Cooking Experience
Cooking with smart ovens provides a very modern, sophisticated and hassle-free cooking experience that was unimaginable earlier. Here’s how they make cooking easier and more enjoyable:
Convenience
The ability to simply press a few buttons and walk away while your food gets cooked to perfection is incredibly convenient. You can focus on other tasks knowing the smart oven has things under control. Cooking large holiday meals also becomes much easier when each dish can be programmed separately and efficiently.
Consistency
When using predefined cooking modes and precise temperature regulation, you get perfectly cooked and consistent results every time. No more guessing if that cake or pizza is done. Take the uncertainty out of your recipes.
Flexibility
With the ability to manually set granular temperatures and times, you have maximum flexibility when trying out new recipes or experimenting. Smart ovens open up possibilities to try restaurant-style cooking that was difficult otherwise.
Enjoyment
App connectivity and food cameras turn cooking into an engaging, high-tech experience. Monitoring beautiful food images on your phone and trying out new auto-cook features can make spending time in the kitchen more fun.
Simplicity
The preset programs, automatic features and detailed digital displays simplify the cooking process even for amateurs. Anyone can whip up elaborate dishes with minimal effort.
Haier’s Exclusive Smart Oven: Perfect for Your Kitchen
Smart ovens are still a relatively new concept in India. That being said, many respected appliance companies offer smart oven models that cater to Indian cooking needs:
- The Haier 20L Convection Microwave Oven HIL2001CSPH is perfect for oil-free cooking. With its 66 auto cook menus, multi-power levels, and combination cooking, you can prepare a variety of dishes easily. The multi-stage cooking function allows you to cook complex recipes with preset timings. Overall, the oil-free cooking feature makes healthy cooking effortless. The defrost function also helps thaw frozen foods evenly. With a 20L capacity, this compact microwave is ideal for small families and kitchens.
- The Haier 20L Convection Microwave Oven HIL2001CWPH is ideal for combination cooking. With 66 auto cook menus and multi-power levels, you can use both microwave and convection modes to get the best results. The combination cooking feature enables baking, grilling, and microwaving in the same cycle. This saves time and delivers perfectly cooked meals. The multi-stage cooking allows presetting different cooking modes and times. This versatile microwave is perfect for reheating, defrosting, and cooking a variety of dishes.
- With 111 auto cook menus, the Haier 23L Convection Microwave Oven HIL2301CBSB excels at preset functions. The multiple presets for Indian dishes, cakes, and more make specialized recipes foolproof to cook. Just select the preset program in advance of baking or preparing your ingredients & let this microwave take care of it all from there on out! Additionally this stainless steel cavity is easy to maintain as well as features an oil-free way of promoting healthy food habits! Last but not least it has a large capacity making it perfect for larger families or get-togethetrs!
- The deodorizer feature in the Haier 23L Convection Microwave Oven HIL2302CRSH makes reheating and cooking odorless. The auto cook menus and oil-free cooking provide versatility, while the deodorizer efficiently removes smells. The combination mode allows both convection baking and microwave cooking. Overall, this microwave oven is perfect for odorless and efficient cooking. The stainless steel cavity is durable and has a large 23L capacity suitable for families.
Smart Oven Usage Trends and Statistics in India
While smart ovens are still gaining popularity in the Indian market, it seems that households in urban areas are increasingly adopting these appliances:
- Around 75,000 smart ovens were sold in India in 2018.
- The smart oven market is growing at an average of 35-40% YoY. Many industry insiders expect sales to surpass the 1 lakh unit mark by 2022.
- Sales of smart ovens hit their peak during Diwali festival season.
- Millennials are three times more likely to purchase a smart oven than older generations.
- Tier one metro cities such as Mumbai, Delhi/NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai account for approximately 60% of total sales.
- Working couples and singles appreciate the convenience that comes with using a smart oven to cook meals.
The Future of Smart Ovens in India
As more competitors enter this segment of the market & current players expand their product offerings; Smart ovens have an exciting future ahead as they continue to gain popularity within Indian households:
Providing more affordable options will be key
Brands will be launching more basic smart ovens that are focused on core smart capabilities, targeting middle-income households. So, smart cooking gets cheaper.
“Chef-less” Cooking
Ovens will get smarter by using AI and 3D food mapping to deliver an increasingly “chef-less” cooking experience, requiring minimal effort from the users.
Hyper Localized Presets
India is a country of diverse regional tastes. Ovens in the future will come with presets for dishes such as biryani, tandoori and dosas optimized for those specific tastes.
Seamless Integration
Smart homes, when they become more widespread, will allow ovens to communicate seamlessly with other appliances and systems within a household, adding convenience. For instance, your air conditioner knows to lower the temperature when the oven preheats.
Apps Beyond Monitoring
Future apps will evolve from just monitoring to meal planning and suggesting recipes. They may even enable social sharing of recipes that ovens then automatically cook based on meal plans.
Conclusion
The advent of smart ovens in India has elevated home cooking with unprecedented convenience, consistency and enjoyment. By perfectly combining advanced technology with the traditional art of cooking, smart ovens are enabling busy households and amateur chefs to find joy in their kitchens. As the offerings continue to improve and get more affordable, these futuristic appliances can usher in a new era of efficient, stress-free and wholesome home cooking across urban India. Their transformative potential remains underutilized and brands should focus innovation towards unlocking it further. With smart optimization, automation and personalization, ovens could take over many of the tedious aspects of cooking and allow people to unleash more of their culinary creativity. The possibilities are limited only by our imagination.