Cook Smart: 8 of the Best Kitchen Gadgets

Short on time? Want to eat more healthily? There's a new generation of smart kitchen gadgets designed to suit modern life.

It's no longer enough just to make your own smoothies, now it's possible to calculate the nutritional value of the bananas and berries or cucumber, carrots and ginger in said smoothies. So you can max out on the Vits without a supplement in sight.

If making your own soup seems like a faff too far, then get on board with a soup maker. Fill this nifty gadget with chopped veggies, a stock cube and some water, choose your setting (from chunky to smooth) and voila, twenty minutes later, freshly cooked hot soup (enough for 4 people). What's not to like about that?

There's a Smart herb garden, inspired by NASA technology, that will keep your basil in tip top condition with minimal maintenance. Or a kettle with a hot control to keep water at boiling point for twenty minutes (in case you want to top the tea pot up).

What about a smart sous vide for the Heston fans amongst us or a clever air fryer that cooks chips to perfection with far less fat than traditional methods?

If following a recipe from a book is too old school for you, opt for a display screen that will link to Google Assistant. Not only will it recommend popular recipes, it will read out step-by-step instructions with visual aids. Kind of like having your own cooking tutor in the kitchen with you.

And if you're short on certain ingredients, there's even a set of scales that can weigh what you do have and recalculate recipes accordingly.

Smart stuff, eh?

Balance smart food blender, £149.99, NutriBullet at John Lewis & Partners

Balance smart food blender, £149.99, NutriBullet at John Lewis & Partners

Use the smart sensor scale to weigh and calculate the nutritional value of ingredients.

Soup maker 501040, £99.99, Morphy Richards

Soup maker 501040, £99.99, Morphy Richards

Different settings cater to chunky or creamy soups, with the option to make smoothies too.

Smart Garden 3, £95, Click & Grow at The Conran Shop

Smart Garden 3, £95, Click & Grow at The Conran Shop

Inspired-by-NASA tech means plants receive optimum oxygen, water and nutrients in this herb garden.

Joule sous vide, £189, ChefSteps at Amazon

Joule sous vide, £189, ChefSteps at Amazon

Select a meal to cook via the Joule app and this sous vide will heat the water to the perfect temperature and keep it there.

Smart 1.7L stainless-steel electric kettle, £90.99, Sage at Wayfair

Smart 1.7L stainless-steel electric kettle, £90.99, Sage at Wayfair

Keeps boiling water at the ready thanks to a 20-minute, stay-hot control and five temperature settings.

5L manual air fryer, £69.99, Swan

5L manual air fryer, £69.99, Swan

Air circulation tech requires little to no oil, so you can cook healthier meals that still taste delicious.

10-inch Smart display, £229.99, Lenovo

10-inch Smart display, £229.99, Lenovo

Google Assistant recommends popular recipes before reading out step-by-step instructions with visual aids.

Drop connected kitchen scale, £83, Amazon

Drop connected kitchen scale, £83, Amazon

Short on certain ingredients? Weigh what you have on this nifty device and it will recalculate recipes accordingly.

Jacky Parker is a London-based freelance journalist and content creator, specialising in interiors, travel and food. From buying guides and real home case studies to shopping and news pages, she produces a wide range of features for national magazines and SEO content for websites


A long-time contributor to Livingetc, as a member of the team, she regularly reports on the latest trends, speaking to experts and discovering the latest tips. Jacky has also written  for other publications such as Homes and Gardens, Ideal Home, Red, Grand Designs, Sunday Times Style and AD, Country Homes and Interiors and ELLE Decoration.