You’ve chosen a particularly complex recipe for your holiday dessert and you already know that the task will be difficult because there will be so many questions in your mind at one time: Have I mixed enough? Are the egg whites stiff?

To solve these kinds of issues, an American appliance brand has developed a food processor that features a technological component that knows when the dough is ready. No more relying on intuition when it comes to pastry making.

Ultra-precise measurements, never turning away from stirring a sauce or filling... pastry making is often compared to a science for the rigor it requires. However, that kind of precision is largely the domain of food professionals, while home cooks with varying levels of experience often rely more on their intuition. At what point should you stop beating the egg whites to make a meringue? When is the cake batter really ready? Should the whipped cream be firm? In baking, lack of practice generally leads to a lot of questions about when a task is completed.

Did you ever wish that your food processor would ‘know’ automatically when to stop whipping, churning or beating? That’s what GE Appliances has achieved. The American company, owned by the multinational Haier, recently unveiled a new technology it’s dubbing “Auto Sense” that could define a whole new line of food processors and even influence a new generation.

Depending on the recipes selected, the whip (or the dough hook) is indeed able to recognise the texture of the preparation to know when the result is final. In other words, there is no longer the risk of kneading the dough too long. The stand mixer ‘knows’ when to stop.

This new technology brings another level of “smart assistant” to home cooks as they carry out culinary tasks, helping to ensure their recipes are a success. It builds on the sector of multifunctional food processors that have been gaining popularity in recent years. These types of appliances that tell you how to cut fruits or vegetables and when to add them to the recipe have given rise to a whole new division of products, perhaps most identified with the famous Thermomix from German group Vorwerk and its complex features.

The latest devices in this realm are connected appliances with recipes integrated into their systems enabling consumers to easily choose a dish and then simply launch the preparation process.

In the United States, GE Appliances’ new food processor will also come with recipes integrated. Initially, a dozen recipes will be available, but more will be added as time goes on. Communicating with the food processor also attests to its new-generation qualities as the appliance is equipped with voice control to guide it via Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home.

For now, this GE Profile Smart Mixer is sold in the United States for US$999 . It is likely that other brands will be inspired by this new technology to offer other solutions to amateur bakers eager for their cakes to turn out perfect.

 - AFP Relaxnews