Modern Kitchen Must-Haves
One of the grandfathers of interior design, William Morris famously exhorted his audience to have nothing in their homes they did not find to be either beautiful or useful. He certainly had a point. This round up of ingenious kitchen accessories will help you inject the William Morris factor into your everyday preparation, serving and cleaning. Some even manage to be beautiful and useful at the same time.
Vipp15 Bin Copenhagen
You may fill it with rubbish but your bin doesn’t have to look like rubbish. Get this zinc and stainless steel pedal bin and bring a whiff of the New York Museum of Modern Art into your kitchen.
Designed in 1939 by Holger Nielsen, the bin is now a supremely practical design icon.
£235 from vipp.com
Yves Béhar Sodastream
In recent years the Sodastream has made a well-deserved comeback. Now everybody’s favourite fizzer is available in a stylish package designed by the man behind Jawbone.
Voted Product of the Year 2015, the Béhar Sodastream comes in four jazzy colours.
£69.99 from sodastream.co.uk
Tefal Fruit Sensation
A must for you if your new year resolution is to increase your fruit and veg intake, this compact blender easily whizzes up smoothies and isn’t a nightmare to wash up afterwards.
With a capacity of 600ml, it’s just right for two health-conscious people. And because it handles vegetables too, you can start your day with all manner of virtuous concoctions.
£36 from tefal.com
Bird Soy Sauce Dispenser
Ever tried a boiled egg with soy sauce and white pepper? If not, you don’t know what you’re missing: it’s a far eastern breakfast classic and a real wake-up for the taste buds. It’ll taste even better if you keep your soy sauce in a cute bird-shaped cruet.
This contemporary take on 17th century ceramics will add plenty of Taiwanese charm to your condiment rack.
£19.50 from heals.co.uk
Kitchen Aid Kettle
Breaking Bad taught us that 92 degrees Celsius is the perfect temperature for brewing coffee, but whose kitchen has the equipment to monitor the temperature so carefully?
With this Kitchen Aid kettle, yours does. Or very nearly, at least: the kettle has a variable heat setting with 10 degree intervals, perfect for pandering to those refined palates.
£119.95 from johnlewis.com
Pizza Scissors
No more imperfectly portioned pepperoni when you slice your pizza with these babies. The 30 cm long stainless steel blades can handle even the biggest pizzas, and will cut through tough crusts and stringy cheese with aplomb.
Once you’ve experienced this Australian innovation, you’ll never go back to using a knife or a wheel.
£20 from davidmellordesign.co.uk
Tea Egg
Loose tea is so much nicer than teabags, but we’ve been conditioned to find it inconvenient and old-fashioned. Eva Solo’s tea egg makes both concerns a non-issue: you simply fill the tea egg’s stainless steel bowl with tealeaves and infuse it in hot or boiling water.
Designed and made in Denmark, this infuser’s elongated teardrop form is beautiful to behold and easy to clean.
LG GMM91GNSHV Fridge Freezer
But the really clever feature is its door-within-a-door: put your ready-to-grab snacks and frequently used items in here and you’ll save 47% more energy than if you’d opened the main door to get at them.
£2,300 from lg.com/uk
SousVide SVS-10LS Supreme Cooker
This cooker makes sous vide simple: seal your food in a pouch, set the cooker to the correct temperature and come back when the timer tells you dinner’s ready.
£349 from johnlewis.com
Onion Goggles
A fringe benefit is that even if you can’t cook like Heston Blumenthal, with these goggles on you’ll at least look a bit like him.
£11.99 from amazon.co.uk