Multifunctional products in the home

Do you like simple products that focus on a single thing or products that do two or more tasks without compromising on the result? Regardless, multifunctional products in our homes are here to stay. Applia has made its mark in some of the many combinations on the market.

When we switched from electricity and ice, for cooking and cooling, to electricity over 100 years ago, households gained access to a range of innovations that simplified and improved everyday life. At the time, the products were separate, the fridge separate, the freezer separate, as well as the washing machine and dryer. But development continued, the products were refined and became more and more efficient in all sorts of ways – and after a while, combination products also appeared. Refrigerators were combined with freezers and washing machines began to function as dryers as well.

Two or more functions
A big advantage of having two, or more, functions in one and the same product is of course that you save space. A current example is induction hobs with built-in extractor hood, a two-in-one product that offers new possibilities when it comes to kitchen design. Read more about it in our previous article here. To be called multifunctional, however, the product should reasonably have more functions than two. An example is a recently launched 90 cm freestanding cooker with induction hob and integrated extractor hood from Bertazzoni.

Another example is one of the many multicookers on the market. OBH Nordica has recently launched a pressure cooker combined with an airfryer, in a larger size, which makes it possible to cook 7.5 liters in one pot. Slow cook, bake, fry or steam – all in one machine.

Airfryer in the oven
A popular product in recent years is the air fryer, which makes it possible to use much less fat than with regular frying and still get a crispy and crunchy surface. Another advantage is that the air fryer uses about half as much electricity as a regular oven, which has probably had a significant impact given the high electricity prices in recent years. A disadvantage is that you get another product in the kitchen, and that the capacity is not as large as in a regular oven in cases where you want to cook food for several people at the same time.

What not everyone may know is that for some time now there have been ovens on the market that can be used as airfryer (an example is Electrolux which sells an airfry tray as an accessory – it is included with some models) and now this spring is launching both Bosch as Samsung new ovens with built-in airfryer.

An airfry tray with holes in it means better airflow, and an oven with an airfry function means that the fan circulates the heat at high speed to achieve the result that the food becomes juicy inside while becoming crispy on the outside.

Today's ovens are truly multifunctional products, with traditional heating, grilling, hot air, steaming and now even airfrying. And models with the latest sensors and thermometers, built-in cameras and app control can simplify use considerably.

For nostalgics or gadget lovers
For those of you who are short on time and like retro design and fun gadgets, there are some multifunctional kitchen products to choose from. Or how about the sausage with the toaster and the breakfast station from the brand Nostalgia? Time-efficient and two really eye-catching accessories in the kitchen, but perhaps mostly for those of you with a lot of space to spare.

Text: Ola Larsson

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