By Chris Nicholls
ROTHENBURG, GERMANY: Electrolux has released what it claims is a revolutionary new oven that offers one-touch cooking of any food item, using sensor technology to automatically decide the correct settings.
Speaking at the ‘Inspiro’ oven’s launch, Electrolux chief executive, Hans Stråberg, likened the technology to autofocus in cameras.
“When auto-exposure and auto-focus were new features on cameras, there was a lot of scepticism. But, with time, auto-focus has been accepted and today it is a standard feature. For the oven and for the camera, it is all about pushing one button to ensure a professional result.”
Detailing an example, Stråberg said cooking a lamb joint meant simply selecting the ‘roasting’ category, choosing whether the meat should be rare, medium or well done and putting the meat in the indicated level. All should be done in a cold oven.
After that, the Inspiro calculates energy consumption and time needed to raise the temperature of the meat to the desired level. The information is then combined with an on-board database of cooking techniques to calculate the combination of heating modes required.
The Inspiro can also operate like a conventional oven if required with a manual mode.
However, the Inspiro is unlikely to arrive in Australia, with a spokesperson for Electrolux Home Appliances Australia saying the local arm had no plans to import the Inspiro and preferred to focus on local technology via its Australian manufacturing facilities instead.