Are you a technicurean? These luxury appliances are for you! – According to LiLu

Are You a Technicurean?

Last week I was in Napa Valley courtesy of Design Hounds and Signature Kitchen Suites. During the trip, I started asking myself, Are you a technicurean? At the beginning of the week, I had never heard the term but as I learned more about the SKS true to food philosophy and who they had identified as technicureans I’ve decided I am one. While reading the blog today, if you find the game-changing technology featured in the SKS ranges, you may be a technicurean.
Why did I invest the time in going to Napa at a time when our studio is hopping with activity? I value having deep knowledge of any product that I might recommend to a client. This was an opportunity to get hands-on experience using the SKS products and exploring their innovative appliance technology and features.
I’d experienced using sous vide cooking in a previous SKS/Design Hounds virtual event and our family has enjoyed using sous vide ever since to serve up a delicious meal that can rival a chef-prepared restaurant meal. (Read a blog on this here) I was curious to dig in and use the appliances and I have to say not only did I enjoy myself, but I was also impressed with many of the unique features offered on the SKS ranges. I will focus on ranges in this blog but look for future blogs where I will give the low down on some of the refrigeration options Signature Kitchen Suites offers.

Multiple Ways to Cook in One Range

One of the ranges we were able to cook with when we joined Chef Nick in preparing our dinner the first day we were in Napa was the 48” Duel Fuel Pro range. The range top has gas, induction, and sous vide options that allow a home cook to prepare food to perfection.

Sous Vide

Sous vide is precision cooking that fully captures the flavor and nutrition in your food. I know when we cook salmon, steak and other meats and fish at home we get a variety of results depending on who is cooking and how focused they are on the task at hand. The great thing about sous vide is that you cook at a slow even temperature resulting in the perfect result every time. SKS has also incorporated smart technology that allows you to step out of the kitchen and get an alert on your phone when your food is done. Are you a technicurean? If sous vide with a phone alert appeals to you the answer is yes!

Four Gas Burners

Most of you will be familiar with using gas to cook. This range has two 23k btu burners and two ultra-low burners that help you cook sauces, melt chocolate, and make confections with no scorching and no double boiler.
You can use the high burner to sear or finish off meats or brown fish after they have been cooked in the sous vide. If this sounds backwards to you, it did to me too the first time I heard about searing a steak or pork cut after it was cooked. Once I tried searing meat after you’ve cooked it, I realized how wrong I’d been. By cooking first and adding a quick sear after our meals were moister and tastier.  Check out this video by Alton Brownif you are questioning my veracity.

Induction
The induction module on the cooktop allows you to bring a pot of water to a boil in just 2 minutes! When you need precision control or instant temperatures, the two induction burners are your best bet. They can also be used as a griddle or for teppanyaki.
Worried this range isn’t for you because you don’t have the right cookware? One idea is to look at the bottom of your pans for the induction cookware symbol. You may be surprised that your current pans sport this symbol. I would also say that the control induction cooking gives you to cook your food perfectly will prevent food waste and that seems worth the price of a few pots and pans to me.

Smart Knobs

One of my favorite features of the range top is the smart knobs. I can’t tell you how often I am setting the timer on my range for one thing, the microwave timer for another and my phone for yet a third. The trick is always to remember which timer is timing what. I must admit I sometimes forget, and my meal misses the delicious mark. With smart knobs you can set a timer for any burner right on its knob. It’s literally fool-proof.
And that’s just the range top. The oven is versatile too.

Convection Oven
The oven can be used as a conventional oven but why not use the convection option. Many home cooks buy a convection oven but never use it because the calculating the time conversion
Of their favorite recipes is just too much to bear. SKS has used technology to solve this problem. Using the screen that part of the range you simply input the standard time and temperature for your recipe and the range does the conversion for you! What could be easier? If you love this feature, you may have your answer to the question, Are you a technicurean?

Steam Oven
This range also has an 18” oven that combines steam and convection oven that cooks food quickly and evenly and preserves its texture. It also reheats leftovers without leaving the dry and inedible. During the week I used this oven to steam enough vegetables to serve these beauties to 35 people which makes it a great oven to have when you are entertaining a larger group.
In upcoming blogs, I share what I learned about refrigeration and why you might want an induction cooktop. You can subscribe to our blog on the right column of this page.
Thinking about a kitchen remodel? Give LiLu a call.