Kitchen Appliances that Look Pretty and Pack a Punch

With the latest kitchen appliances multi-functionality comes wrapped in fine form.

French Flair

Channel your inner French count or countess with a Lacanche range (from $9,610 including shipping). Named for the Burgundy village where the foundry has been churning out stoves and cookers since the 18th century, this still-assembled-by-hand line melds European elegance and engineering. french-barn.com 

Magnetic Charm

 Brigade by Viking’s newest induction cooktop (price on request) uses magnetic energy to rival any electric or gas range in terms of speed, power, precision, responsiveness and energy efficiency. Add the sparkle of cool-blue LED lighting and a facet-like raised bevelled profile, and this cooktop is a gem. brigade.ca 

Hot Stuff

With the GE Café Series French-door refrigerator ($3,699) you get hot and cold. A filtered-water dispenser provides not only the expected icy refreshments but also hot water at just the right temperature for whatever you’re in the mood for: coffee, tea, hot cocoa, soup… Pour it on. geappliances.com 

Get Steamy

Steam could one day replace the microwave and traditional oven, saving precious kitchen space while cooking nutrient-rich dishes (see “Euro Style,” page 45). AEG’s larger-capacity 24-inch MaxiKlasse ProCombi steam oven ($2,699) lets you tinker like a pro chef with 100-percent, 50-percent or 25-percent steam. aeg-appliances.ca 

The Dark Side

Wolf’s slick new M-Series wall oven (price on request) boasts a revolutionary Dual Verticross convection system that circulates air evenly from top to bottom. Oh, and a handle-free touch-activated door. With all this elegant engineering you might just think of another M-Series (ahem, BMW). newgeneration .subzero-wolf.com 

More is More

Sometimes two doors aren’t enough. Or three. With Samsung’s four-door French-door refrigerator($3,799), you get counter-height double-freezer drawers, a staggering 30.5 cubic feet of storage space, plus a sparkling-water dispenser. That’s serious multiple duty you can make a toast to with that bubbly. asamsung.com  

Radiant Range

Sometimes you want to dress up that workhorse a bit. Turn guests purple with envy with the BlueStar gas range in Radiant Orchid (from $12,899). While you have some 750 colours and finishes to choose from in BlueStar’s lineup (or dream up your own with Build Your BlueStar), this pop of plum—whether full-on or knobs only—will make your kitchen on trend with Pantone’s 2014 go-to colour. bluestarcooking.com 

Europe is Full Steam Ahead:

Seems the Old World is still at the forefront of new tech. In Europe, steam ovens and induction cooktops are already old-school, but the trend is finally gaining momentum on this side of the pond. Here’s why.

Steam It

Save space. Steam ovens are smaller than traditional ovens.Be nutritious. Steam cooking retains higher nutrient content in pretty much any food, from fish to veggies. “Really, everything prefers steam,” says Sylvia McDonald of Midland Appliance in Vancouver.Lose the microwave. “Whatever you can do in a microwave,” says McDonald, “you can do better in steam.”

Be Magnetic

Stay safe. Induction cooktops use a magnetic field to heat the cookware, so they’re super safe. Go ahead and lay that cookbook—or your hand—right next to the element. The surrounding surface never gets hot.Be in control. The instant heat and temperature control is akin to gas—and much easier to work with.Save energy. Because induction only heats the cookware, there is virtually no wasted energy.