Wise Stove

One goal of the wise stove is to keep what happens in the kitchen, in the kitchen.

For a child, this means that there will be no visits to the ER for a burned hand or broken ankle. For the clumsy homemaker, the stove will cook food without requiring that the pan be placed just-so. For the one who forgets to turn off the burner, the stove will monitor the cooking. When needed, it will pause until the cook returns from the restroom.

The wise stove is made to last. It is not designed with planned obsolescence. Instead, each component is designed with care so that it will not need updates or revisions. Repairs will be easy with standard modules in a robust system. The wise stove's design will be elegant, succinct and durable. Users of a wise stove get the cooking steps displayed or spoken in a user-appropriate technique.

A wise stove uses energy carefully and is adaptable to different energy sources. The thermodynamics of cooking is relatively simple. The wise, adaptable stove can use the chemistry of foods and thermodynamics of the cooking surface to the cook's advantage. It can be aware of the effects of altitude on the cooking process.

The range top will be based on a grid of small heating modules that detect the location of pans. The temperature sensors in the pan and countertop identify the temperature of an item. The stove recognizes when the dish is boiling and the recipe specifies the power density it needs. With this information, the stove can keep meals from burning and pans from boiling dry.

As part of a wise kitchen, the wise stove notices when similar dishes are cooked repeatedly. The kitchen can identify related recipes that could be appealing.

The wise kitchen and its stove could notice when too little protein or too much fat is being eaten. When asked, the kitchen can encourage meals that are more balanced. However, without using an iron "smart fist," the wise kitchen will be an assistant to managing chronic diseases, never a drill sergeant or dictator.