Food preparation | PRODUCTS
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3. Hi-Macs can be assembled with visually seamless joints and so is said to be extremely resistant to germs and dirt 4. The Legrabox from Blum with Ambia Line spice rack keeps spices neatly organised and easy to locate 5. The H10 hybrid tap from CONTI+ uses an infra- red sensor to provide touch-free activation of the water flow, or can be operated manually using the mono-lever mixer. Water temperature and volume are adjustable with a single lever 6. Franke Box Center sink complete with accessories
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Sinks now sometimes come fully accessorised too, with a few brands now offering these really useful options. Franke’s Box Center is probably top among these, coming complete with not just a chopping board, as is offered by its competitors, but three knives, two chopping boards (one wood, one sanitised plastic), strainer bowl, draining rack, pop-up waste and flush cover.
Tapping in In taps, trends follow sinks, with the same striking metallic finishes popular among consumers. And it’s possible to contrast sink and tap styles or match them up.
Lucy Dunstan, product manager at Smeg UK, comments: “New colours and materials are on the rise in the sink and tap market as consumers are opting for something other than the standard stainless-steel options. Smeg now offers PVD-coated sinks in steel black and copper finishes for an air of contemporary style. We also have a range of accessories, such as glass draining and chopping boards, to accommodate modern homeowners.”
Multifunctionality is also key to new tap designs in order to make life easier and free up the work surface. Features like pull-out spray hoses to rinse salads, or touchless activation when you’re hands are messy [as well as saving water], are particularly useful. Then, of course, there are the much-coveted, and now essential, boiling or near-boiling water taps. Zip marketing director Russell Owens notes that having a boiling water tap is at the top of consumers’ wish lists, not least because they can save precious counter space and make a cup of tea in seconds, but also because they are an invaluable time-saver during cooking processes.
“These days,” he adds, “homeowners have the
luxury of having one single product that goes even further than just offering filtered boiling water. Zip’s five-in-one HydroTap All-in-One Celsius Arc delivers filtered boiling, chilled and even sparkling water alongside unfiltered hot and cold to provide the ultimate kitchen accessory. Eliminating the need for multiple products to ensure maximum counter-top space for food preparation, this tap also has the looks to match its incredible functionality.” In addition, cooking with filtered water, as Grohe’s head of kitchen channel for the UK Tony Wilson notes, can also help enhance the flavour of the food, with no chemicals or particles affecting the overall taste. Another great space-saving appliance, which, like the hot water tap, helps to promote sustainability, is the food waste disposal unit.
Food waste disposers grind down food waste into tiny particles in moments. Not only does this offer an alternative to traditional food disposal methods, such as a bin or composter, it also reduces the amount of food waste going to landfill, thereby helping to
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reduce greenhouse gases and the household’s carbon footprint. For
worktops, innovation is centred around
promoting greater levels of hygiene and durability. So surfaces are now often non-porous and therefore impervious to water and germs. Seamless joints also mean germs have nowhere to hide.
In addition, many tops, even laminates, such as Bushboard’s Evolve range, have solid cores that are 100% waterproof, extremely durable, hard-wearing and patterned on both sides.
“Being 12.5mm thick,” adds marketing communi- cations manager Holly Turnbull,
“the product is
straightforward to work with and does not require off-site templating, which means a competent tradesperson can undertake the work without the need for a specialist fitter. The colour inside these solid surfaces is either black or coordinated to suit the surface décor, which makes drilling for drainer grooves or cutting pieces to create bespoke open shelving straightforward.”
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These solid-core laminates are also ideal for those working to a tighter budget, because they are a fraction of the cost of some solid-surface materials. Karonia’s Mistral solid-surface range, meanwhile, can be shaped to meet the needs of the space and can have cut-outs in it to accommodate inset chopping boards, sinks and surface-mounted pop-up ports and sockets – “allowing the designer maximum creative freedom”, Karonia director Andrew Pickup adds.
Scratching the surface As well as their imperviousness to water and germs, solid surfaces are incredibly durable, being scratch- and heat-resistant.
Because of these practical properties offered by solid surfaces, and because brands such as Cosentino, Hi-Macs by LG Hausys and Caesarstone can now authentically replicate the look of natural materials, it’s no surprise that these are increasingly specified over natural stone.
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