7 cooking appliances to make festive feasts easier

Potluck parties and house gatherings are definitely the call of this festive season. If just thinking of how you’re going to feed your guests is proving to be unnerving, chances are you’ll be as thankful as we are for the variety of smart kitchen appliances these days.

And the best part? You don’t need the latest cooking range or state-of-the-art oven to show off those culinary skills. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned chef, here’s our round-up of plug and play cooking appliances to help you get the job done – no installation required.

Bosch Ergomixx Vacuum Hand Blender (MS6CB61V5)

Helping to make Christmas food prep easier is the ErgoMixx Vacuum Hand Blender, which chops up and blends even the toughest of ingredients with its 1,000-watt motor and QuattroBlade. There are 12 speed settings as well as a turbo function, so you can get extra finely-diced ingredients necessary for a great stuffing dish! Its vacuum system also keeps your food fresh for longer.

The Bosch ErgoMixx Vacuum Hand Blender retails for $299 at www.bosch-home.com.sg.

Bosch MUM5 Kitchen Machine (MUM59340GB)

Making dessert? Whether you’re baking gingerbread cookies or making a log cake, the Bosch MUM5 Kitchen Machine can help. Its award-winning design is optimised for efficiency, with a generously-sized 3.9-litre stainless steel bowl that’s shaped for making dough, a place to hold your baking tools and an EasyArmLift function that makes working with the machine effortless. The extra-powerful 1,000-watt motor makes processing even the stickiest and toughest of dough mixtures, too!

The Bosch MUM5 Kitchen Machine retails for $1,199 at www.bosch-home.com.sg.

Nespresso Essenza Plus

After-dinner coffee is a must at any decent party, but you won’t have to worry – the Essenza Plus by Nespresso lets you make coffee for your guests quickly and conveniently. Four programmable buttons let you prepare a range of serving sizes, including a 150ml Americano, while the movable water tank and compact size means you can take this from the kitchen to your living room for your guests to help themselves.

The Essenza Plus retails at $288 at all Nespresso boutiques.

TM6 Thermomix

Is it possible to have one super machine that does it all? The answer’s yes, according to the TM6 by Thermomix. Combining a whopping 24 functions in one, it can do everything – steaming, emulsifying, sous vide, you name it. It’s connected to the Cookidoo recipe platform by Wi-fi, which enables it to download from over 60,000 recipes to guide you from start to finish. For those with a smaller kitchen, this nifty machine can help you save space without limiting your cooking options.

The TM6 retails for $2,398 at www.thermomix.com.sg.

Philips Airfryer XXL

Last-minute gathering? No problem. Prepping light bites for your guests at short notice is easy-peasy with the generous size of the Philips Airfryer XXL. It can cook an entire chicken or up to 1.4kg of fries at a go – which is plenty for everybody. While you entertain your guests, the Smart Sensing technology automatically adjusts the cooking time and temperature without the need for monitoring. It even separates and captures excess fat, so eating healthier during the festive season is much easier.

The Philips Airfryer XXL retails for $549 at www.philips.com.sg and at all authorised retailers.

LG Neochef Microwave Oven MJ3965BGS

Fondue lovers, listen up: the LG NeoChef Microwave Oven may be just the thing for preparing a delicious holiday party dessert. Its specialised settings can melt delicate ingredients like chocolate and cheese, and even help to make yogurt. Of course, it also performs the more conventional functions of an oven, like defrosting and grilling. What’s more, the interior is lined with an Anti-Bacterial EasyClean Coating to help eliminate 99.9 per cent bacteria.

The LG NeoChef Microwave Oven retails for $969 at LG Lazada and Shopee online stores, as well as Harvey Norman, Best Denki, Courts, and Gain City.

Sharp Healsio Superheated Steam Oven

With the right ingredients and cooking method, plus the Sharp Healsio Superheated Steam Oven, you should have a healthy festive dinner ready in no time. Its multiple cooking modes let you cook anything from roasting a turkey to baking gingerbread cookies, and the Sharp Superheated Steam Technology helps to seal in the flavour without you having to use extra oil or salt. The steam technology, which makes it easier to remove dirt for a speedy clean-up afterwards, is also great for sterilising dishes and towels.

The Sharp Healsio Superheated Steam Oven retails for $1,759 at the Sharp Lazada and Shopee online stores, as well as various authorised retailers.

This article was first published in Home & Decor.