Las Vegas (United States) (AFP)

After connected ovens and voice assistants that dictate recipes, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and robotics are invading kitchens.

At the consumer technology fair in Las Vegas, where certain trends of a more or less near future are taking shape, even refrigerators become "intelligent", that is to say connected and provided with AI to anticipate needs humans.

GE Appliances, an entity from Chinese Haier, for example, presented software integrated into a microwave that suggests recipes based on the food in the fridge.

"You can see everything you have to eat and get recommendations to waste less," says Jeremy Miller of GE Appliances.

If in addition the system is coupled with an oven and compatible plates, the software will also monitor cooking according to the consumer's choices.

For outdoor cooks, Weber unveiled an app and a connected grill, which uses AI to make the meat cooked to the point or medium rare just the way you like it, the cheese from the melted pizza and the turkey from Juicy Christmas wish.

At least that's the promise of Chris Scherzinger, director of Weber-Stephen Products.

"With our 70 years of experience in grills, we have developed algorithms capable of knowing exactly when the inside of the steak is cooked," he said.

- Cut the onions -

More lazy chefs will soon be able to call on robots to facilitate tedious tasks, such as cutting onions.

"Julia", a device designed by CookingPal, is also connected to a platform that suggests recipes, but it goes further, taking care of the preparations.

According to the Hong Kong-based company, "Julia" can weigh, cut, bake and even clean up behind her.

"Everyone hates cutting onions," says Anna Khomenko, director of marketing at CookingPal, adding that the robot replaces several utensils and devices.

The Californian start-up PantryOn proposes to install a system that adapts to all fridges or sheds to indicate which ingredients are about to run out.

Unlike other similar solutions, PantryOn is based on weight, and "it can create a shopping list that you can order on the app," says founder Fadi Shakkour.

- State of the art ingredients -

Technologies are not left out on the ingredient side. For those who care about the origin of products, several companies are now using blockchain to ensure traceability.

The blockchain (blockchain), popularized by the virtual bitcoin currency, is a computer protocol allowing a community of users to keep online a kind of large common register, falsifiable.

At CES, the IBM group shows how it uses it with its partners (producers and distributors) to guarantee product integrity at all stages, with an app that traces the journey from coffee to plantations.

This initiative is part of the firm's "Food Trust" program, which uses blockchain not only to authenticate the origin of food, but also to determine when a pathogenic element appeared in the food.

For Impossible Foods, the ingredients are all there: plants. The company specializing in meat substitutes came to CES for the second time, this time making its pork substitute taste, entirely vegetarian.

Visitors ate it in different forms, from vegan sausages to Chinese dumplings.

"Impossible Foods has broken through the molecular code of meat, starting with ground beef," says executive director Patrick Brown. "Now we are accelerating our expansion with a portfolio of products that are among the most appreciated in the world"

"We will not stop until we eliminate the need for animals in the food chain," he added.

© 2020 AFP