How smart is the smart kitchen, really?

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For part two of our Vergecast smart kitchen series, we let the kitchen do the cooking. Chaos ensues.

By David Pierce, editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.

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Vector illustration showing different aspects of smart kitchen appliances.

Image: Samar Haddad for The Verge

The smart fridge is the dream. You’re telling me there’s a gadget in my kitchen that can know all about the food I have in my house, what goes well together, and what I need to cook before it starts to stink up the whole house? A truly smart fridge could help you meal plan, keep your grocery bills down, reduce your food waste, and just make life better.

But there are dreams and there’s reality. And on this episode of The Vergecast, for the second in our two-part series on the smart kitchen, we’re putting the dream to the test.

The Verge’s Jennifer Pattison Tuohy has as smart a kitchen as any reasonable person possibly could. She has smart appliances, a smart sink, a smart fridge, and more voice assistants than anyone could ever talk to. And for a few days, she tried to let her kitchen do the work: telling her what to cook, getting everything set up just right, and even taking some of the cooking and cleaning load off her shoulders. Jen kept a diary during her adventures and then joined us in the studio to tell the tale — the fun, frustrating, exciting, harrowing tale.

If you want more information on all the things and products we talk about in this episode, here are a few links to get you started:

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