Why just use a tablet to read a recipe when you can also use it to control the oven from within the recipe? GE Appliances‘ newest way to control the company’s connected wall ovens is from within Drop ($80) recipes displayed on a tablet. More than 500 interactive Drop recipes empower home cooks with GE connected ovens to preheat ovens and set timers and temperatures — all from a tablet screen.
Preheating is a popular function, according to GE. “We know from our own connected oven app that preheating the oven is one of the most frequently used functions, so we expect the Drop integration to provide real value to the home cook,” said Paul Bristow, product manager for built-in cooking at GE Appliances.
Drop’s recipes are converted into a machine-readable format that can control connected appliances remotely. A cook working from a Drop recipe sees step-by-step instructions for food preparation that now can include onscreen oven settings for connected GE ovens.
The partnership is viewed as a next step by both GE and Drop. “We’ve already tapped into Bluetooth technology, IFTTT, and voice commands for our connected ovens, but Drop represents our first interactive recipe partnership,” said GE’s Bristow.
Drop’s vision is building the Kitchen OS of the future, integrating recipes from partners like Food52 and Good Housekeeping, and connecting to smart kitchen appliances such as the Drop Connected Kitchen Scale and, now, GE Appliances connected wall ovens.
GE had another big partner announcement as well: Its connected ovens now integrate with Nest Protect. When the detector senses smoke, it can turn off the oven. With its ability to tell when no one’s home, the Nest Protect can notify you if you’ve left the stove on after making your morning oatmeal.
Updated 1/4/2017: Updated to include the news about the Nest Protect integration.
