Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/05/18/the-tovala-is-the-oven-so-smar.html
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Then it can eat them and do the washing up afterwards as well if it’s going to be like that.
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If the cat doesn’t eat the potato as well as the steak and cream cheese then it isn’t getting any pudding!
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That did cross my mind 
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Wow, what a miracle. I’m so tired of those old ovens you have to put things in and then what? They’re so exhausting and complicated, why is it so hard?
Now I can make it work with a QR code scan instead of turning a dial with all those confusing numbers on it. It’s like Jesus heard my cries and took pity on me.
Does the company make a bluetooth-ready automatic feeding and swallowing device, too? I keep missing my mouth with those old fashioned pointy rake things. And spoons, I don’t even want to talk about spoons. There’s no label or anything so half the time it all goes all over the table.
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Until they realize that their projections for subscriptions are far lower than anticipated and they push that OTA update. This MRE warmer is about to be Juicero’d:
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Ok… How much would a subscription cost to get more cool stuff and less stupid shit for sale?
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Truer words.
Until it isn’t.
So there’s still some guesswork? Also, if your cooking involves a lot of guesswork in the first place… maybe cooking isn’t really for you? And this is coming from a guy who is not a good cook.
Indeed you are! Swift sailing, my friend. Watch out for that horizon.
Is the other 10% the distance from your door to your step? If so, and you are inside when the ingredients arrive, then when you go to pick it up you are 10% of the way from home already.
Ah, recipes. One of those things that help eliminate guesswork.
I think I’m going to a make a shirt out of that.
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Can it cook toast, or does that bread have to be authorized to work?
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All these “almosts” and “nearlys” make me feel like I’ve practically bought it already. Look at all the money I’ve basically saved without having to do nearly anything!
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This is actually an interesting concept - something that’s not obvious is it cycles steam/broil/convection bake to try and produce something you wouldn’t without a whole lot of fiddling (and a steam oven).
Wired did a review in 2018 that suggests the tech is cool but the recipies needed some fine-tuning. I suspect that over time the base recipies would have gotten better as a function of time (and the fact that this thing updates as it goes):
Since the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve been using Marley Spoon for meals 3-4 times a week, because it means I get to deal with groceries less, and being a 2 person household, it also means more diverse meals with less food waste, and they manage to have both highly recyclable packaging, humanely-raised proteins, and seem to be able to survive shipping in Texas heat.
Taking that a step further and having the oven cook these proteins in a way that does a good approximation of my actually spending time paying attention to what I’m making (versus, say, rushing to finish up my Day Job™ and throwing dinner together so I can spend time moderating here) would actually be a welcome option.
Unfortunately. we just bought a replacement toaster oven for more than this thing costs, so I won’t be able to guinea pig it for anyone. Otherwise I’d totally do a series of posts on what I can get out of this thing.
But yes - consider this an endorsement of meal kits provided you do your research, and if you have the disposable income for it, it sounds in theory like the tech for this oven, at least, has the potential to turn out better meals than you’re going to get by grabbing your frozen-entree du jour and tossing it in an oven.
Oven As A Service.
That’s the exact opposite of what I want out of an oven.
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No good. I’m holding out for meals that are so smart they cook themselves.
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Whether you’re cooking Chicken Florentine
This is NOT “cooking”. I cook with an oven, hob, steamer, and sometimes a microwave. I use fresh ingredients and prepare them and assemble them to ‘cook’ a meal.
This is just heating stuff you’ve been sent.
I fear lock-in is not far off in this business model. I remember (when Cory was around) the regular posts we had about various consumer goods trying to lock their customers in (the dishwasher that only washes manufacturer-chipped and -supplied crockery and cutlery comes to mind - was that here?) and we all mocked and agreed it was a bad thing.
OK - some people do not have time to prepare food. But if they can afford the prices for having someone else do the labour, I suspect they could find the time if they wanted. But if they do not want… well ok then. But do not pretend it is cooking.
But I’ll take @orenwolf’s word (until I have time to read the linked article) that the oven itself may be a useful piece of kit if one is willing to learn/get educated as to how best to use it as a (proper) cook. But scanning processed food packages’ barcodes as a sales benefit? Hmm - I’m not their target market, clearly.
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On first glance, this looks like his story about the DRM-toaster come to life. I guess it’s more than that (at this point), but…
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Was that “The Sucky Little Toaster”?
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“Unauthorized Bread,” as it happens.
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