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Finally, with perseverance, I convinced my mother - a woman over 70 years old who had spent too much time in the kitchen - to use an electric stove instead of the old gas stove. It is no exaggeration to say that her whole life has been attached to the "evolution" of stoves. The first was a stove made of straw and dry leaves since her childhood.
Next are the oil stoves of the subsidy period. In the memories of the people of that time, the oil stove is indispensable, the "stinky", "difficult" stove that was attached to many hot meals, and was once the pride of intellectual families of the time. The oil stove, also known as the bucket stove, is cylindrical and green. Most of the oil stoves at that time were produced by the Thang Long factory, the stoves were coated with heat-resistant enamel. After being heated for a while, they gradually became dirty and rusted by fish sauce, salt, and overflowing water. The dirt stuck to the stove's crevices, so every household that used it had to have a small iron rod to remove the wick and oil residue.
Then we cannot forget the time when electric stoves were heated by bare heating wires, running around in terracotta grooves. Just plugging in the power cord made the wire glow red, enough to cook. It was convenient but also very dangerous because over time, the heating wire rose up, touching the bottom of the pot... Until electricity became a problem, then we entered the stage where every household used... honeycomb coal stoves. My father even bought coal dust, mixed it with mud, and then the whole family worked hard to make honeycomb coal for my mother to use for cooking. A piece of coal was cheap, and could be burned economically for the whole day, but its danger was in the coal gas. When she got old, my mother often coughed, perhaps influenced by the time of honeycomb coal stoves. More modern is the gas stove, so familiar that the gas delivery person in the apartment complex where I live knows like the back of his hand which house needs a new gas tank.
And now the induction cooker - a Revolution in the kitchen. The stove top is made of heat-resistant glass, food drops can be wiped clean, the temperature is controlled by buttons, and cooking is not as hot as a gas stove.
It seems that just by looking at the stove, people can guess what period it was used in, reflecting part of social life. Nowadays, people start talking about smart stoves, using AI. How smart can it be?
In recent years, everything in people's lives has started to become "smarter". From phones, wristbands, smart glasses to more common devices such as smart air conditioners, smart refrigerators, smart TVs, smart lights... When the items in the living room and bedroom have been "upgraded", the kitchen is the next place to be noticed.
At major technology fairs, the increasing appearance of devices such as electric stoves, pans, trash cans, rice cookers, coffee makers... with integrated "smart" features is the clearest proof. In addition, other supporting devices are also thought of such as kitchen temperature controllers, food temperature, wine quality analyzers and evaluation devices, food calorie measuring discs, trays capable of warning when eggs are about to spoil... However, some people also say that many features on current smart kitchen products are just for showing off technology, not based on user needs.
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The question is, no matter how smart they are, can kitchen tools and appliances replace human hands? In other words, is it possible that one day, technology or artificial intelligence can proactively place ingredients, create menus, calculate calories for each family member, then robots automatically cook and when people - after a tiring day at work - will have a ready meal "like mom's"?
Last year, Samsung officially released an "AI-powered personalized food and recipe" application, supporting 8 languages and 104 countries around the world. The application, called Food, allows users to search for recipes from almost anywhere in the world, save them to personal devices such as smartphones, and plan weekly meals. AI technology will analyze the recipes that users have saved, standardize the format, and organize them to create shopping lists based on ingredients. AI can also provide recipe suggestions based on available food items managed by the user; there is even a "personalized recipe" function to create a dish or menu specifically for each user, such as creating a "Vietnamese version of an Italian dish" or a vegan version of a dish. AI can also suggest daily meals based on each person's dietary preferences and favorite cuisines, while analyzing nutritional content and shopping recommendations, even sending them directly to the retailer's e-commerce platform.
The designers also believe that, if connected to a smart stove, Food will also allow users to preheat the oven, set a timer, and transfer cooking settings to supported devices through a step-by-step guided cooking mode... There are many similar applications in the world.
So technology has begun to accelerate the process of liberating women from the kitchen. It may take time to affect every family, but on an industrial level, robots have replaced humans in many kitchen tasks, in the food production process. For example, nearly 5 years ago, when the world was still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, in China, the world's first restaurant operated entirely by robots opened in Guangdong province, with more than 20 types of machines taking care of all the steps from cooking to serving customers. Diners in China can go to a restaurant and finish their meal without having to communicate or meet anyone, including the waiters.
This model is increasingly being replicated in China, and last year, the press reported that many food companies in the US were using robots in almost every step. Here's how it works: A customer orders a roast chicken via a mobile phone app. Seconds later, in a small room in a warehouse a few miles away, a robotic arm springs to life. It takes three cardboard boxes out of the refrigerator and puts them in the oven for about three minutes. Half an hour later, the order is on the customer's doorstep in a brown paper bag... Of course, the customer has no idea that his meal was made by a machine.
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From November 29 to December 1, Hanoi diners will have an interesting experience at the Pho So Ha Thanh program in 2024. Visitors will experience traditional pho dishes prepared and served by smart robots. The event is part of the Hanoi Culinary Culture Festival in 2024 to honor "Hanoi's traditional pho" and introduce to people about "pho so", the application of technology and digital transformation in the Vietnamese culinary industry. The program will introduce and bring pho into the world of the digital age, where technology is applied to highlight the beauty of ancient cuisine. Visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy "traditional pho dishes typical of Hanoi" and experience a completely new and modern "pho so".
Can “digital pho” become a new trend? Time will tell, but clearly, technology and AI have gradually invaded a field that was long thought to be only possible by human hands, which is cuisine. The question is how people accept cuisine in the digital age: eating in an industrial style or enjoying cuisine as a cultural feature with the convergence and care of culinary artisans?
Some people say that cooking is an art, more specifically, it is the art of using fire. With the same ingredients, the same recipe, but each cook brings a different taste. Because each person uses fire differently. Technology and AI can help restaurants and businesses that provide food, can produce large quantities to supply a large number of people. For example, a kitchen for 10,000 workers. But culinary quintessence is another story. I can go everywhere, can attend 5-star parties, but in the end, what I miss are still the meals my mother cooked, the quality of meals depends on the warmth in each family...
