What will the physical space of the kitchen of the future be like? The domestic place intended for food preparation has changed throughout history and across cultures. In fact, it represents one of the best testimonies of a society’s material culture. Generally, the configurations of this space since ancient times have included the source of heat (from fire to induction cooktops) around which food is transformed, prepared, and sometimes even consumed.
The physical space of the kitchen is one of the best silent witnesses to how societies have been transformed alongside technological innovations, and also to how certain artifacts of material culture have persisted, even for centuries, coexisting with the most modern technological developments. The physical space of the kitchen also bears witness to how ways of living have changed in parallel with people’s occupations, the way time is managed, gender roles, and the interactions of daily life, among other aspects of great social, economic, and cultural importance.
In this context, many people and representatives from various industries wonder about the kitchen of the future: Will there be a space in the home dedicated to food preparation, or are we facing not only a contraction of space, but also of the practice of preparation that no longer justifies the creation of a dedicated space in domestic life? How will we use cooking tools in the future? How will Artificial Intelligence be integrated into our daily lives, with the clear example not only of preparation, but also of food selection and waste management? Who will have access to these technological developments and, above all, who will be willing to accept them and who will stick with what is familiar? What resistance will we encounter in accepting, for example, that Artificial Intelligence manages the way we buy, store, and prepare food?
Within the framework of all these questions, a home appliance company recently presented a kitchen system of the future in which all cabinets and appliances are interconnected to offer, among other things, nutritional coaching based on the foods stored in the pantry and refrigerator, methods of storing food that, according to behavioral studies, improve nutrient consumption—transparent cabinets for fruits and vegetables with systems that keep them fresher for longer, special cabinets for storing grains, special drawers for fermenting foods, among others. The system also features artificial intelligence based on the dietary recommendations of the EAT Lancet report on healthy and sustainable eating.
Although this entire system is not yet available, it is clear that its availability and configuration are centered on a privileged minority of the population who do not have to deal with food insecurity, among other aspects. Furthermore, these technological developments are evidently oriented toward a type of population not only with purchasing power, but with domestic lifestyles that are not universal, in which, for example, the domestic physical space only houses a nuclear family, in a context with food acquisition patterns in an urban setting, with spaces culturally determined to be of specific dimensions. All these variables influence how these kitchens will truly constitute the “kitchen of the future.”
— This article was originally published in Spanish by Liliana Martínez Lomelí. Translation generated with AI from the original text.
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