CookingPal’s Multo smart appliance is a food processor that can also cook

CookingPal’s Multo is part of a new class of appliance that could have the biggest impact on home cooking since the Cuisinart came to market in 1971. These all-in-one devices not only combine all the functions of a food processor, blender, steamer, bread machine, and more, but they can also cook the entire meal—from soups and sauces to sides and the main dish—after preparing all the raw ingredients.

The Multo is an advanced implementation of this idea that connects to your Wi-Fi network and is controlled by a 8.9-inch touchscreen tablet. The tablet has a front-mounted jog wheel for navigation, while a rear camera lets you take pictures of the meals you create and store them for future reference. Its biggest attraction is that you can call up recipes that have been customized for use with the Multo. There are 100 recipes available at launch, and the company promises to add five more each week.

CookingPal

A four-armed steel blade at the bottom of the Multo’s 3.1-quart stainless steel bowl can chop, grate, grind, mix, and perform other food-processor-like chores. Attach the plastic whisk accessory to the top of the blade’s shaft and you can knead dough, emulsify, and whip cream, egg whites, and such. The Multo’s motor can spin at up to 5,200 rpm. A built-in scale function will weigh your ingredients, so you can cook with precision.

Once your ingredients are prepared, you can cook them in the same container or add ingredients you want to keep separate—potatoes, for example—by placing them in a simmering basket. The Multo can simmer, saute, boil or steam this way, and you can stack two additional steaming trays—one deep and one shallow—on top of the bowl’s lid to prepare additional side dishes. The built-in heating element can cook at up to 265 degrees Fahrenheit or it can just keep your food warm for up to 99 minutes if you’re not ready to serve it.

Download one of the online recipes, which can be customized according to the number of servings you want to prepare, and a guided cooking feature on the tablet can step you through the entire process. When you’ve finished preparing your meal, CookingPal says you can add soap and water to the bowl and the unit will deep-clean itself; there’s also a lighter cleaning mode that you can use in between two cooking steps. All of the Multo’s components—with the exception of the base unit and the tablet, of course—can also be cleaned in the dishwasher (top rack recommended).

The manufacturer sent us a review unit last week, so we’ll publish an in-depth review once we’ve prepared a few meals with the system. If you’d like to take the plunge now, CookingPal is taking pre-orders for delivery in July at a discounted price of $799. The company says that price will go up by 20 percent once the Multo becomes generally available.

Michael covers the smart-home, home-entertainment, and home-networking beats, working in the smart home he built in 2007.