The Perfect Char

Even and controlled charring for all things

Who

So many cultures use charred foods in their cooking: roasted red peppers, blackened and blistered eggplant, charred onions and jalapenos, tomatoes, garlic, the list is endless. But today you either have to do on a gas burner (wastes a lot of gas, things don't stay balanced, things fall inside the grill, and it's hard to get the blackening even) or use the broiler (poor control, really hard to monitor, impossible to get perfect.) Many middle eastern foods use blackened eggplant as a base and this is the MOST messy thing to do even if you have a gas cooktop. So there is no good way to do it even though it is critical for so many cuisines and flavors. Basically, today it sucks.

What

Design a unit that uses high intensity halogen bulbs to surround the vegetables that rest on a grate. Characterize the grilling so that you can ideally char peppers vs eggplant vs onion. Ideally have a thermal sensor monitor the progress. Design it so that the vegetables get evenly charred without needing to be turned.

How

Ease of use, perfect charring every time, easy to clean up, Opens up an incredibly wide range of recipes and flavors for the casual cook. Can be marketed to so many regional cuisines (Israeli, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, etc)

Competitors

Google AI Overview: "Appliances for charring vegetables include gas stoves and grills for direct flame charring, kitchen blowtorches for controlled charring, and grill pans, cast-iron skillets, or broilers for indoor options." Could not find an existing appliance.