Meet Oliver: Slow Cooker Of The Future

These days, a slow cooker is one of the most popular items to have in your kitchen. The compact device is perfect for meal prep and Sunday dinners alike, and when your Facebook and Instagram feeds are flooded with posts about glorious one-pot meals.

Inventor Ron Popeil's famous "set it and forget" tagline is the mantra of the Crock-Pot-user generation, thanks to the ability to throw a bunch of ingredients into a pot then return a few hours later to a delicious meal. But as many of us know, since ingredient cooking times vary, it's not always that easy.

A San Francisco company is looking to change all that with the invention of a new slow cooker called the Oliver. The designers at Matter created this device to accommodate varying cook times, offering six separate canisters that drop ingredients into the pot at the required time, ensuring each component is cooked perfectly. No more underdone potatoes or overcooked carrots.

The device is controlled by an app that also allows you to search through a recipe database. Once you select the recipe you want, the app tells you which ingredients you need and how to prep them. Then you simply place each prepped ingredient in its respective canister, and Oliver takes care of the rest.

Hoping to add this to your Christmas list? A release date hasn't been set, however, Khalid Aboujassoum, the inventor of Oliver, tells Business Insider that it will begin a pilot program in September.