Maalouf Authentic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Stone-milled exclusively from a single grove of small, slender Souri olives grown in North Lebanon, Maalouf's early-harvest oil possesses a potent green-yellow color and a buttery, rich flavor with hints of green apple and artichoke. It has a subtle peppery kick and addictively long, nutty finish. This is truly an all-purpose, extra-virgin olive oil without the overpowering bitterness that mars many other brands. We have a very limited inventory of this small-batch oil; once we're sold out, we can't get more until next year's olive harvest.
Milk Street Közmatik
When a recipe calls for charring vegetables, what do you do? Well, you can fire up the grill but that is a lot of work for just one eggplant or two bell peppers. In Turkey, however, they have a better solution called the Közmatik, a metal disk that fits perfectly over the burner of a gas stove. Evenly spaced holes allow heat to circulate around the vegetables, so you are truly roasting, rather than searing as you would on a skillet. The holes are close enough to hold even small veggies, like slender spring onions, and the disk is large enough to keep several bulbous eggplants from rolling off. It’s also less messy than charring directly on the burner: The Közmatik catches nearly all of the bits of charred vegetable skin and juices that would leak onto the surface of the stove. And, once cooled, it can be thrown in the dishwasher for easy cleanup.
Milk Street Nakiri
What if we told you there is a Japanese knife specifically designed for vegetable prep that will make your cooking safer, easier and faster? It is vastly better than the all-purpose European chef’s knife, which is clunky, heavy and too thick to precisely slice and dice onions, cut carrots into perfect coins or reduce chard into feathery ribbons. The solution is the Milk Street Nakiri. It’s light, thin and sharp, with a design that resembles a mini cleaver—2 inches deep with a squared-off tip. A very thin blade, just 1.6 millimeters at the top, tapers down even thinner toward the end so it slices through even tough ingredients effortlessly without bending. The broad blade shields your fingers when you chop and works as a bench scraper to transfer chopped veggies to the simmering pot. With the help of veteran industrial designer David Lewin, we added a few special touches. The blade is embossed with a nonstick file pattern that replicates the kourochi (blacksmith) or tshuchime (pear skin) finish to traditional nakiris, so sliced ingredients fall right off. A gentle curve accommodates fingers when choking up tight for control, and the handle has been designed to provide a nonslip grip.
Milk Street Julienne Peeler
Shredding vegetables into a fine julienne turns tough vegetables tender and opens up their flavor. However, it usually requires the hassle of hauling out the food processor—and finding the shredding attachments, or using a box grater, which will tear at your knuckles if you’re not paying keen attention. Or, you can try your luck with any number of the cheap, gimmicky shredders on the market, which dull quickly and buckle under use.
The Milk Street Julienne Peeler makes shredding vegetables easy, safe and effective. We married our confidence-inspiring, ergonomic 304 stainless steel handle to a razor-sharp, 16-tooth julienne blade for a lifetime tool. Shred your way through soft and hard vegetables alike for salads, slaws, hash browns and more. And when the blade eventually wears out, its easily replaceable with the turn of the screw.
Fundodai "Clear" Soy Sauce
Salty, rich soy flavor that’s completely clear in color? From the masters at Fundodai, this clear shoyu made in Japan was inspired by clear colas and non-alcoholic beers, quickly gaining international attention for its unique attributes. Just as full of complex flavor as a typical dark soy sauce, this shoyu is ideal for incorporating into dishes without altering the color like traditional soy would. Transparent or “invisible,” the clear salinity is matched with sweet boozy notes, a bit of tang and tons of umami. Use it anywhere you would soy sauce, especially in dishes in which you’d prefer to avoid a color change. We especially like it to season a lightly colored soup, raw or cooked fish or a fresh pot of rice.
Woon Kitchen Stir Fry Sauce
Packed full of savory, umami flavor, Woon Kitchen’s Stir Fry Sauce is a quick and satisfying addition to noodles, vegetables, rice, meat and more. Based in LA, the mother and son duo behind the company began selling Chinese comfort dishes at a pop-up restaurant. Immensely popular today, Woon Kitchen now has a brick-and-mortar location where they sell the same comfort food and some of the ingredients that make it—including their stir-fry sauce. Packaged in an easy-to-squeeze bottle, perfect for controlling your drizzle, this sauce combines a punch of oyster sauce and the funk of mushrooms, balanced out by a hit of sugar and salty soy sauce. It coats udon noodles and vegetables evenly, or makes a fantastic marinade for grilled meats.
Graza Co. Squeeze "Drizzle" and "Sizzle" Olive Oil Set
Enjoy the best of both worlds with Graza’s “Drizzle & Sizzle” combo pack of extra-virgin olive oils. Grown and made in Jaen, Spain, the country where about half the world’s olive oil is produced, Graza uses 100% picual olives for both their blends of extra virgin olive oil. Use “Drizzle” for finishing, made from olives harvested by hand in October when they are still young, green and not fully ripe. The younger olives make an olive oil that is full of attitude, grassy and peppery, with a spicy zip that finishes a dish beautifully. “Sizzle” is for everyday cooking, made from picual olives harvested in December and January, when they are more mature and juicy. Once pressed, “Sizzle” is a bit more mellow and milder in flavor—though still with a grassy, peppery bite—perfect for roasting, searing, poaching, pan frying, baking and marinating. Both versions also come packaged in an easy to use squeeze bottle, so you can emulate exactly what chefs do in restaurants.
Villa Jerada Saffron
A few threads can go a long way of this incredible organic saffron harvested from the Moroccan city of Taliouine, high in the country’s Atlas Mountains. While most saffron is cultivated in the Middle-East, with much of the world’s production coming from Iran, but there’s something so special about Moroccan saffron. It tastes of hay, honey and hibiscus flower, with a lovely aroma that hits you the second you open the jar. Inferior saffron threads are often dry and brittle and crushed to bits by the time you crack open the jar (a sign of lacking freshness) but these are fully intact and look like delicate threads of rich crimson. It’s even placed judiciously in the tin in such a way that prevents breakage. Plus, it’s pure saffron with no fillers—some less quality versions are bulked up with dyed corn silks. Moroccan saffron is some of the most fragrant available—a sweet aroma of honey with a pleasant bitterness. It’s remarkably potent, rich, heady and unmistakably saffron.
Kimchi Toasted Sesame Seeds - (Set of 2)
Adding a punch of flavor and texture, these toasted Japanese sesame seeds are the definition of “good things come in small packages.” Available in a set of two, this Kimchi-flavored crunchy topping far surpasses your standard sesame seed. Tangy, garlicky and sweet, it pairs well with the warm, gentle nuttiness of sesame. Add them just about anywhere, from sauces and oils to stir-fries, salads, noodles, veggies and meat. You may even find yourself popping a handful on their own—we certainly have.
Topfi Pot Lid Holder
Most home cooks can relate to the annoyance of scrambling to find some counter space to put down a pot lid, all while dripping liquid all over your floors and counters. But with a bit of German engineering, this problem is solved. Topfi’s Lid Holder, made of pure stainless steel, attaches to virtually any pot to provide a convenient and sturdy spot to store your lid when not in use. Small but mighty, it was a hit during testing with everyone in our kitchen. It’ll keep your surfaces clean, is dishwasher safe and, once you put the lid back on, it doubles as an easy way to allow some steam to escape from your pot. Plus, it has attached silicone tips to protect your pot from damage. It may just become the most used tool in your kitchen!
Aux Co. Ltd. Gassiri Tongs
Though upon first glance Aux Co. Ltd’s Gassiri Tongs seem just like any other pair, our kitchen team was blown away after testing them. The rounded shape makes it easy to pick up spherical items like meatballs, eggs or potatoes that may run away using a normal pair of tongs. But the sides of these tongs are what really set them apart—one is designed with slits and the other with a scoop that can hold about a tablespoon of liquid. Use the slotted side to strain out unwanted liquid, like when rendering bacon, or use the scoop side to add pasta water to your sauce. Sturdy stainless steel construction—complete with a sufficient handle length—also makes these tongs strong and safe so you can pick up heavy, hot ingredients without any problems. However, they can still be used delicately—they work just as well picking up a strand of spaghetti or a soft boiled egg.
Milk Street Ginger Confit
The worst thing in any recipe is seeing, “2 tablespoons of ginger, grated.” Ginger is one of the most annoying ingredients to prep. It’s a pain to peel, grating takes forever and by the end, you’ve probably dirtied a spoon, plate and a grater—which gets packed with stringy fibers. Instead, reach for Milk Street Premium Essentials Ginger Confit, the closest thing to fresh ginger you’ll ever taste out of a jar. Supermarket ginger pastes can be stinging-sharp, packed with additives and unpleasantly fibrous, so we developed this product to solve those problems to produce a fresh, clean ginger taste. Never grate ginger again!
Mount Mansfield Maple Products Maple Syrup
This incredibly rich syrup has notes of butterscotch, honey and toasted sugar, with a heady base of vanilla and dried fruit. A member of our kitchen team likened its richness to a melted Werther's candy. It’s medium-bodied, which means it can easily be drizzled, but never too watery like store-bought versions. Compared to others, this one has a strong “true maple” flavor to it—nothing like more run-of-the-mill syrups that often have an off pine taste.
Marna Silicone Piggy Steamer Lid
Designed for steaming food, the Marna Piggy Steamer from Japan is a silicone lid that forms a tight seal over pots and containers, vents excess steam through its snout and is easy to lift by its ear-shaped handles. Use it for perfect stovetop steaming, splatter-free microwave cooking or even refrigerator storage in place of plastic wrap. It's more compact and flexible than metal pot lids and fits any vessel less than 8.5 inches in diameter, with the silicone locking in moisture for effective steaming; smartly designed holes in the pig snout act as vents to avoid built-up pressure. When you're done using it, you can throw the lid in a kitchen drawer for storage without worrying about finding a spot on the shelf.
Aux Co. Ltd. Japan Sukueru Knife
This unique serving spoon-knife combo tool is a must-have for serving. Right at the table (or the picnic blanket or the potluck), you can use the serrated edge to cut out your perfect portion of food and then use the dipped bowl of the spoon to easily scoop it into your plate. The concave shape and wider width actually lifts up the food and holds it there—it won’t go tumbling back onto the platter like it would with a classic narrow, triangular server. The blade is sharp enough to cut through pizza crust and it’s ideal for slicing through gooey lasagna without lopping off that top layer of chewy cheese trying to slice and serve. Plus, it’s made from durable, dishwasher safe stainless steel with a satin finish, which is great for camouflaging scratches after frequent use. (And we promise you’ll be using this tool quite a bit.)
Zulay Kitchen Metal Manual Citrus Press Juicer
This two-in-one manual juicer is the top choice of our kitchen team. Its lever-style design is much easier on the hands than a typical reamer style, which requires difficult pressing and twisting, and it’s more efficient than other similar juicers, which require you to buy and store multiple to get every size you need. Made from durable, industrial-grade aluminum, the Zulay’s unique dual-cup design can easily accommodate both lemons and limes. It also inverts the citrus as it juices, accessing spots inside the fruit that other juicers can’t quite reach and catching large pulp pieces and stray seeds along the way. Plus, it directs the juice stream downward, so no more splatter on countertops and clothing.
Pure Indian Foods Alphonso Mango Puree
Rarely have we seen a mango puree in supermarkets and, if we do, it’s often full of sweeteners and additives. Made from Alphonso mangoes, which are renowned in India for their natural sweetness and buttery-smooth texture, this puree contains no added sugar or preservatives—it’s just pure, juicy mango. About five fresh mangos are packed into every jar of this luscious puree and its silky texture is pourable, yet decadent like yogurt, and has a rich, bright flavor that balances sweet and tart, akin to snacking on refreshing mangoes at their peak season.
Shibanuma Yakiniku BBQ Sauce
Translating to “grilled meat” in Japanese, yakiniku is a social style of cooking and eating around a communal grill. Popular throughout Japan, family and friends gather around a tabletop grill to cook meat, vegetables and fish together before dipping them into a several kinds of yakiniku sauces. Shibanuma’s Yakiniku BBQ Sauce is inspired by this concept. Crafted by a 330-year-old esteemed Japanese soy sauce maker, it is no surprise that the first ingredient in this sauce is an umami-rich soy sauce, which is brewed and aged in wooden barrels. The soy is then combined with onion, fruity apple and zingy sansho pepper—a fragrant and floral Japanese peppercorn—to cut through the richness and balance out the flavors. The result? A complex grilling sauce that works just as well as a marinade as it does drizzled over rice.