Huilerie Beaujolaise Calamansi Vinegar
We absolutely love this small-batch vinegar from French artisanal producer Huilerie Beaujolaise. With a bright and tangy vibrancy akin to tangerine, this vinegar almost tastes like a shrub, or drinking vinegar. Ubiquitous to Filipino cuisine, calamansi is a citrus hybrid between kumquat and mandarin orange.
BLiS Gourmet Barrel Aged Fish Sauce
This bourbon barrel-aged fish sauce is mellowed by seven months of sitting in oak, so the earthy, meaty funk that one expects from any fermented fish product is beautifully balanced by a complementary sweetness. BLiS's product is also rounded out with soft notes imparted by the seven-month aging process: warming spices, vanilla, and fruit woods, as well as a subtle smoky depth.
Villa Jerada Harissa
Villa Jerada’s Harissa No. 1 is our favorite version of this North African red pepper paste for its bright, complex flavor. While many store-bought varieties have a one-dimensional spicy flavor, this harissa layers acidity and fruitiness with preserved lemons, a touch of vinegar and tomato paste for a lively, tangy condiment. Villa Jerada uses just enough high-quality Moroccan olive oil to make the harissa spreadable and smooth without diluting its flavor, as opposed to conventional brands that contain a high proportion of water and vegetable oil.
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.)
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.
Vain Vanilla Original Baker's Blend Pure Vanilla Extract
This small-batch vanilla extract from Kansas-based Vain Vanilla is prepared completely by hand using only the best ingredients. The Original Baker's Blend is made with top-shelf rum that emphasizes vanilla's sweet characteristics and adds its own cane-sugar dimension. We especially love that Vain Vanilla leaves its vanilla pods in the bottle, which has two benefits. First, over time the extract will continue to deepen in color and become more complex as the pods release more flavor compounds. Second, when you're done with the vanilla extract, you can still slice open the pods and use the beans themselves in your desserts.
Milk Street Precision Peeler Replacement Blades - Set of 3
A set of 3 replacement blades for the Milk Street Precision Peeler.
Few peelers actually do what they are designed to do: shave away the skins and peels from fruits and vegetables. That is why, here at Milk Street, we have been talking about a new peeler design for years.
After testing dozens of peelers in all shapes and sizes on a variety of fruits and vegetables, we designed our perfect peeler that’s both comfortable to use and razor sharp.
The polished 420 high-carbon steel blade is razor sharp and extra stiff, so it won’t flex during use the way thinner models do (flex causes poor performance and the blade to stick). The blade has a wide pivot to accommodate ingredients of all shapes and size, from butternut squash and eggplant to Parmesan and chocolate.
Even the sharpest blades eventually dull with use, so we’ve designed the blade to be easily replaced. Simply unscrew the orange strut, pop out the dull blade and swap in a new one.
Dreamfarm Garject Garlic Press
We found the most effective garlic press on the market. From Australian company Dreamfarm, the Garject is designed for unpeeled garlic cloves so you don't need to get your hands dirty. A spring-loaded button ejects peels out of the device and straight into the trash, while a built-in scraper automatically pushes minced garlic into your dish once you open the press. We love the Garject's streamlined design, and the handles are slightly longer than other models for added leverage and easier pressing. It feels sturdy and balanced in the hand, not flimsy like some garlic presses, and the hopper fits multiple smaller cloves so it's more efficient. With the self-cleaning scraper and peel-eject button, the Garject needs very little additional cleaning—we find a quick rinse to be sufficient. But as an added bonus, it's also completely dishwasher-safe.
Dreamfarm Fluicer
Squeezing fresh citrus can be painful and often shoots more juice across your counter and clothes than into your dish. But Dreamfarm’s “Fluicer,” cleverly named to combine “flat” and “juicer,” solves these citrus-squeezing problems. The handheld flat-folding juicer is smartly designed to squeeze citrus from side to side, not top to bottom like most manual juice presses. And it combines a clever hinge and two sturdy handles for an easy squeeze that requires much less force than other juicers we’ve tried (and still gets out all the juice).
The Fluicer can handle citrus of multiple sizes ranging from limes to grapefruits, a built-in strainer catches seeds and the dishwasher-safe squeezer folds completely flat for efficient storage—no more getting your drawer caught on rounded cups.
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. Mesh Cover
A good splatter screen will protect your kitchen, arms and clothes from hot splattering oil while frying, but most trap steam that prevents crisping and cover the contents of your pan to the point it’s harder to see your food’s progress. Aux Co. Ltd’s Mesh Cover Splatter Screen solves these problems, both eliminating dangerous splattering from foods like bacon, while also allowing you to see inside your pan thanks to non-reflective material. It’s constructed from durable stainless steel—unlike other splatter screens made from flimsy plastic—plus, extra-fine mesh, which stops popping oil and allows steam to escape to ensure crispy results. And the mesh is non-stick, so it’s easy to clean. We love that it’s made in Japan’s Tsubame-Sanjo, an area renowned for its superior metal craftsmanship and expertise, so we trust it will be long lasting and stand up to grease and heat.
Dreamfarm Brizzle Basting Brush
This ingenious silicone tool won a Good Design Award because it makes basting with pan juices, drizzling oil or brushing egg wash much easier, more efficient and less messy. The flexible brush head of the Brizzle by Dreamfarm includes a cup that bends to scoop up 1 tablespoon of liquid—the equivalent of 15 dips of a regular basting brush—from hard-to-reach corners without having to tilt a heavy baking dish or tray. Four holes hidden among the 100 bristles let the liquid drizzle through, making it easy to spread quickly over the surface. And a weighted curved handle keeps the brush head off the counter so it creates less mess. We especially love using it to baste pastries with melted butter or egg wash or to apply a thin layer of barbecue sauce to grilled meats. It’s also nonstick, won’t trap bacteria, dishwasher safe and heat resistant to 500°F. Choose from red or black to complement your kitchen decor.
Özlem’s Turkish Table Cookbook by Özlem Warren
Cook, teacher, author and Friend of Milk Street Özlem Warren’s cookbook is a love letter to the always fresh, incredibly varied cuisine of Turkey—which is most often savored around a table with family and friends. Warren shares some of her favorite recipes from her hometown of Antioch, Antakya throughout its pages, such as Dried Baked Apricots with Walnuts; Turkish Flat Breads with Spinach, Feta and Peppers, Peynirli Pide; and Homemade Red Pepper Paste, Biber Salçasi; all of which are inspired by the rich lands of Southern Turkey. Warren has loved food since she was a child—her mother and grandmother would cook lunch each day to be enjoyed in her courtyard surrounded by fig trees. And Antakya’s cuisine is bursting with aromatic herbs, bold spices, hearty grains like bulgur and freekeh and simple flavorings like olive oil and molasses. It’s inspired by ancient traditions and has influences from Ottoman, Arabic and French cuisines. In this book are some of Warren’s own favorite Turkish recipes, each lovingly made and passed down from her grandmother to her parents and now to her own family’s table. The book was named Best in the World at the 2020 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Heritage for Turkey and received an Honorary Mention at the 2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.
Dreamfarm Flisk 3-in-1 Whisk
We know it’s easy to be skeptical of the infamous kitchen multitool, but believe us when we say the Flisk is not a gimmick. Our kitchen team was blown away by the quality. This nifty tool didn’t win a Red Dot design award for nothing. It seamlessly shifts between three different shapes with a simple click of the knob located at the end of the handle. The first setting is a classic balloon whisk, perfect for beating egg whites into stiff peaks or making a quick batch of homemade whipped cream, and another half-opened setting (it’s narrowly X shaped when looked at from above) is ideal for stirring sauces, as it can also sneak into the edges of pans to make sure everything’s evenly mixed. Lastly, it folds completely flat, which does wonders for deglazing a pan and also for easy, tangle-free storage. We found the durable plastic of the ergonomic handle to stand up to a good amount of wear and tear and so can the Flisk’s 10 wires. They’re made from high-vibration spring steel to give you maximum aeration efficiency with (this means fluffy frostings in a flash) and are hygienically sealed within the handle.
Yandilla Mustard Seed Oil
Yandilla Mustard Seed Oil, the only food-grade mustard seed oil in the United States, provides a wasabi-like kick and a big punch of flavor to dishes, either cooked or raw. We like that this mustard oil isn’t overly cloying but rather balanced out by the spicy flavors, and the company processes the oil through fine micron cloth filters, resulting in a wonderfully silky texture. Because of its high smoke point, mustard oil is an ideal cooking medium for added piquancy; heating the oil mellows out some of its pungency, providing a mild but peppery kick that subsides to a lingering warmth.
Work Sharp Benchtop Whetstone Knife Sharpener
We love whetstones because they work on knives of all kinds—even on other bladed tools like kitchen shears. The aluminum oxide stone has two levels of grit: Premium 1000 grit sharpens and restores your knife’s edge, while the 6000 grit refines and polishes the edge to finish. It works fast and is long-lasting, plus the sharpening base provides stability, scratch prevention (it’s equipped with nonskid feet) and better water control, which makes for easier cleanup after you’re done. We also really like that this whetstone comes with adjustable angle guides, which makes the whole process easier on the user. It comes with guides for both 15 degrees, which works for Eastern-style knives, and 17 degrees (which we’re partial to, since that’s the angle of most of our Milk Street knives).
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.
Kankitsu Labo Dry Candied Citrus Peels 5 Pack Sampler
Harvested and made in the Ehime Prefecture of Japan, Kankitsu Labo’s Dry Candied Citrus Peels are unique and full of complex, fresh citrus flavor. Kankitsu’s—translating to “Japanese citrus,” is a fitting company name—sampler pack of candied citrus rinds ranges far beyond the common flavors of lemon and orange that you’d find in the United States. Perfectly sugared and never sticky, try yuzu for a pleasant, fruity bitterness; gently tart amanatsu; rich, sweet-and-sour iyokan; refreshing and light kawachi bankan or vibrant, tangy blood orange. Snack on them as they are, sprinkle over ice cream and yogurt, use as a garnish on cocktails or add into baked goods like muffins, pies and cakes.