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.
Chinese Laundry Kitchen Dan Dan Noodle Sauce
Bring dan dan noodles, a popular Sichuan street food, home with this ready-to-use jarred sauce from Chinese Laundry Kitchen. The layered, umami-forward sauce gets its tingly spice from roasted Sichuan peppercorns and nutty flavor from sesame, a classic dan dan sauce ingredient. With a hint of sweetness and warm aromatic spice, it makes a near-instant dinner—just boil noodles and toss with the velvety sauce. But we also like it with other ingredients, like fried tofu or in a green bean stir-fry. Made with 100 percent real ingredients and no additives by a family-owned business in California.
Milk Street Kitchin-to™ Knife
Standard chef’s knives are big and heavy because they evolved from Middle Ages daggers, which were designed for defense. It stabs fine, but how well does it handle standard kitchen tasks such as chopping and slicing? Our solution was to look toward Japan, where knives are based on the design of the featherweight samurai sword. Japanese knives are thinner and designed for the task at hand. Based on these lighter, safer knives and our own cooking experience, we developed an all-new modern chef’s knife that’s remarkably easy to use. It’s the Milk Street Kitchin-to, part Chinese cleaver and part vegetable knife. It can handle small jobs such as slicing garlic but also makes heavy-duty jobs a breeze. With the Kitchin-to, you let the knife do the work!
Raisenne Round Bread Dough Riser
Here’s our problem with proofing: You can never fully control the environment. Your kitchen on a hot and humid summer day might be okay for high-moisture breads, but leave others dense and squat. And if it’s too hot, then you run the risk of the dough rising too fast and not having enough time to develop flavor. But a chilly air-conditioned kitchen will extend the proofing time significantly, as yeast divides and grows much slower in cold temps. That’s why we love this unique dough riser—it takes the guesswork and the risk out of the proofing process. Our kitchen team was incredibly impressed with how perfectly the dough turned out each time. We made loaves with and without using the Raisenne and the loaf made with the tool came out a half inch taller and a half inch wider. It’s compatible with any dough that needs to be leavened and is especially great for low-yeast and whole-grain breads that have longer rest times. Simply place the thin disk under your bowl or pan of choice, plug it in and let the heating circuits do the rest. It heats to an ideal 85 degrees, which is the optimal temperature to let your loaf grow at a consistent pace without sacrificing flavor for speed.
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.
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.
CS Fishery Oregon Albacore Tuna
While we love boutique cans and jars of tuna imported from Italy, Spain and Portugal, their prohibitive pricing makes them feel like a real splurge. This Pacific albacore tuna is caught and canned often within the span of a day, so its freshness rivals the European quality but at a much lower price point. Unlike supermarket tuna, which can be mealy or soggy, CS Fishery's product is wonderfully dense and flaky—you can tell this is tuna meat. The fresh, mild and meaty fish is packed in olive oil and seasoned with Jacobsen sea salt, made from the same waters from which the fish are caught. This is premium American tuna—with a clear supply chain—at a reasonable price.
ButterUp Butter Knife
This revolutionary butter knife makes cold butter easily spreadable; it is so ingenious that it is sold at the Museum of Modern Art's Design Store—and pretty much nowhere else. A row of small droplet-shaped holes on one side of the blade function as a grater specifically designed for cold butter. Simply run the knife over cold butter to soften and gather it in thin ribbons. ButterUp has a wider blade than other butter knives, which is ideal both for collecting the grated ribbons and spreading butter more evenly. Plus, cleanup is easy since ButterUp is made from dishwasher-safe stainless steel.
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.)
