moHA! Ginger Grater
The moHA! ginger grater has blades that are arranged in all directions for steady grating, as opposed to a one-directional rasp grater. But like with a wand-style rasp grater, moHA!'s cutting surface is made of sharp and durable precision-cut stainless steel. When you rotate the device, an integrated cleaning arm sweeps in a circular motion to scrape shavings off the blade, so all of the grated food ends up in your recipe, not stuck in crevices. A small compartment catches food shavings, for less mess and easier measuring; plus, the concave sides are comfortable to hold and allow you to keep a firm grip on the grater during use. The moHA! Ginger Grater has pieces that detach easily for cleaning, but the device stays together during use. When you're done using it, simply disassemble and toss it in the dishwasher.
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.
Christopher Kimball for Kuhn Rikon Ratchet Grinder
Most pepper mills (this model also grinds spices) take forever to grind just one tablespoon. This new design—which we developed with Kuhn Rikon—is easy to use and produces all the spice you can use quickly and easily. Its innovative back-and-forth ratchet action is easier than a twist-style mill, especially for those with hand issues. The precision ceramic grinder is effective and durable, and the front-loading hopper is far easier than top-loading grinders, where half the spices inevitably spill during filling. Perhaps our favorite feature is the removable bottom container, which makes it easy to measure and transport spices to a stovetop pot or mixing bowl.
Cuisipro Box Grater
This box grater features four cutting sides—coarse grate, medium grate, fine grate and slice—all made from etched metal, which increases each blade’s sharpness and durability, and they won’t buckle under pressure. And unlike other brands, which often have a thick frame of metal or plastic between each cutting surface, Cuisipro extends each of their grater's cutting surfaces to the edge: more area means easier slicing, quicker grating and less work, so you can tackle soft foods like certain cheeses and sturdy veggies like carrots with ease. Plus, there aren’t any extra nooks and crannies for bits of food to get stuck in, making for easier cleanup. Its ergonomic top handle is coated in comfortable, nonslip rubber, and the grater has a rubberized detachable base that holds it steady, measures volume and collects the gratings. You can simply grate, measure, remove and dump directly into your pan without extra fuss.
Milk Street Palmpress Portable One-Cup Coffee Press
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.
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.
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.
Otoshibuta Adjustable Stainless Steel Drop Lid
In Japan, cooks have a clever tool for ensuring that simmering foods stay below the liquid instead of bobbing along the surface. They use an otoshibuta, or drop lid. Though drop lids are traditionally made of wood, we like this new and adjustable stainless steel version, designed to fit a variety of pot sizes. It also doesn’t absorb flavors the way wood can. To use, simply set the otoshibuta over food in simmering liquid, which weighs those items down just enough to keep them below the surface. The drop lid also forces liquid to circulate (so food is evenly covered with no stirring required), holds ingredients in place to prevent breakage and promotes faster cooking. We like to use them when blanching kale or chard, which can puff above boiling water, or when simmering black-eyed peas, lentils and other legumes to keep them fully submerged.
Tofudee Tofu Press
For most types of tofu, pressing it to extract excess liquid is key to maintaining its shape when cooked and to helping it get crispy and brown every time. The Tofudee Tofu Press excels at this—and does it in about half the time while making less mess. No more wrapping tofu in paper towels, weighing it down, straining and draining. Instead, with the Tofudee, tofu is placed in a plastic box with an inner plastic liner with holes on the bottom. The top presses down with the turn of a screw handle, squeezing the tofu while water is drawn away from the block. Tofu is ready to use 15 minutes later and good for up to 24 hours stored in the refrigerator. We love the nonslip silicone handle, tension-absorbent legs and easy-latch lid; together they make easy work of pressing and straining your tofu. It’s also great for making fresh cheeses, like labneh or paneer.
de Buyer Bain Marie/Double Boiler
French company de Buyer's compact stainless steel bain marie is a double boiler with a convenient built-in water chamber for gently heating foods. Simply fill the water chamber through an opening in the handle, and when heated the bain marie applies gentle, indirect heat to foods. It's ideal for melting chocolate, heating sauces or making custard. We like its pressure valve and heat-resistant silicone handle, which make for safe and easy handling. Plus, de Buyer has measuring marks for the pot's internal volume (in quarts) and a clear window in the handle that allows you to keep an eye on the water level of your double boiler.
moHA!: Ginger Grater
The moHA! ginger grater has blades that are arranged in all directions for steady grating, as opposed to a one-directional rasp grater. But like with a wand-style rasp grater, moHA!'s cutting surface is made of sharp and durable precision-cut stainless steel. When you rotate the device, an integrated cleaning arm sweeps in a circular motion to scrape shavings off the blade, so all of the grated food ends up in your recipe, not stuck in crevices. A small compartment catches food shavings, for less mess and easier measuring; plus, the concave sides are comfortable to hold and allow you to keep a firm grip on the grater during use. The moHA! Ginger Grater has pieces that detach easily for cleaning, but the device stays together during use. When you're done using it, simply disassemble and toss it in the dishwasher.
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.
Mason Cash Garlic Store and Grater
This charming ceramic pot functions as a two-in-one garlic storage container and grater. Three holes in the side provide ample air circulation to keep garlic fresh, while the jar shields the cloves from light, which can lead to sprouting. Our favorite feature is the lid, which conceals a grating surface on its underside. The ceramic nubs are arranged in a spiral pattern reminiscent of Japanese-style ginger graters; Mason Cash's adaptation is highly effective and easy to scrape clean. And unlike with wand-style graters, there are no sharp teeth that will scrape fingers or snag sponges or towels—in fact, the whole product is dishwasher-safe.
Skeppshult Cast-Iron Spice Mill
The gritty texture of Skeppshult's hand-held grinder makes it easier to coarsely grind spices and is designed so ingredients stay in a concentrated area for efficient crushing. The softly radiused iron base fits the hand well, and the walnut-wood top provides a better grip and looks beautiful. Weighing just over two pounds, it feels great, looks great and is a pleasure to use.
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.
Work Sharp Rolling Knife Sharpener
Based on a style of manual sharpeners used widely in Europe, Work Sharp, our preferred sharpening partners, have released the first American-made Rolling Knife Sharpener in the U.S. market. Unlike a complicated whetstone or electric sharpener, which require skill or planning to use (no need to soak a whetstone here!), the Work Sharp uses a magnetic angle block and rotating abrasives to bring blades back to razor sharpness. The block comes with four different sharpening angles—15°, 17°, 20° and 25°—to sharpen a wide style of knives. And the three abrasive wheels come in three levels of coarseness: coarse 320 Grit diamond, fine 600 Grit diamond and fine ceramic hone. To use, simply line your knife up against the block on one of the angles, then roll each abrasive along the cutting edge to sharpen, going from most coarse to most fine. We were impressed with the sharpener’s precision performance—dull test knives were returned to out-of-the-box sharpness. And when you’re done, it stores away easily in your drawer.
Marcato Ravioli Tablet
For uniform, perfectly filled ravioli every time, we rely on Marcato’s Ravioli Tablet to do the heavy lifting for us. The trusted Italian brand has been leading the way in designing innovative pasta tools since 1930, and this secret weapon is certainly an innovation. The heavy base with sturdy silicone feet is made of solid, food-grade, anodized aluminum with deep wells for lots of filling, while the removable cutting surface is made of durable, easy-to-clean Tritan that cuts neatly and precisely. Simply add your sheet of dough, lightly press, add your filling then the second sheet, then use the included anodized-aluminum rolling pin to pop the ravioli cleanly out of their molds without tearing or sticking. This beautiful green tablet makes ten 2-square inch ravioli at a time, so dinner will be quick work.