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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
ChefSofi Granite Mortar and Pestle Set
This Mortar and Pestle's deep bowl, which is about 4.5 inches in diameter, will contain all of your spices as you're cracking or grinding, for fewer crumbs and bits on your kitchen counter. The pestle is 7 inches long and tapered to allow for comfort and control—a firm grip on the pestle makes grinding easier on your hand, and you won't have to worry about scraping it against the edges of the bowl. And, since the mortar is solid all the way through to its base, it provides a stable foundation for grinding spices finely or crushing herbs to release their aromas, as with our Italian-style Spicy Garlic and Herb Oil. This version, carved from unpolished granite, has a generous 2-cup capacity, which means you can make larger quantities of pesto or chimichurri at a time than with other brands.
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.
Las Hermanas Pimentón de la Vera Dulce DOP - Sweet Smoked Paprika
This sweet paprika from Hijos de Salvador López has a complex smokiness that comes from a two-week drying process over smoldering oak logs as well as subtle fruitiness imparted by the local red peppers from which it was made. Because of the traditional methods used to produce it, pimentón de la Vera has an intense, penetrating flavor that adds depth to any dish—it does so much more than the supermarket stuff you dust over deviled eggs for color.
Original Zeroll Ice Cream Scoop #1016
We’ve never scooped ice cream so easily! Made from sturdy aluminum alloy, this scooper is made to give you a lifetime of sundaes. It won’t bend or flake like plastic versions will and it’s also a single piece of material, with no tiny springs or mechanical parts that could get lost or broken. The Zeroll is resistant to corrosion, too. It does a great job at digging into even dense, high-fat ice creams like Häagen-Dazs easily thanks to its unique heat-conducting handle—which is also comfortable to hold. It’s filled with a special fluid that transfers your hand’s warmth to the dish of the scooper, so you can slide through the ice cream without having to heat the scoop beforehand. And not only does the Zeroll easily release your ice cream, but it makes stunning scoops every time. Its bowl allows the thick ribbon of ice cream to curl under itself using one or multiple passes (depending on your desired size), so it forms a perfect sphere. The Zeroll also doesn’t compress the ice cream like others can, so the texture is fluffy and the scoop is 20% larger than a typical one formed from a lesser scooper.
Hasegawa Wood Core Soft Rubber Cutting Board
This cutting board is not only durable, but it also will prolong the life of your knife blade. The “pull-and-slice” technique is the common way to slice food in Japanese cooking, which can often lead to chipped edges if using a hard cutting board. But this one is coated in layers of soft plastic that provides much better protection for your knives and protection for your fingers, since it’s non-slip. Plus, the material has strong antimicrobial properties—one of the highest standards in Japan—so it won’t hold germs as much as a standard cutting board would between uses. Its wood core keeps the cutting board from warping from use. And since it’s not entirely made of wood, it's much more lightweight to use.