This Turkish tool is the secret to perfect char-roasted vegetables, especially if you don’t have a grill or fire pit. The disk fits perfectly over the grate of a gas grill or the burner of a gas stove, so no more painstakingly monitoring vegetables under the broiler or accidentally setting them on fire. The design lets heat circulate evenly around the vegetables, so you are truly roasting, rather than searing (as you would on a skillet). The holes in the közmatik are spaced close enough to hold even small veggies, so there’s no struggle to keep a bulbous eggplant steady or keep slender spring onions from falling into the fire or rolling off. It’s also less messy than trying to char directly on the burner: The közmatik catches nearly all of the bits of charred vegetable skin and juices that would otherwise leak onto the surface of the stove; and, once cooled, it can be thrown in the dishwasher for easy cleanup. Virtually impossible to track down in the U.S., this tool is essential for achieving luscious roasted eggplant and smoky-sweet roasted peppers.

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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.

Homemade sauerkraut and kimchi are made safe and easy with this home fermentation kit. The set includes a three-liter glass fermenting jar—large enough to easily accommodate a large napa cabbage—as well as a silicone lid that seals more easily than twist-top metal lids. Simply slice vegetables, layer with spices and leave to soak in a brine solution. Kilner provides two ceramic stones that will keep your vegetables weighed down beneath the surface of the brine. Additionally, the airlock releases the carbon dioxide that results from fermentation without letting in any oxygen. We love to make homemade kimchi and we use it with our Pork and Kimchi Stew (Kimchi Jjigae) or Kimchi and Bacon Fried Rice; the pickled napa cabbage also serves as a spicy, crunchy key element of our Sesame Stir-Fried Pork with Shiitakes. Or make fresh sauerkraut, whose bright and clean flavor is far superior to store-bought canned and jarred varieties; it's perfect for dishes like our Paprika-Caraway Kielbasa Soup. And don't worry—the Kilner fermentation set is large enough that you will have plenty of homemade pickles for snacking even after you use them generously in recipes.

Crafted from carbon steel, our preferred wok cooking material, this pan features a long beech wood handle (which won’t overheat) as well as an ear handle for easy pouring and transport. Although it doesn’t have any sort of chemical coating, the pan’s glossy black interior undergoes a special nitriding process, which produces an iron nitride layer that increases durability and prevents rust. The inside is then polished to a shine and given a fish-scale uneven finish to promote air flow under food, both of which give the pan incredible nonstick properties straight for the box with a quick initial seasoning. So you don’t have to worry as much about building up a layer of seasoning straight away like you would with other carbon steel pans or cast iron.
Plus, it’s flat bottom ensures it’ll work with any cooking surface and the accompanying lid with an easy-to-grip wood knob makes it ideal for steaming as well.

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Made by a three-generation family metalworking business, this cast iron tortilla press is made with care and craftsmanship in mind. Aluminum tortilla presses are common, but sturdy cast iron yields more even pressure and extra weight. It’s plates are made through a precise sand-casting and molding technique to ensure they (and your tortillas) are perfectly flat. A lever helps you evenly press the plates together, while the base and handle are reinforced so it will last for generations. Plus, it’s pre-seasoned with flaxseed oil, which is generally regarded as the most durable oil for seasoning cast iron because, when it polymerizes at high temperatures, it forms a structure that’s more durable than other common oils.

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This durable steak frypan from French company de Buyer's Mineral B line is thicker than other brands and can be used in the oven as well as on the stove. We like the neat, effective design of the triple-riveted handles, which are the perfect length for easy maneuvering. And with each use, the carbon steel develops more of a protective surface coating that has nonstick properties. De Buyer even coats its pieces with a layer of beeswax to resist rust and provide a foundation for seasoning the pan. Choose between a 9.5-inch diameter—the perfect size for one steak—or an 11-inch diameter pan to make steaks for two. Both are perfect for everything from scrambled eggs and seared steak to grilled cheese or stir-fry.

This traditional earthenware bowl (or ddukbaegi) is incredibly multifunctional, used in Korean cooking for simmering stews or making dolsot bibimbap, a popular sizzling rice dish. Safe for stovetop, microwave and oven use, the cookware is made from fine, porous clay that retains heat well but doesn't absorb soaps, chemicals or any off-flavors—plus, it doesn't require seasoning before first use. Korean stoneware has such excellent heat retention that the bowl is actually meant to double as a serving dish, since it keeps food warm as you're eating. A matching lid and heat-insulating trivet with handles make for easy transport to the table, while the double-fired glaze looks sleek and elegant.

If you’ve never used a clay rice cooker like this one, then you’ve never had fabulous rice. Here’s how it works: Rice and water are placed in the pot and allowed to sit for 20 minutes covered by the cooker’s two lids—an inner lid with one small hole and an outer lid with one as well. Turn on the heat and wait about 10 minutes for steam to escape. After two minutes of steaming, turn off the heat and let the pot sit for another 2-5 minutes. Yes, it’s a bit fussier than an electric rice cooker, but the results are incredible. I’ve been using mine for more than a year and refuse to make rice any other way. A caveat: This pot only works on a gas stove.

This small, gorgeous cast-iron griddle set from Japan is just the pan to sear scallops, a few jumbo shrimp, filet mignon or asparagus. The thin yet sturdy construction heats up quickly—over any burner or grill--and holds its heat well. The textured surface prevents foodstuffs from sticking. With its hardwood base, the griddle can easily be brought to the table and used as much as a hot plate as a cooking pan.We’ll heat it and fill it with appetizers like warm, spiced nuts or baked feta drizzled with fruity olive oil, herbs and pepper flakes. The ingenious handle removes easily for serving and storage.

Named for its place of origin, La Chamba clay cookware from Colombia is crafted completely by hand using centuries-old methods. Made from local river clay, this stunning matte-black comal can be used directly on the stovetop for everything from toasting spices and charring vegetables to frying eggs or warming tortillas. It is perfect for use on the grill when cooking delicate vegetables or fish that benefit from the smoky heat of the grill but could stick or fall apart if cooked directly on the grate. Use the La Chamba comal to char vegetables for our Oaxacan Green Mole with Chicken. Making La Chamba cookware is quite literally a community effort, and every piece passes through the hands of various skilled artisans in one village in Colombia. The three types of clay used in the dishes’ construction make them strong enough to use in the oven, microwave or on your stove—but as with all clay cookware, La Chamba pieces should not be exposed to extreme temperature shock. Instead, heat your comal over low flame, or put it in the oven before preheating.

Unlike nonstick pans that need to be replaced every year or two as their coating wears off, carbon-steel pans are designed for the long haul and actually become more nonstick over time. This durable egg pan from French company de Buyer's Mineral B line is thicker than other brands and can be used in the oven as well as on the stove. This compact pan is the perfect size for everyday use, when you want the benefits of carbon steel but don't want to deal with cleaning a large pan; it's also great for toasting small amounts of spices or blooming spices in fat to make infused oils. And with each use, the pan develops more of a protective surface coating that has nonstick properties.

French company de Buyer's heavy-duty, all-purpose Mineral B Bois pans heat quickly and develop nonstick properties just like cast iron, but they're lighter in weight. There's no better cookware for searing, browning or sautéing: These smartly designed pans have a classic Lyonnaise profile, with sloped sides that are slightly taller than most skillets and especially useful for the quick motions required when tossing or flipping food. De Buyer applies an all-natural beeswax coating to each pan, which not only protects against rust but also provides a foundation for seasoning. The more you use your Mineral B Bois Carbon-Steel Fry Pan, the quicker it transforms from its original gray to mottled blues and oranges before developing a lustrous, fully blackened patina. As the seasoning builds, both through normal care and frequent cooking, the surface also becomes smoother and more nonstick.

Before you use your de Buyer carbon-steel cookware for the first time, clean it with very hot water and rub down the entire surface to remove any excess beeswax; the minute amount that remains will help create a protective layer when you season your pan. Heat oil in your carbon-steel pan—enough to cover the bottom—until it starts to smoke, then discard the oil and rub the cookware down with paper towels. Repeat several times (about 5 or 6) until pan is evenly burnished.

Be careful not to use more than a whisper of soap to wash carbon steel, if any, and dry well. Leaving cookware undried or soaking in a sink will break down your hard-earned patina and potentially lead to rust. In case of stubborn, stuck-on bits of food, scrub the pan with kosher salt moistened with oil, which will simultaneously season the pan. We also recommend wiping a thin coat of neutral oil across the pan’s surface for storage (with use and time, as the patina improves, this will become unnecessary).

• Diameter: 6 inches, 8 inches, 9.5 inches, or 12.5 inches
• Materials: Carbon steel, beechwood
• Use: Suitable for all cooktops, including induction. Suitable for flash heating in the oven— no more than 10 minutes at a temp of 390F or less. This is in part due to the wood, but also to the epoxy coating on the handle.
• Care: Hand-wash only. Deglaze, rinse with warm water, dry and oil lightly. Store in a dry place.

The only one of its kind, this vessel is designed like a reverse dutch oven—with a large, domed lid and more shallow base—and is made from thick cast iron, so it both seals in steam and retains heat to yield the perfect loaf. It’s large enough to accommodate nearly any size of bread and doesn’t require the elaborate workarounds like dutch ovens, baking stones and other equipment does. The Challenger is a combination cooker, which features a large, sturdy lid and a flatter base. It’s much easier to load your dough into the vessel without having to move around high walls and it’s also easier to reach in and score your dough. It’s crafted from heirloom-quality, hand-seasoned extra-thick cast iron, which delivers robust radiant heat to promote even cooking. The dark material does an incredible job at retaining its temperature and steam; it’s essentially an oven within your oven, so the temperature won’t be lost when you remove the lid and the lid itself creates an incredibly tight seal to prevent heat leaks (and achieve that perfect golden crust). Plus, the sturdy cast iron won’t crack like clay bakers will.

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Named for its place of origin, La Chamba clay cookware from Colombia is crafted completely by hand using centuries-old methods. Made from local river clay, the stunning matte-black surface of this casserole dish—which is actually a soup pot—works as well as cast iron but is much more lightweight and easier to handle, with great heat retention. The sturdy bottom of this pot is perfect for slow stovetop cooking, and you can feel free to simmer stews and soups without the risk of burnt-on food at the bottom of your cookware. And because La Chamba cookware is hand-polished using semi-precious stones, its surface is exceptionally easy to clean and has nonstick properties. The pot itself and its lid are hand-molded to fit each other, providing a tight seal when in the proper position. The three types of clay used in the dishes’ construction make them strong enough to use in the oven, microwave or on your stove—but as with all clay cookware, La Chamba pieces should not be exposed to extreme temperature shock.

When you're freshly grinding whole spices, a standard-sized mortar and pestle will do the trick and produce flavorful, aromatic results. But for making fresh salsa, guacamole and the like, a bigger model is more efficient. Enter this extra large mortar and pestle with an impressive 5-cup capacity: Carved from unpolished granite, the set is naturally durable and perfectly textured for efficient grinding, whether you're turning fibrous ginger root into paste or breaking down the tough skins of rehydrated chili peppers. The mortar's deep bowl (with an 8-inch diameter) makes it ideal for preparing wet fresh ingredients such as curry pastes, chutneys or chimichurri, as they're less likely to splash onto your countertops. And we love the accompanying pestles, which have generous lengths of 8.5 inches and 6.5 inches; they're easy to grip and have a tapered shape that allows for better grip and control.

• Net Weight: 18 pounds
• Mortar Diameter: 8 inches
• Pestle Length: 8.5-inch and 6.5-inch pestles
• Capacity: 5 cups
• Material: Unpolished granite
• Care: Hand-wash only