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.

Coaxing out the rounded, complex flavor of garlic is an essential part of the cooking process, but what if you don’t have time? Pre-prepped grocery store jarred garlics are typically raw—so they won’t speed up the process much—and often taste bitter and harsh, or lack flavor altogether. We searched for a garlic that was pre-prepped (to avoid painstaking slicing and grating), shelf-stable and already cooked and flavored so it could be used straight from the jar. We didn’t see any products on the market that fit the bill. That’s why we developed our own. Enter: Milk Street Premium Essentials Garlic Confit, which features more than a whole head of garlic in every jar. To make it, we simmered delicate slivers of garlic with herbs and spices in a creamy blend of extra-virgin olive oil and buttery Indian ghee. First, you taste the rich, rounded garlic—slow-cooked and tender. Then, the bright tinge of lemon followed by the aromatics steeped in the confit’s silky oil: warming, earthy bay leaf and fruity Aleppo pepper with a hint of heat. This complex mélange of flavors is bold enough to stand alone, but it also easily blends into all kinds of savory dishes and cuisines.

We created our sofrito to be the perfect building block to cook a wide variety of recipes in less time, based on the tradition of Italian and Spanish grandmothers who make this by the jar to simplify cooking and boost flavor. After much testing, we came up with an aromatic base of sautéed onions, carrots and celery, complemented by the bright tones of tomatoes, white wine and vinegar. For additional depth, it has earthy, umami notes from mushroom powder, aromatic notes of rosemary and thyme, and just a hint of heat from black pepper and Kashmiri chili powder. A few tablespoons of this jammy sofrito is all it takes to spread rich, concentrated power into soups, sauces, stews, braises and nearly anything else that needs a boost of big flavor.

A unique cross between a Japanese vegetable knife and a Chinese cleaver, the Kitchin-to™ will replace your chef’s knife. The knife's overall design borrows elements from our two favorite knives: the Japanese vegetable knife (nakiri) and the Chinese cleaver (cai dao). The 7-inch-long blade is nearly as tall as a cleaver—almost 2.5 inches at the butt—and 1.5 millimeters thick, much thinner than most Western-style knives and sharpened to an acute 15-17 degrees per side. The Kitchin-to™ can mince, chop, slice and push-cut, and it's broad enough to use as a bench scraper for transferring chopped foods from the cutting board. And similar to a Japanese santoku, the gently arced blade design can be used for both Western- and Japanese-style cutting methods. Its blunt tip keeps fingers safe, and the butt of the bolsterless blade is curved inward to make it easy to grip for fine control. A filework pattern machined into the blade near the handle acts as a grippy, tactile point for the thumb and index finger to grasp securely.

The knife’s ergonomic handle is made from micarta, a nearly indestructible composite created from layers of linen tightly compacted in phenolic resin. The material feels smooth and secure in the hand and becomes subtly grippier when wet. The handle is flattened on top to securely fill the palm, then tapers downward toward the butt of the knife to accommodate a secure grip.

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.

I designed this Japanese-style vegetable knife, or nakiri, with Henckels International. Its cutting edge measures 6.5 inches and is 2 inches high, half the height of a Chinese cleaver; the deeper blade makes it easier to rest the flat side of the blade against the knuckles while slicing, for comfort and safety. The high-carbon stainless steel blade is well balanced; its edges are expertly honed and require little maintenance other than the occasional sharpening; and the smooth polymer handle is triple-riveted. This knife will make cooking fun again, since the food prep will be quicker, safer and easier. I could not recommend a knife more highly, especially at this amazing price. The knife is constructed out of German stainless steel with a forged one-piece design and triple-rivets in the handle. — Christopher Kimball

A favorite of our Food Editor, Matthew Card, this innovative peeler was developed with smart design elements after testing about 200 other different peelers. Don’t let its visual simplicity fool you—the Ever Peeler is a 2020 Good Design Award winner. The blade is made from 440A stainless steel, normally used for high quality knives, so it stays sharp with daily use and slices through produce with the utmost ease, unlike other flimsy brands. It makes quick work of even the toughest, hard-skinned foods like butternut squash, breaking it down into paper-thin shavings. Plus, it’s eco-friendly, too, featuring replaceable blade inserts that switch out easily. No need to throw away the whole peeler. Its handle also is ergonomically shaped and comes in different shapes for right handed and left handed users, making it comfortable to use no matter what.

These shears have a heavy-duty build and comfortable rubber-edged handles, so they are a pleasure to use—I can spatchcock a chicken in mere seconds and don’t feel as if I just had my hand put through the wringer! The 3.5-inch cutting edge is relatively short compared to the weight and length of the rest of the scissors, which means you can exert a lot of force without a lot of effort (much like having a long, heavy crowbar to turn over a rock). And they easily come apart for cleaning but will not fall apart during use, unlike some models. You can also use these shears for cutting up a chicken or trimming off fat or bones. Hands down, this is my favorite pair of poultry shears. — Christopher Kimball

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, Cusipro 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.

French company Opinel's flagship No. 8 size has been produced virtually unchanged since 1890. Its 3.25-inch blade is made of high-grade Swedish Sandvik stainless steel that is anticorrosive, holds an edge well and tunes up easily on any sharpening device, while the contoured handle nestles perfectly into the palm for firm control. We especially love the French company's ingenious “virobloc” collar-style lock, which firmly holds the blade in place by twisting sideways—it's far easier to use than most any other locking-blade knife and basically removes any risk of the blade folding onto exposed fingers.

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 roasting 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. We love its generous size (about 14 inches by 9.5 inches) and sturdy construction. The sleek stainless-steel handles are also more ergonomic than others we've come across and large enough to accommodate oven mitts—perfect for your next vegetable gratin or casserole. The dish is shallow to allow air contact for evenly roasting meats, but it will also catch juices and drippings better than a baking sheet. And with each use, the pan 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. Before you use your de Buyer carbon-steel pan for the first time, clean it with very hot water and rub down the entire surface to remove excess beeswax. Heat oil in your carbon-steel dish on the stovetop—enough to cover the bottom—until it starts to smoke, then discard the oil and rub the cookware down with paper towels. The cookware's surface will go through a mottled stage before developing a perfectly smooth, fully blackened patina—in the meantime, we add a little more oil or butter to start and ensure the pan is fully preheated and evenly coated in fat before adding ingredients. 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).