Riess Enamelware Skimmer
Both practical and elegant, porcelain enamelware is nonreactive, easy to clean and has a more polished look than unfinished stainless steel, but like metal cookware is lightweight and durable. Riess' handcrafted skimmer has a slightly raised lip that we prefer to completely flat skimmers because it helps prevent food from rolling off, and its wide surface is good for scooping up larger foods and less flimsy than wire models. The product feels well-balanced and lightweight, and its handle is appropriately long for deep-frying or reaching deep into pots. Made by fusing porcelain glass onto iron, the material is nonreactive, easy to clean and has a more polished look than unfinished stainless steel, yet like metal cookware is lightweight and durable; we love how the sleek design shows off the glossy enamel and can be hung as a decorative piece alongside the company's Ladle and Perforated Ladle as a Three-Piece Set with Hanging Bar. A caveat: Although enamelware is much stronger than glass, the porcelain finish can still chip if it's dropped or hit against a hard surface.
Boska Pizza and Cheese Rocker
Perfect for thick-crust pizzas, focaccia and aged cheese, we love the Boska Pizza and Cheese Rocker. After testing six different pizza slicers to find our favorite, we found this one excelled in cutting through even the thickest pizzas. Its uniquely designed shape features a long, slightly curved blade that cuts on the first swipe and doesn’t require much elbow grease. The nonstick cutter also features two comfortable oak handles, one on each side so you can keep your hands far from the sharp blade and still get extra leverage when cutting. Best of all? It’s not just made for pizza. This rocker also can tackle aged cheeses like cheddar, Parmesan or Gouda.
Milk Street: Precision Rolling Pin
Unless you are a pastry chef, getting pie and cookie dough (even pasta dough) rolled out evenly to an exact thickness is perhaps the hardest skill to master in the kitchen. The Milk Street Precision Rolling Pin solves this problem so that even novice bakers can get it right the first time, every time. How does it work? Simply screw in the end caps for the desired height and roll out your crust or dough. (The ends are thicker than the middle by the thickness you want for the dough.) This system is extra-sturdy and easy to use and the pin is plenty long, 23 inches, to handle any width of dough. Plus, we added a laster-etched ruler to the length of the beechwood pin for measuring pans and ensuring your dough is just the right width. You can also use this pin without the end caps - it is 18-inches long and perfect for smaller, more delicate tasks.
Casafina Measuring Cups
Handcrafted in Portugal with local all-natural materials, this set of three beautiful measuring cups aren’t merely functional. The white speckled glaze and unique, timeless design complement any kitchen decor and make them attractive enough to leave out stacked on the shelf. Each of the three cups (1 cup, ½ cup, ⅓ cup) have a small handle and spout to help with pouring measured ingredients, and their durable construction means they can go easily from oven to microwave to freezer and dishwasher.
Fiero Casa Blue Steel Half Pan
Lightweight and tolerant to high heat, Fiero Casa’s Blue Steel Half Pan is the perfect vessel for crispy-bottomed pizzas, well-roasted vegetables, crunchy oven-fried chicken and more. Made in Italy, the pan’s thinner metal, blue steel, is designed to be uniquely more heat-tolerant than other steels or aluminum, making it a better material for high-temperature cooking. It is also still from the same family as cast iron, so it heats up quickly and conducts heat well, while avoiding warping—even in high temperatures. Weighing in at only two pounds, it’s far lighter than anything cast iron and can be heated up to 610 degrees Fahrenheit. Kept clean and well seasoned, it will be naturally nonstick, making it the ideal go-to pan for unwaveringly consistent results when you’re baking. We love it especially for pan pizza and focaccia—it’ll turn out a flawless crunchy crust every time.
Norpro Deluxe Jumbo Potato Ricer
Riced potatoes are the secret to perfect mashed potatoes, homemade gnocchi, spaetzle and other dishes, but ricing potatoes is usually slow and arduous—not so with the Norpro. The first thing we noticed? The size. This stainless steel hopper can hold up to 24 ounces of potato—that’s well over a pound in a single fill—saving time and effort compared to smaller models (and you can still easily press a single potato, if that’s all you need). It’s perforated on all four sides for effortless pressing, which also means the potato doesn’t get compacted while being pressed, making for fluffier rice than other models. Don’t be intimidated by processing so many potatoes at once; the ricer is finished with thoughtful details like extra-long cast aluminum handles for extra leverage, and a silicone-lined notch on the underside so you can add potatoes straight into a bowl or pot. Plus, silicone lining on the underside of the handle and notch protect your bowl and hands while pressing. And the ricer comes apart for easy cleaning, another bonus compared to other versions we’ve tried.
HIC Ilsa Cast Iron Gas Ring Reducer
Much as we love our stovetop coffee makers, too often the grates over the gas burners are too wide for them to sit safely above the flames. But in Italy, Christopher Kimball was introduced to a simple tool that keeps the country’s ubiquitous stovetop espresso pots perfectly balanced. The Ilsa Gas Ring Reducer consists of high-quality, heavy-duty cast-iron construction that decreases the size of gas burner openings in center grates while absorbing and diffusing heat evenly. It’s fantastic for making coffee, of course, but we find it’s equally useful for any small cookware, from saucepans to tea kettles.
Cuisipro Cooling Rack
Easy to tuck away and store, this cooling rack from Cuisipro features the same double layer of premium nonstick coating as the rest of their baking collection. Freshly made baked goods will cool evenly without sticking on this durable wire rack.
HIC Kitchen Stainless Steel Double Mesh Strainer
We like this durable 4-inch double mesh strainer from HIC because it will stay put. The two handles, a long hooked one and a short notch on the other side, are long enough to allow it to rest securely on the edge of pots, pans, mixing bowls and containers so our hands are free to measure and pour. The hooked end for is also good for hanging. This must-have kitchen tool is ideal for sifting, draining, straining and sieving foods and beverages. Use it to remove lumps, seeds, skins and other fibrous items for velvety smooth sauces and soups. It also can be used to rinse legumes, rice and grains before cooking and can catch seeds and pulp when juicing fresh citrus. And it doubles nicely as a sifter.
KüchenProfi 3 Piece Set Pastry Baking Scraper Set
This compact set includes three bench scrapers to take care of every type of task: A dough cutter—which features a sharp stainless steel blade that’ll slice through even the stickiest doughs—a sturdy plastic spreader for making smooth layers of cake frosting or transporting ingredients from cutting board to bowl and a soft rounded scraper that’s perfect for sneaking into nooks and crannies. The stainless steel blade of the dough cutter is precise not only in its slicing, but also in its portioning—the ruler markings etched along the blade help cut uniform dinner rolls and more. The spreader has a beveled edge that can sneak cleanly under any ingredient, while the curved scraper boasts a sturdy yet flexible construction that easily wipes the sides of a bowl clean. Plus, each has an ergonomic handle and incredibly sturdy construction—even the smallest silicone scraper has a stainless steel core. Plus, they tuck together seamlessly for easy kitchen storage.
Wahei Freiz 6-Piece Breading and Mise Set
Exclusive to Milk Street in the U.S., this six-piece Breading and Mise Set from Wahei Freiz is the end-all tool for breading and frying. The durable set comes with four stainless steel rectangular containers, one stainless steel rack and a single snap-on lid. Most cooks grab a handful of bowls to dredge and coat food before frying, but that can make a mess and lead to uneven breading. Instead, this set is a perfect solution for breading and frying chicken cutlets or slabs of eggplant: Use one tray for flour, a second for liquid binder or beaten egg and a third for your breading mixture. Then, once your food is fried, use the fourth tray fitted with rack to allow any excess oil to drip off. The compact, stackable pans are excellent for all kinds of small tasks, like collecting prepped vegetables, herbs, cheese and nuts as you mise en place.
Our favorite feature might be the snap-on lid: Rather than clumsily dredging food in flour or bread crumbs with hands or forks, click the lid on and simply shake the tray until your food is evenly coated. And use the lid to store any leftovers or—even better—other mise en place jobs, like marinating meat or fish. Once you’re done, run the set through the dishwasher, then stack the pieces compactly together to store until your next job.
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.
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