The biggest misconception about cooking is that you need a fancy recipe, years of experience and a fancy kitchen in order to create a delicious dinner. In fact you only need the courage to actually pick up some of your favorite meats, vegetables and fruits and start putting them together. Often enough, the most delicious meals will only use 3 or 4 ingredients, and one of those ingredients will be salt and the other pepper. Of course, the more experience you have in the kitchen, the better your meals will come out simply because you will know how to set up your oven’s temperature right, how to efficiently use a knife to peal or dice something, and other little things like that.
The great thing about starting to cook in this day and age is that there are all sorts of gadgets that can get you very quickly from not having any cooking experience, to rubbing elbows with the best. Cooking a perfect loaf of bread, for example, used to be somewhat of a challenge because you needed to let the yeast rise, knead the dough perfectly, let that rise and then select the perfect temperature for baking bread. Now, all you need is a good quality bread making machine, and you can have a perfect loaf in less than 3 hours. You can cook perfect pasta, have a nice decoration on top, cook a nice rack of lamb, and a glass of your favorite, fresh smoothie, and not even break a sweat. We have dedicated our entire site to bringing you the most awesome kitchen gadgets on the market today so make sure to explore it thoroughly after you check out the essential 25 kitchen tools we have reviewed for you here.
1. Paderno Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer
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You probably remember that your parents had a stainless steel grader, and they mostly used it for cheese, carrots, maybe the occasional potato. That was one of the best kitchen gadgets for several generations, but now we have something better in the vegetable slicer. We love the one created by Paderno because the workmanship is flawless in both the plastic and the steel pieces. The slicer itself is actually a more advanced grader, in the sense that you do not risk of grading your own fingers along with the cheese, and you can do a lot more with it than our parents could do with theirs. All you have to do is stick whatever you need to slice or grade in the prongs and then, as you turn the handle while slowly pushing it towards the grade. You grade cheese for pasta or pizza, but you can also slice perfect cucumbers for a salad, and you can even create wonderful zucchini spirals that you can quickly dip in the boiling water and then put on top of the pasta for some extra flavor and texture.
2. Bialetti Trends Collection 5 Quart Pasta Pot
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We keep coming to pasta because it is the base for some wonderful, delicious and yet simple recipes. Of course, in order to cook any pasta recipe, first you will need to cook the pasta and for that you have the Bialetti pasta pot. It is a great tool to have because of the twist and turn lid and the non stick interior. After boiling the pasta you can put on the lid, twist to lock it, and strain the water without having to bring in a separate strainer. We love the fact that, no matter how long you need to cook the pasta, the handles stay cool and you can just work with the pot. And, once you have taken out the pasta, all you need to do is to rinse the pot clean and you are done with it.
3. All Ware Stainless Steel Pineapple Easy Slicer
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If you have never had a fresh pineapple you should go right now any store, pick one up and also pick up an All Ware Pineapple Slicer and try it. There is no fruit on the face of this planet that tastes so incredibly good while fresh as a pineapple. And do not worry about picking one out, make sure it is not the greenest in the bunch and you should be alright. People used to avoid pineapples because they are somewhat of a challenge to peal with a knife, but the All Ware Pineapple Slicer, peals, slices and de-cores the pineapple, in a single move. It is one of the cheapest gadgets on our list, it has earned a 4.2 star rating on Amazon from almost 1,500 customers and it will make you a pineapple fanatic.
4. Nubee Non-contact Infrared (IR) Thermometer
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So far we have been talking about kitchen gadgets that are the means to an end on their own, but there are some tools that are more in the Accessories category. The Nubee Thermometer, for example, is an essential accessory because it does not do any cooking, pealing or slicing, but it does tell you when your steak, barbeque, bread or cookies have reached the perfect temperature. Interestingly enough, people used to have specific times for how long a steak has to stay on the barbeque, for example, just because they had no other way of knowing when it had reached the cooking temperature. The problem with that is that different ovens, different seasons and even different altitudes will allow your steak or bread to reach the proper temperature at different times, and stopping the cooking process on time is just as important as anything else otherwise you can end up with a dry, tasteless meal.
5. Ozeri Pronto Digital Kitchen and Food Scale
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If you have ever tried to follow a recipe, you will know just how important a food scale really is. It needs to be incredibly accurate, because sometimes you will only need to add half a gram of a substance, and it needs to go as 11 pounds for situations where you may need to cook a turkey or something similar. That is exactly what the Ozeri Food Scale does, and, as far as kitchen scales are concerned, it is a pretty affordable tool to own. We have tested it on some dry basil while we were cooking some pizza and we were truly impressed. It has an essential function called Tare, which deducts the weight of the bowl or of the plate that contains whatever it is your are weighing, and you should learn to make use of that. It needs one a couple of AAA batteries, and it can work for years on just a single set.
6. OXO Good Grips Green Salad Spinner
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The biggest challenge when making a green leaf salad today is to make sure that you have washed and dried it properly. The washing part is fairly easy and all you need to do is to let a lot of water to flow in and over your salad. The challenge though, is that you have to get rid of that water afterwards, because all it does is dilute the taste of the salad. And that is where the OXO salad spinner comes in: it uses a fairly simple principle of the centrifugal force to throughout any particles of moisture while leaving the salad fresh and crisp. We recommend getting the large size salad spinner, because a good greens salad will have a lot of leaves and those have a lot of volume to them.
7. Ninja Master Prep Professional
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The Ninja Master Prep is one of those modern kitchen gadgets that simply does not have an equivalent in the kitchen your parents used. It begins as a very powerful blender that you can use to make anything from a smoothie, to a vanilla shake, and then you can simply change to one of the other jars and start chopping onions or garlic. And, because the onion is trapped inside the hermetically sealed jar, you will not start tearing up. Because you have the option to set different speeds on the Power Pod that can be attached to all these jars, you can use the Ninja Master Prep for anything from crushing ice to snow to making delicate salads. Finally, consider that more than 2,500 users have found this particular kitchen gadget so useful that they came back on Amazon and contributed to an average ranking of 4.5 stars.
8. Best Ultra-Fast Digital Meat Thermometer
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We have already featured an infrared thermometer which is great when measuring the surface temperature of a barbeque, but if you are going to cook something like pulled pork, or any really thick meats, you will need to know the temperature inside the meat, not on the surface. That is where the Epica Cooking Thermometer comes in, because it can go really deep into the meat and tell you if the inside of your steak is cooked. It is waterproof and even dishwasher safe and, what is most important, it can actually tell you the temperature in less than 6 seconds, which is crucial because you really do not want the cooking process to stop for long before the meat is done.
9. KitchenIQ Edge Grip 2 Stage Knife Sharpener
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It used to be that, in order to have a sharp knife, you would need a set of grinding stones and you would have to spend a lot of time to get all knives as sharp as possible. Luckily, things have changed, and now you can use a gadget like the KitchenIQ Knife Sharpener to get a result that gets pretty close to that of a grinding knife. Those of you who have a set of 3 or 4 grinding stones and have the knowhow to use them, will probably choose to stick with them for your favorite knives, but even you will find that the KitchenIQ Knife Sharpener is an excellent tool to use on your regular knives. And those of you who have never sharpened a knife will definitively love the KitchenIQ Knife Sharpener because it will get your knives as sharp as they were on the day you bought them.
10. Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker
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Of all the gadgets we have talked so for, the Instant Pot IP-DUO60 is by far the most useful one, but it is also one of the most expensive ones. It is incredibly useful because it will allow you to expertly cook anything from a simple rice side dish to a slow cooked pot roast. It is a multi functional pressure cooker, that has 7 additional functions, including slow cooker, steamer and rice cooker. It has 14 built in programs that will allow you to cook like a pro from your very first try and you can even program it ahead so that you can set in all the ingredients and it will start cooking later in the day. That way, you can come home to a perfectly cooked, hot dinner, without having even been there while the cooking process was taking place. The Instant Pot IP-DUO60 basically replaces the old fashion stove for dozens and dozens of recipes.
11. Flat Space Saving Kitchen Grater
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We have already talked to you about the grater of the future, however, there are those who have gotten too much used to the idea of a classical grater to make the transition. For you we have the Joseph Joseph Flat Kitchen Grater. It actually pops up to be a regular rectangular grater, but, because those things take up so much space, the Joseph Joseph can be flattened down to take up as little space as possible for storage. Once you pop it up, it stays firmly in place and it can certainly be a great little addition to any kitchen.
12. iSi Basics Flex-it Measuring Cups
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Most people who are just learning to cook tend to forget to equip their kitchen with a good set of measuring cups. Even experienced cooks will forget to buy a measuring cup when getting the equipment for a new kitchen, but the truth is that there are very few recipes that you will be able to do without the help a good measuring cup. We have chosen to feature the iSi Measuring Cups here because they have certain feature that make them stand out from the crowd. For one they are heat resistant to temperatures for up to 490 degrees, so you can pour boiling hot water in them if you need to. You can also use them to heat up things in the microwave and you can pop them in the dishwasher to clean them easily.
13. 9 piece Compact Food Preparation Set
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If you are looking for a nice kitchen gadget to give as a present, the best choice is the Joseph Joseph Nest because it really looks great and it is a wonderful addition to any kitchen. The Nest is actually comprised of 3 bowls, the biggest one has 4 and 1/2 liters while the smallest is of 1/2 liters. It also contains a sieve, a 3 liter colander and measuring cups rom 1/6 to a full cup. Most people usually have at least one of these items but very few kitchens will have all of them and most will not feat so neatly and take up as little space as the Joseph Joseph Nest.
14. RSVP Herb Scissors
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Out here in the Western kitchen scene, we tend to use knives for chopping up herbs like onions or oregano, but in the Eastern countries like China, Vietnam and Corea they have a much simpler way of doing things. Most families will use a simple set of scissors to chop up any type of greens that need to go into the cooking pot. So what RSVP have done was to take that concept to the next level and create a 4 bladed herb scissor that will work just as well as a professional’s cook knife and chopping board, except that it will take a lot less time and experience. If you are just learning how to cook, we definitely recommend using the RSVP Herb Scissors.
15. Magic Bullet NutriBullet Pro 900 Series Blender
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For those of you who are big fans of vegan recipes or even of juicing, we recommend the Magic Bullet NutriBullet. It is a blender designed for those of you that require a blender at least 2 or 3 times a day. If you are not going to use it that often, then the Ninja Master we have reviewed earlier is enough, but if you want to have a quick shot of energy on your way to work every day, you will need the Magic Bullet NutriBullet. It comes with its own set of travel cups, so you do not have to worry of cleaning after yourself. All you need to do is put in the travel cup all the fruits you will want in your drink, fit it on the 900 watt pwer base, give it a spin, and you are ready to go.
16. Norpro Stainless Steel Onion Holder
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If you need to dice onions, the Ninja Master is an excellent tool, but if you need to just slice them, you will find that the Norpro Stainless Steel Onion Holder is an excellent tool. You can use its prongs to make sure that your slices are of relatively equal size, and it will hold the onion perfectly in place while you cut those last few slices towards the end. All you need to do is to cut the onion in half, lay the halves flat on to the work table, and then cut either through the prongs or towards them depending on your onion cutting skill level.
17. Umbra Rinse Bowl and Strainer
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There are several reasons why we love the Umbra Rinse Bowl and Strainer but the most important one would be that it is the perfect symbol for the modern kitchen gadget. It is such a simple idea but it took decades for someone to come up with it. It is a bowl with a guard like the knights had over their faces. You wash your fruits and vegetables into the bowl and then, instead of having to bring in a separate strainer, you just lift the strainer that hangs on the outside of the bowl and pour the water out. It is such a simple device and it is also an inexpensive little gadget to have in your kitchen.
18. Quirky Pluck Yolk Extractor
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Separating your yolks from the egg whites is one of those things that most novice cooks thing of as a trying challenge, and that experienced cooks use to discretely show off. The thing is that there are a lot of recipes that require you to have pure egg whites for one reason or another. However, the Quirky Pluck Yolk Extractor helps you remove the yolk from the whites without running the risk that it break off. You will be able to separate eggs with the comfort and ease of a professional cook, and the gadget itself costs so little that you really have no reason to hesitate in buying it.
19. Cuisavour’s Seasoning Injector with 2 Gourmet Marinade Needles
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Even if you have never cooked a day in your life you probably heard about basting a turkey or marinating a stake. These are processes where you pour sauce on top of cooking meat or you let the meat rest in the sauce so that will absorb it. However, you can take that process to the next level by using a seasoning injector. You can cut your marinating time in half, or even remove it completely and you can baste a huge piece of cooking meat from the inside. That way the meat will be a lot more flavorful and a lot juicier.
20. Wusthof 14-Slot In-Drawer Knife Organizer Tray
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There are actually 2 reasons why your knives are getting dull: one is because you are using them, and it is only natural that they would grow dull. However, there is a second reason for that, which is because they are stored improperly. If you just through them in a drawer they will rub one against the other and get dull. If you just rub the blade of the knife against the back of another knife once, nothing will happen, but every time you are taking out a knife and putting it back, you are slowly but surely chipping away at its edge. That is way the Wusthof Knife Organizer is an excellent idea for any cook who wants to keep his kitchen tidy and his knives sharp.
21. BonJour Brushed Aluminum Chef’s Torch
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There are very few situations where you will need a kitchen torch, but in those situations where you will need one having one will prove crucial. In fact there are 2 recipes that any cook should master because they are so extremely delicious and relatively easy to make. One is a crème brule, where you will need to torch the sugar on top of the crème and the other one is onion soup where you will need to torch the cheese. Both these recipes are what could be called soul foods and even if you cook them just once in a life time, they will be worth having the torch around. Of course, once you have tried a homemade crème brule, you will not be able to stop craving it again and again.
22. OXO Good Grips Garlic Peeler
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There are a few people on the planet who do not like garlic, but most of us are absolutely crazy about it and it is an essential part of so many recipes. Of course, the biggest problem with using garlic is the peeling process. However Oxo came up with an ingenius gadget, a silicone sleeve that peels away the skin of the garlic with very little effort on your part. It is actually one of those kitchen gadgets that made us aware of how important it is to highlight for novice and experienced cooks all the new toys that are currently on the market.
23. OXO Good Grips V-Blade Mandoline Slicer
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The mandonline slicer is one of those intermediate steps between the simple grater and the Paderno spiral slicer. We would even say that it has had its day in the sun, but the fact remains that if you need to slice potatoes for French fries, there is no faster or better tool then the mandoline slicer. It has a lot more functions so you would not be buying it for that purpose alone, and it is also a far better and safer tool than the average grater.
24. Tovolo Pancake Pen
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Anyone who loves pancakes will now there are only two minor problems when making them: one is that you can never get the exact amount of batter in the tray and it is very difficult to make just enough batter for one meal. The Tovolo Pancake Pen solves both these problems because it has clear markings for each ingredient, you can mix the ingredients in the pen itself, and then it will allow you to perfectly control the flow of batter for a perfect distribution. And you can even store some of the batter in the pen, in the fridge, for later use if you only need a couple of pancakes in the morning, but would not mind to have another one in the evening.
25. Cuisipro Apple Corer
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The Cuisipro Apple Corer is one of those old school gadgets that even your grandparents used but with a modern twist. It basically does the same thing that older models did: you push it through the center of the apple and pull out the core with the seeds. The twist is that it has a bigger diameter so it will get all the seeds out, it has a very comfortable, big handle so you can easily push through the apple, and it has a quick release lever so you can go through a lot of apples with very little effort. If you like apple pies or gem, you will surely need a tool like this.
