The 12 Kitchen Tools That Will Enhance Your Cooking Skills, Tested by Food & Wine - Food & Wine

The right tools can make a difference for even the most professional chef. Sure, all of us food writer types like to wax poetic on how you only need a good chef's knife to make good food. But let's be honest: You need more than that. It all starts with the right tools — timeless pieces that stand the test of time (and countless meals) while elevating your cooking skills. 

Since you are already here, you probably know your way around a kitchen. If you are looking for the latest or time-tested level-ups, these tried, true, and tested favorites will take even the most proficient home cooks to new heights.

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You likely already own a good stainless steel and cast iron skillet. If you haven't added a carbon steel pan to your cookware lineup, we suggest the Merten & Storck carbon steel pan. It was the top performer during our carbon steel pan tests for its unbeatable affordability and exceptional performance. It is lightweight and can easily handle every task, from searing chicken thighs to baking chewy skillet cookies, all without any sticking.

Its pre-seasoned surface makes using additional oil and butter unnecessary, which makes cleaning up a breeze. Just a quick wipe with a dry cloth is often sufficient. Although it cannot handle the scorching temperatures of some competitors, it excels for most everyday cooking needs, as it is oven-safe up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. The best part is that it is one of the most affordable pans we tested, making it a clear winner for your wallet and kitchen.

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Every kitchen needs a great pair of shears. These OXO kitchen shears pack a punch for their budget-friendly price. Lightweight and sharp, they easily tackle everything from the perfect roast chicken and veggies to delicate herbs. The serrated blade provides extra grip on slippery foods, while the wide handles offer a comfortable, controlled hold, even for more challenging tasks. And for those inevitable encounters with cartilage or rogue bones, the cushioned handles quickly absorb pressure. Cleaning them is easy, thanks to the disassemblable design, especially after meat work.

But there's one trade-off: the non-serrated blade requires professional sharpening when it dulls. Unlike some serrated counterparts that can be revived with a honing rod, these shears need expert attention to maintain their keen edge.

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The Mac Knife 8-inch Hollow Edge Chef's Knife cuts through the competition, earning the best overall title in our rigorous chef's knives test. This Japanese beauty masterfully balances power and finesse. Hunter Lewis, Food & Wine Editor-in-Chief, praises its "very nice evenly balanced feel," thanks to the perfect weight distribution between the sturdy blade and comfortable Pakkawood handle. This design fits larger hands like a glove, ensuring confident control during every chop and slice.

The Mac's versatility really shines through its unique hollowed blade, though. Notches etched along the surface create air pockets, preventing even the stickiest foods like cheese or potatoes from clinging. This clever feature allows for effortless gliding cuts, making delicate tasks like dicing tomatoes a breeze. The high-quality alloy steel blade retains its razor-sharpness for years, requiring minimal maintenance. While its price tag might raise an eyebrow, the Mac's exceptional performance, elegant design, and long-lasting durability justify the investment.

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The Anova Culinary Wi-Fi Immersion Circulator reigns supreme as our favorite sous vide cooker, conquering ease of use and culinary precision in our tests. This compact powerhouse unlocks the magic of sous vide cooking for beginners and seasoned chefs alike. This Anova model boasts impeccable temperature control, ensuring your food cooks to perfect doneness every time. Setup is a breeze, eliminating any intimidation factor for newcomers to the sous vide world. Plus, onboard controls allow you to cook independently, though the accompanying app provides convenience with guided recipes and tutorials. 

Don't be fooled by its compact size — this sous vide cooker is mighty. It works with various containers, making it adaptable to your kitchen setup. A handy low water alarm adds an extra layer of safety, automatically shutting off the unit if water levels dip too low. While generally quiet, the Anova can get slightly noisy, especially during initial heating, and the Wi-Fi connectivity can be temperamental. However, Anova's overall performance and user-friendliness quickly overshadow these minor drawbacks.

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Vacuum sealing is one of the easiest and best ways to preserve food. The Nesco VS-12 Deluxe Vacuum Sealer is our top choice, offering user-friendly versatility for seasoned and novice vacuum sealers. This sleek countertop model won't take over your kitchen counter and boasts an intuitive button panel for effortless operation. We were particularly impressed by Nesco's delicate touch. It flawlessly sealed a bag of Chex Mix in our tests, preserving the cereal's integrity without crushing a single piece. This gentle approach makes it ideal for delicate items like pastries and fruits but suitable for sous vide projects.

The Nesco offers three sealing settings: dry, moist, and double. This allows you to tackle everything from dry goods to juicy meats and vegetables. While the moist setting works well for most situations, be mindful of excessive liquids in your bag, as this can hinder sealing. The Nesco's intuitive design and included bag rolls ensure a seamless experience from the get-go. Our tests revealed the Nesco's seals remained sturdy throughout, even with a halved avocado showing minimal signs of ripening days later. This translates to extended food shelf life, reducing waste, and saving money.

Williams Sonoma

A good immersion blender cuts time and energy. To us, Breville's immersion blender reigns supreme, acing every test we threw at it. Unlike any other, it conquered even stubborn chia seeds in smoothies, pulverizing them in two minutes. Sure, its powerful motor makes it a bit loud on the highest setting, but the trade-off is unbeatable performance. Velvety smooth soups, record-time smoothies, and effortlessly emulsified mayo are just a taste of its prowess.

Beyond raw power, Breville charms with thoughtful design. Its textured grip and variable speed dial feel comfortable and intuitive, even after extended use. The pulse function, easily engaged via the trigger on the handle, adds further control. The shallow head minimizes suction and makes cleaning a breeze. The long, stainless steel shaft reaches quickly into deep pots, while its rubberized base protects your precious cookware. While the top-mounted speed dial requires two hands to adjust, the benefits of its 15 variable speeds outweigh this minor inconvenience. The highest setting can be loud, but we'll gladly crank up the volume for such superior blending.

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Forget flimsy plastic or opaque stainless steel salad bowls — this spinner boasts a sleek, transparent glass bowl that doubles as a stunning serving dish. OXO's glass salad spinner stole the show with its elegant combination of practicality and beauty. Witness the transformation from gritty kale greens to vibrant salad in real-time as you watch produce clean through the clear bowl. OXO's signature push-button spinner operates smoothly, efficiently removing excess water for crisp, restaurant-quality salads. A clever integrated plastic disc keeps the spinner above the water, ensuring your leafy greens stay dry.

This glass bowl is surprisingly sturdy and can handle vigorous spinning without shattering. Plus, the snug-fitting plastic top keeps everything contained during operation. Cleanup is a breeze, thanks to the dishwasher-safe design of the glass bowl and plastic components. No more hand-washing delicate leaves in a cumbersome colander.

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Microplane's Premium Classic Zester is the go-to pick for home cooks and culinary pros alike. This lightweight champion tackles everything from zesting lemons to grating hard cheeses with impressive ease. Its secret weapon is surgical-grade stainless steel blades, which are meticulously crafted with just the right tooth angle. During tests, they conquer citrus rind without scraping the bitter pith and effortlessly grate garlic, ginger, or spices for fragrant flavor boosts.

But this zester isn't just about citrusy dreams. It's a cheese-grating maestro, too, transforming parmesan blocks into fluffy clouds for perfect pasta toppings. The handle offers a comfortable grip and improved cleaning compared to its classic counterpart. Removing stubborn residue might require a bit of scrubbing, but the dishwasher-safe design lets you easily conquer cleanup (though sometimes a little elbow grease is required to clean stubborn residue stuck to its backside). It's a versatile, durable, and incredibly effective tool that earns its place in any kitchen, ready to transform everyday ingredients.

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Your knife skills may be top-notch, but a mandoline will make quick work of uniform slices. The Mueller Multi Blade mandoline is a kitchen chameleon, seamlessly transforming from countertop comrade to handheld helper. Unfold its sturdy stand for stable slicing sessions, or keep it compact and hover it over bowls for easy, direct filling. This double-duty dynamo boasts five interchangeable blades, from julienne masters to coarse shredders. Adjustable with a simple turn of a knob, empowering you to achieve paper-thin potato slices or chunky veggie batons. The mandoline feels secure in your grip, its base refusing to budge on the countertop. The stand's ergonomic handle adds another layer of control, ensuring confident cuts every time. 

Our tests saw the Mueller excel at producing consistent, whisper-thin potato and tomato slices. A quick rinse under running water removes any remnants, while the removable blades allow for deeper cleaning without risking your fingers.

King Arthur Baking

The Thermapen One is about pure, unadulterated accuracy, no bells and whistles. This instant-read thermometer, beloved by professional chefs and home cooks alike, was the undisputed champion of precision cooking in our testing. The Thermapen lives up to its name, delivering lightning-fast temperature readings in just one second. 

Our rigorous tests confirmed its incredible accuracy, with measurements only one degree off in both sous vide and boiling water settings. This level of precision ensures your food is always cooked to perfection; no more guessing if it’s safe or overcooked disasters. This thermometer is a testament to the idea that sometimes, less is truly more. With its straightforward design and fold-out to power-on functionality, the Thermapen One is incredibly easy to use. No fussing with buttons or complicated settings — unfold, point, and get your instant temperature read.

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The Escali Precision Scale strikes a harmonious chord between functionality and convenience. Its lightweight yet durable design tackles heavy ingredients like flour and sugar easily yet cleans up quickly thanks to its sleek, all-plastic exterior. Wiping away spills and flour dust is a breeze, with no need for messy soap or water.

This scale delivers precise measurements to two decimal points, ensuring your recipes turn out perfectly every time. The clear, easy-to-read display eliminates any squinting or misinterpretations, displaying numbers at the perfect size for comfortable viewing. The Escali's compact size makes it a space-saving champion perfect for smaller kitchens or minimalists; it tucks easily on a shelf or drawer. Just consider its size if you tend to tackle larger-scale projects.

Dough-Joe

A baking steel is your ticket to culinary stardom, from pizzeria-perfect pizzas to crusty breads and golden flatbreads. The Dough-Joe Samurai steel redefines baking perfection with unmatched heat retention and consistent performance, saying goodbye to hot spots and undercooked patches. Forget unevenly cooked pizzas and soggy crusts — this steel delivers restaurant-quality results in your home oven.

Unlike flimsy sheet pans, this steel distributes heat evenly, resulting in a perfectly browned, crispy crust and a light and airy interior. Don't be fooled by its competitive price tag — this baking steel punched far above its weight when we tested pizza stones.  If you need to wash it, immediately dry it thoroughly and re-season it with flaxseed or olive oil, followed by a 90-minute bake at 500 to 550 degrees Fahrenheit. A little care goes a long way in keeping your Samurai in tip-top pizza-making shape.

Our Expertise

Jennifer Zyman is a Senior Commerce Writer for Food & Wine and a recovering restaurant critic with a culinary school degree and over 15 years of food writing experience. Her work has appeared in Atlanta Magazine, Bon Appetit, Eater Atlanta, The Kitchn, Local Palate, National Geographic, Southern Living, and Thrillist. Zyman wrote this story using her testing insights, research, and culinary expertise.

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2024-02-02 21:54:51Z
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