The 23 Cooking Tools Our Editors Used Most This Year
The editors of Epicurious spend a lot of time in the kitchen. As we carry on with all that cooking, testing, and experimenting, we gain an appreciation for the tools and gadgets that make our jobs easier. Some you may recognize; others are underutilized items we think more cooks should know about. This year our editors fell in love with new kinds of bread knives, found inexpensive egg timers that sparked serious joy, and reexamined maligned '90s kitchen tools. Take a look at all the gear our editors couldn't get enough of down below.
This inexpensive waffle maker is a favorite of staff writer Wilder Davies. When he tested it for our review of the best waffle makers, he found that it performed on par—and often way better—than machines three times its price. Since then, he's been using it in his home kitchen to make crisp, golden-brown waffles. Read his love letter.
Commerce editor Emily Johnson found out this year that the best bread knife is actually a serrated chef's knife. It's used by pro bakers and in restaurant kitchens, and can slice through the crustiest of sourdough loaves with ease. Bonus: it also cuts delicate produce like tomatoes without crushing them.
These little prep bowls are great for laying out all of your chopped ingredients before you cook; you'll feel like you're on a cooking show (and your food will genuinely turn out better when you prepare everything ahead and portion it out). They're durable and they have lids, so you can use them to store leftover herb or scallion garnishes. And they're great for serving snacks and condiments, as well.
The Savino is a simple, elegant carafe with a silicone-rimmed top and float; it claims to keep wine fresh for a week by preventing exposure to oxygen. Our reviews editor Noah Kaufman tried it, and found that it lived up to its promise, keeping a bottle of Pinot Noir stored in the fridge considerably fresher and more full flavored than a simple cork stuck back in the bottle. Read his full review.
Want genuinely great espresso on the go or without spending upwards of $1,000 on a machine? This mini tool, which operates via a hand pump, churns out a full-bodied brew that's better than espresso machines three times its price. Take it camping. Take it to a hotel room. Or, use it to make a shaken iced espresso at home.
The Thermapen Mk4 has long been our favorite kitchen thermometer. This year, Wilder tried out the brand's latest thermometer, the Thermapen One. This new model can read temperatures in under a second—and, of course, it's extremely accurate. Read our full review.
Sure, you could get a fancy blown glass wine decanter and it would be great. It would also be difficult to clean and easy to break. Our digital director Maggie Hoffman swears by these inexpensive carafes for decanting wine. They get the job done, they go in the dishwasher, and they're inexpensive and sturdy. And there's a certain European café chicness to them, as well.
This timer looks like a cute cartoon character, but you should take it seriously. It's your ticket to perfect jammy eggs. And it makes your morning routine more fun.
As delicate as these mesh cloths may seem, they are a formidable asset in tackling hardened grease spots. Unlike scouring pads or vegetable brushes, they're simultaneously soft enough to avoid scratching delicate glassware and tough enough to get serious scrubbing work done. On top of that, they dry incredibly fast, so you don't have to worry about them becoming a petri dishes for kitchen bacteria.
This miniature mandoline fits in the palm of your hand; it's perfect for shaving vegetables for a quick salad or slaw. It also comes with two grater attachments, and the carrying case doubles as a catch vessel, which makes for a tidy prep process.
In a perfect world, you'd use the entire vegetable every time you cooked something. But we live in the real world, and odds are you'll come across a recipe that calls for half an onion or cucumber. Instead of wrapping up the bisected produce in plastic wrap and hoping for the best, use these stretchy Food Huggers. They offer a tight-fitting seal to keep your apples from browning and your lemons from shriveling. Plus, they help cut down on single-use plastic waste.
Contributor Justine Lee calls this handy device the “Timothée Chalamet of culinary gadgets: thin, tiny, chiseled, and the complete package.” If you've ever struggled with an old fashioned can opener, this one is far simpler and more intuitive. All you do is pierce the edge of the can and pull to create a smooth, clean cut without any jagged edges.
