Modern kitchen gadgets make cooking more straightforward than ever, helping even novice home chefs produce tasty meals quickly and effortlessly.
Innovative trends include appliances with integrated technology that can be controlled via apps on your phone, allowing you to monitor food or turn up the oven from anywhere in your home or on the road.
Immersion Blender
An immersion blender is an ideal tool for quickly pureeing soup, whipping cream, or creating salad dressing in an emergency. Also referred to as a hand or stick blender, this handy appliance does everything that a traditional countertop blender would do while being more portable and easily stored away.
This immersion blender features a 225-watt motor, the lowest we tested, but still strong enough to blend a pot of soup in about 90 seconds. It features two speeds with an ergonomic handle and a thumb drive dial for effortless control. It comes equipped with both a blending cup and whisk attachment that is top-rack dishwasher safe for effortlessly whipped cream making without creating messy splatter.
KitchenAid stands out as our preferred immersion blender by offering an impressive collection of attachments that let us chop, process, and whisk all with one tool – genuinely making this immersion blender one of the most flexible ones we’ve tested. Additional attachments may also be purchased separately, including a chopper/whisk attachment that doubles up as a mini food processor!
This cordless immersion blender makes for greater portability and convenience thanks to a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that lasts up to 10 minutes per charge. Furthermore, there’s even an included charging station to help keep your workspace tidy!
Meater Wireless Smart Grilling Thermometer
If you own or are planning to buy an advanced smoker this year, investing in the Meater wireless smart grilling thermometer can elevate your meat-cooking game. While not cheap, this intelligent thermometer provides reliable results while replacing traditional probe thermometers, which often kink and uncoil over time, with its more accurate measurements and improved wires that ensure consistent cooking temperatures over time.
This thermometer is stylish, attractive, and intuitive to use. The app’s user-friendly interface can accommodate novice cooks while offering more experienced chefs plenty of advanced features to keep them engaged with cooking. In fact, this thermometer was the only one we tested that provided a time-temperature chart, which helps tailor cooking techniques by showing you how different temperatures affect the overall doneness of meat pieces.
As opposed to other Bluetooth thermometers we tested, this one is fully wireless with no wired probes attached to its base station or needing to be plugged into a smartphone in order to function. Plus, its magnetic storage base station makes for simple storage – you could even attach it directly to a fridge door for instantaneous cooking data!
Notably, the Meater Block, their four-probe version, can also be an attractive option. This device features a more accurate ambient temperature sensor and supports four probes simultaneously – but it costs nearly $200 more than its predecessor, the original Meater Plus. In addition, there’s even a stand-alone mode so that cooks can monitor without connecting to WiFi – however, you will miss out on cloud functionality and advanced technical support services.
Fellow Stagg EKG Pro Kettle
Fellow’s Stagg EKG Pro gooseneck kettle is designed with intelligent features in mind and looks as good as it performs, offering all the bells and whistles any coffee enthusiast could desire in an efficient kettle, from its customizable display to scheduling settings and an automatic shutoff after 60 minutes of heating to ensure safety and efficiency. In addition, its ergonomic handle features a spot for your thumb rest as well as a counterweighted design that shifts its center of gravity for an effortless pouring experience.
The base has one dial that serves both power and temperature controls, with its screen showing either digital or analog clock formats. There’s also a menu button next to the larger dial for a quick selection of Fahrenheit or Celsius temperature units or engaging hold functions if needed. Unfortunately, its 2.5-foot cord requires you to be close to an outlet when in use.
Fellow’s Stagg EKG Pro offers several added features not found in its predecessor, but these should be fine for most users. These features include a guided mode with preset temperatures for beverages like green tea and pour-over coffee. This pre-boil setting can sanitize water and be connected to your home WiFi network so that firmware updates will come automatically over time.
Instant Pot Duo
Pros: The Instant Pot Duo is easy to use and features a sleek modern aesthetic, making it the ideal solution for busy households. It offers various preset programs and built-in safety features; instructions are clear and easily understandable; the price is fair. Cons: However, its primary pressure release valve requires users to press it from one side in order to release pressure when under pressure occurs; in comparison with newer models like Duo Nova or Rio Wide, this limited pressure release mechanism makes determining pressure closeness more challenging than before.
The Duo Nova is an ideal option if you want something that offers more cooking options than its predecessor, the Instant Pot Duo, but without breaking the bank. It features 13 one-touch Smart Programs and an easier-to-seal lid, and it is compact while featuring an LCD showing your cooking progress.
The Ultra is ideal if you prefer more cooking options and customization settings; its large display, more cooking modes, and customizable touchscreen enable you to personalize settings, making it the most versatile model available; its only drawback is slower pressure buildup time than other models.
Tovolo Slotted Spatula
A spatula is one of the essential kitchen tools, yet there are multiple varieties. Choose between solid spatulas for flipping food on nonstick pans as well as silicone options that won’t scratch them and models designed specifically to meet specific tasks – some even come equipped with slots for particular jobs!
For instance, this Tovolo model features a slotted head designed to drain oil or broth before transporting food from pan to plate. Its tapered design also helps it slide beneath food quickly, while its stainless steel handle ensures durability and comfort. Various other models feature wider heads to support sandwiches, pancakes, or eggs when flipping them, while other designs from UpGood feature a long handle for reaching slim jars.
If you need spatulas that’ll meet all of your cooking and baking needs, Tovolo’s Flex-Core set may be what you need. Crafted with silicone material with durable nylon cores to add rigidity and strength. Heatproof to 600 degrees Fahrenheit with soft-touch finishes designed not to scratch cast iron pans or nonstick cookware while its colored finishes won’t fade; available in multiple colors, including Pantone Color of the Year Viva Magenta!
Tovolo Stirring Spoon
Stir, scoop, serve, and strain in style with this multifunctional kitchen utensil! This set-of-2 includes a sturdy mixing spoon and serving spoon that is BPA-free silicone to ensure heat resistance for food safety purposes and lasting durability. A large bowl allows every family member to participate in Sunday dinner together while the single-slotted serving spoon quickly drains stews so everyone has enough to eat!
This Tovolo utensil offers the ideal combination of strength and flexibility, featuring a sturdy nylon core reinforced by smooth-surfaced high-temperature silicone to enhance mixability. Additionally, its colorful finish won’t fade, and its heat resistance to 600degF makes it safe for nonstick skillets or cast iron pans.
This versatile kitchen tool is ideal for stirring sauce, batter, side dishes, stir-fry, nut butter, candy fudge, and dough. The rigid design can handle thick substances without bending while stirring. At the same time, the soft-touch silicone won’t scratch or scuff bowls, skillets, pans, and bakeware – this cooking utensil comes complete with an elegant stainless steel handle that adds both durability and visual appeal to your collection.