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Cooking can be a fun and creative experience—if you have the right tools. A dull knife and beat-up old cookware can do more harm than good. The best kitchen gifts will allow the culinarily inclined people in your life to cook new dishes, cut down on prep time on their favorite meals, or try different techniques. These kitchen upgrades can be electric or analog, but they all make a big difference. The best-case scenario is that these kitchen gifts inspire the people in your life to enjoy time spent in the kitchen (and maybe even share some of the food with you). Win-win!
Best multicooker: Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1
Look, we know this is an obvious choice for a kitchen gift. Instant Pots are just the new sous-vide machines in terms of go-to gadgets. But here’s the thing: They’re popular for a reason. Want to make slow-cooked stews on a weeknight? Or perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs every time? Who doesn’t? The basic version is affordable, even for the largest size. If you want to upgrade to the 10-in-1, go for it, but rest assured, this one will get all the jobs done.
Best smart oven: Breville Smart Oven
Breville
Breville’s Smart Oven has been a workhorse in our kitchen since we first tested it earlier this year. The multifunctional oven has general settings for baking, roasting, air frying, and broiling, as well as specific modes for pizza, toast, and cookies. This smart oven has 13 total functions, which allows you to use it for thousands of recipes. The oven is also large enough to accommodate a whole roast chicken or other big portions of food when cooking for a crowd. For a single-person or two-person home, the Breville Smart Oven could replace their full-sized oven a majority of the time, depending on what they cook. Smart ovens can feel complicated and intimidating, but Breville’s doesn’t. Its backlit LCD screen shows you the time and temperature, which you can adjust by turning large knobs. As an all-in-one kitchen tool, you won’t find a better gift.
Best water purifier: AquaTru Connect
All of us should be drinking at least 2.7 liters of water per day, according to the Mayo Clinic, but that’s difficult if you’re uneasy about what’s coming out of your tap. If you know someone in that situation, AquaTru’s Connect makes for an excellent gift. The appliance uses a three-stage filtration system and reverse osmosis to purify water and remove everything from rocket fuel and radium to pesticides and herbicides. Naturally, it’ll also filter out unwanted tastes and odors. We could easily pick up on those last two factors during our tests but felt good about the other nasty stuff getting filtered out, too. Using the AquaTru connect is equally simple. All you have to do is fill up its tank and press a button. AquaTru’s app lets you know the status of all three filters, so you know when they need to be replaced, along with stats on how much water it’s filtered. Looking for other options? Not a problem.
Best pepper grinder: MÄNNKITCHEN Pepper Cannon
Giving a pepper grinder as a gift may seem odd, but Mäankitchen’s is the exception that proves the rule. We were impressed not only by its ultra-solid build quality but also by the level of control it gave us over our grind. The company says its grinder is 10 times faster than a typical one, and you should believe the hype. A simple knob on the bottom of the pepper grinder allows you to switch from coarser to finer settings, so you can find the perfect one for your salad and steak and switch between them very quickly. Yes, the Mäankitchen Pepper Cannon is overkill, but that’s exactly why it’s such a great gift.
Best toaster: Cuisinart 4-Slice Toaster
Cuisinart
If you know someone who can’t start their day without toast, a bagel, or an English muffin, Cuisinart’s 4-Slice Toaster is the one to get. It has four slots, which are large enough to accommodate thick bagels or slices of Texas toast. There are two temperature knobs to control the rightmost and leftmost slots, so a pair of people can cook toast to their preferred level of doneness simultaneously. The toaster has dedicated modes for defrosting, cooking bagels, and reheating bread. In our tests, this toaster held up well compared to other models that cost several times more. This is a practical kitchen gift that’ll get used first thing in the morning hundreds of times a year.
Best utensil set: Fortessa Bistro 18/10 Stainless Steel 20 Piece Flatware Set
A set of Fortessa’s stainless steel utensils is the type of practical kitchen gift that’ll be an upgrade used by the person you gift it to on a daily basis for decades. The 20-piece set features enough flatware for four people and includes a salad fork, table fork, table knife, dessert spoon, and coffee spoon. If properly maintained, these dishwasher-safe utensils will last a lifetime.
Best stand mixer: Ankarsrum Original Stand Mixer
Ankarsrum
A stand mixer is the ultimate gift for serious bakers, and this model from Ankershrum delivers. The sturdy appliance has a unique turning mechanism wherein a motor on the bottom of the mixer turns the bowl, which feeds ingredients through attachments fixed to its arm. A 600W motor under the hood keeps the food turning—literally—even when making big batches of dense doughs or batters. The mixer comes with a pair of bowls, dough hook, roller, scraper, spatula, cookie beaters, and ample instructions. Additional optional accessories include a meat grinder, pasta rollers, and vegetable slicers. Some of these accessories require you to position the mixer on its side. This is a luxe gift, but it’s an investment that serious bakers will cherish for the rest of their lives.
Best sheet pans: Viking Culinary Nonstick Baking Sheet
Viking
Sheet pans are essential for the home cook who bakes or roasts food often, which is why Viking’s 3-piece set is such a great gift. The three nesting sheets in this set range from 13 inches to 17 inches and are made from an aluminized steel with a double-layered nonstick coating. We’ve gotten to try these sheet pans before, and we wouldn’t want to swap to another set. These pans are durable and have held up to consistent exposure to high heat without discoloring or bending. Sheet pans are a kitchen workhorse, and this set will get whoever you gift them to through decades of cooking.
Best Dutch oven: Smithey Ironware 7.25 QT Dutch Oven
Smithey Ironware’s 7.25 QT Dutch Oven is a luxe gift for serious home cooks who routinely cook big batches of food for an entire family. One could easily bake a massive loaf of bread, fry an entire broken-down chicken, or slow-cook an entire pork butt while still having room to spare. The company says you’ll be able to make acidic foods like sauces after the first few cooks without the risk of ruining its coating. If you go to one specific person’s house every year for the holidays and have watched them struggle to get enough food out at one time because their cookware was too small, a Dutch oven could seriously help them out.
Best pizza oven: Ooni Volt
What’s better than a pizza oven that allows you to make pizzeria-quality pies at home? One that can be used whether it’s sunny, rainy, snowy, or anything in between. The Ooni Volt is the company’s first electric pizza oven, the ultimate gift for aspiring pizzaiolos. The oven can reach temperatures of up to 850 degrees Fahrenheit (most conventional ovens top out at either 500 or 550) and has heating elements above and below the pizza stone to ensure even cooking. Dials on the front of the Ooni Volt make it easy to adjust its temperature, bias heat to the top or bottom heating element, or set a cooking timer. When the Volt is at its maximum temperature, you can cook a twelve-inch Neopolitan pizza in under two minutes. Little design touches, like a clear pane on the front door that allows you to monitor your cook, ensure you’ll always get excellent results.
Best electric kettle: Fellow Corvo EKG Electric Tea Kettle
Fellow’s electric kettle is a thoughtful gift for anyone who loves tea, coffee, or wants to expedite cooking tasks like rehydrating dried vegetables. This kettle has an immaculate, minimalist design, but its understated look belies its impressive technical features. You can set the kettle to a precise temperature, which is displayed on an LCD screen on the kettle’s base. Additional features include the ability to set a stopwatch to fully extract the flavor of your tea and coffee, which is helpful for those who use expensive leaves and beans, respectively. This countertop appliance has a place in almost any kitchen, and the person you gift it to will wonder how they did without one for so long. Know somebody who wants to take pour-over control to the pinnacle? Invest a bit more in the Fellow Stagg EKG Pro Studio Electric Gooseneck Kettle.
Best ice maker: GoveeLife Smart Ice Maker
GoveeLife
Know a host who’s always worried about managing their freezer space? GoveeLife’s Smart Ice Maker is the perfect solution to their problem. The ice maker pops out up to 26 pounds of ice daily and can be controlled through their smartphone. GoveeLife’s mobile app lets you control this ice maker’s timer and the size of its cubes. The machine will beep when its ice container is full and will pause automatically to avoid overflowing. Similarly, it’ll start to make noise if its water tank has been fully depleted. If you’re using the app, you’ll also receive a notification on your smartphone in both of these cases. If you’re shopping for someone who really wants a convenient way to keep a lot of drinks cold during a get-together, this is a very thoughtful holiday gift.
Best drinkware: Fortessa Malcolm Cocktail Glasses
This set of six cocktail glasses from Fortessa will elevate the drink game of whoever you gift them to. Each 15-ounce glass has two textures, which make them easier to grip and fun to look at. While designed for cocktails and mocktails, the glasses will (nearly) fit an entire pint of beer or water. We’re especially fond of the fact that Fortessa offers these glasses in three colors, so you can get a set that matches the style of the person you’re gifting them to.
Best microwavable cookware: Anyday 8-Piece Square Dish Set
Anyday
There’s “microwave-safe” cookware, and then there’s the newly-released 8-Piece Square Dish Set from Anyday. The frosted glass cookware is dishwasher safe, oven safe (up to 500 degrees fahrenheit without a lid, 400 degrees fahrenheit with a lid), freezer safe, non-toxic, and comes in multiple sizes. We’re inclined to jump in with both feet and gift a full set, which includes one large dish, one medium dish, and a pair of small square dishes. Each dish comes with its own lid.We’ve been pleased not only by how well this cookware performs—our from-scratch and reheated microwaved foods have never been cooked so consistently—but by how each size is perfect for different applications. The home cook with this set will be able to make everything from a full pot of rice to a small chicken completely in the microwave. The company’s website offers a bevy of new recipes for the microwave skeptic, too, in case you’re shopping for a skeptic. If you’d like to go the extra mile, Anyday offers an accessory bundle that includes dish protectors, lid organizers, mitts, a strainer, and a cookbooklet.
Best pasta maker: MARCATO Atlas 150
If you’re shopping for someone interested in making homemade pasta, our only gift recommendation is the MARCATO Atlas 150. Made in Italy from steel and colored aluminum, the machine feels solid in the hand and is designed to last a lifetime. The hand-crank pasta maker comes with a clamp to hold it steady and a pair of blades to cut thick and thin noodles. The Atlas 150 can be used to make pasta sheets between .19 and .020 thick, which means it’s suitable for making any well-known pasta shape, including lasagna sheets. Using the Atlas 150 will require some elbow grease—unless you generously gift them a drive motor, too—but the results will be well worth it. Once they start making homemade pasta, it’ll be hard for them to go back to a box.
Best for small kitchen: Kuhn Rikon 4th Burner Pot
Kuhn Rikon’s 4th Burner Pot was specifically designed to be used on the smallest burner found on a stovetop. If you’re shopping for a home cook who cares about efficiency, this gift will please them immeasurably. The pot comes with a steam basket, which can also be used to boil smaller vegetables or thick pasta (think rigatoni) and easily lift them out of boiling water. Small touches, like the covering on the top and side handles that make both parts grippier are especially nice touches. We guarantee the chef in your life doesn’t have this tool in their arsenal, and they’ll immediately begin figuring out the most efficient ways to use it.
Best salad spinner: OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Salad Spinner
OXO
A salad spinner is an essential kitchen gift for those looking to get some extra greens into their diet. Washing produce is essential, but waiting for it to dry naturally, or trying to wring out moisture by squeezing can take time and ruin its texture respectively. OXO’s salad spinner whips away a lot of moisture in a minute, and has an easy to use hand pump design that won’t fatigue the your arm like alternatives that require turning a crank or pulling a handle. OXO offers this salad spinner in a few styles, but this stainless steel model is the nicest-looking and most giftable.
Best skillet: Smithey Deep Farmhouse Skillet
Endgame is the only way we’ve found to articulate how we feel about Smitey’s Deep Farmhouse Skillet. Once you gift this to someone, it may very well be the only pan they use for sauteing, searing, and pan-frying everything from steak and eggs to vegetables and tofu. Hand-forged, this is undoubtedly the most beautiful piece of cookware we’ve ever tested. Every detail, from the slope of the handle to the incline at the edges, has been thought through to optimize how it feels in the hand. This skillet’s aesthetics are matched only by its performance. The person you gift this to will be amazed at how quickly it gets hot, how evenly heat is distributed, and how easily food slides on and off of it. This gift will not only last a lifetime when properly maintained, but it’ll also become a tool that’s passed down through several generations of home cooks.
Best cake plate: Lenox Lx Collective Cake Plate
Any baker who’s proud of their latest creations would find Lenox’s Lx Collective Cake Plate to be the perfect gift. Regal-looking on its own, the marble and wooden kitchen cake plate stands five inches tall and 12 inches around. A raised lip will keep their bakes from unintentionally sliding off, while also acting like a frame to improve their presentation. This is a luxe gift, but it’s a piece of equipment few people would get for themselves. Be prepared to see Lenox’s cake plate featured prominently every time a new cake, crumble, or other confection hits social media.
Best food processor: Breville 9-Cup Paradice Food Processor
Breville
Food processors can be used for anything from chopping up vegetables to making pizza dough, and the versatile Paradice from Breville is the one to gift this year. Available in both a 9-Cup and 16-Cup capacity the appliance comes with several blades to get just the right cut. The blades are color coated, so you’ll know which one to grab depending on the job. The Paradice’s large feed shoot makes it easy to fit big chunks of food inside rather than having to pre-slice it to fit through. The stainless steel appliance looks beautiful in person, and it has only three buttons: power, pulse, play/pause, which makes it easy to operate for someone new to food processing. When the blades aren’t in use, they can get comfortably stored inside a storage caddy, which fits on the Paradice itself. From blitzing nuts to crushing ice, this is an appliance many home cooks don’t prioritize but will find themselves using all the time.
Best storage containers: Rubbermaid Brilliance BPA Free Food Storage Containers
Rubbermaid’s storage containers are actually a two-in-one style gift that the organized home cook will begin to rely on each and every day. Each piece is made from BPA-free plastic and comes with a snap-on lid that keeps air from getting in or out. These containers can be used to store dry goods—think pastas, grains, and flour—for extended periods of time, but they can also be used for leftovers. Both the lids and containers are dishwasher safe, which makes cleaning them up simple after they’re empty. Efficiency and cleanliness are the signs of a harmonious kitchen, and this gift can help the home cook in your life achieve both.
Best charcuterie board: Farberware Build-a-Board
Farberware
Any host would be thrilled to receive Farberware’s Build-A-Board as a gift this holiday season. The wooden board has six wells, which are designed to be used as guides for different meats, cheeses, and other accoutrements when building a charcuterie board. It can be difficult to know how to arrange a charcuterie board if you’ve never done it before, and Farberware takes all the guesswork out of it. Two wells are larger and four are smaller, which allows you to decide which items get prioritized. If you flip the board over, you can use the underside as a cutting board, too. Best of all, the board comes with a snap-on lid, which makes it easy to transport a freshly-made charcuterie board to another person’s house, or to store in the fridge before guests come. Farberware offers the Build-A-Board in a variety of sizes, shapes, and styles, but this six well version is the one we like best.
Best for meal prep: Souper Cubes
We all know at least one person who likes to think ahead and always have a meal ready in advance. Do them a favor and gift them a set of Souper Cubes. The silicon containers have four 250mL (roughly 1.1 cup) cavities, which can be used to store liquid or solid ingredients to be deployed at a moment’s notice. Your giftee could use two molds for soup and leave the other two for flavorful toppings. Pre-shredded vegetables and cheese separated into their own sections could be defrosted and deployed during an at-home taco night. The Souper Cubes are an excellent gift for the efficient home chef or someone who likes to cook at home more often but runs out of time.
Best non-stick cookware: Cuisinart Culinary Collection 12-Piece Pots and Pans Set
Cuisinart
Non-stick cookware is a wonderful gift for the home cook who doesn’t have the time to clean up pans every night—especially if they don’t have a dishwasher. This 12-piece set from Cuisinart includes two skillets, a saucepan, a saute pan, three lids, a lid organizer, and three bamboo kitchen tools. We named this the best PFAS-free cookware set after hands-on testing due to the durability of its pieces. We cooked, seared, and stewed a variety of foods, from fruit jam to fish, and were always pleased with the results. Better yet, this cookware set is compatible with induction cooktops, so it doesn’t matter what type of stove your giftee has. This is the ultimate gift if you’re shopping for someone who loves to cook but doesn’t because of how much time it takes to clean up.
Best for apartments: AirHood Wireless
Anyone who’s cooked in a poorly ventilated kitchen (aka most apartments) knows the frustration of accidentally setting off the smoke alarm while sauteing or searing food on the stovetop. The Airhood Wireless solves this issue, which makes it a must-give gift this holiday season. The battery-powered countertop appliance works like a traditional range hood but is far more compact and easy to move. When turned on, the AirHood Wireless sucks up the air, filters it through a mesh stainless steel oil filter and charcoal filter, and shoots it out the other side. If the AirHood Wireless is set up next to the pan that’ll be used before the fat reaches its smoke point, you’ll end up with a smoke-free kitchen. Home chefs won’t even know this type of kitchen gadget exists, and it’ll blow their minds after using it once.
Best saucier: Misen 3 QT Stainless Steel Saucier
Misen’s 3 Quart Saucepan is the type of kitchen tool many home chefs aspire to use, and giving it as a gift could make that a reality. The 5-ply stainless steel saucepan heats up evenly, but its handle is designed to be easy to hold and reduce its heat exposure. Three of this saucier’s layers are made of aluminum, which conducts heat more quickly to reduce the cooking time. This construction also allows the saucepan to withstand heat up to 800 degrees if you need to prepare food in the oven. Whether they want a fresh bowl of rice, homemade popcorn, or reheated soup, this is the tool they’ll continue to reach for.
Best bread maker: Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus
Zojirushi
Aspiring and experienced bakers alike can get tripped up in bread baking because so many things can go wrong, from taking a loaf out too soon to accidentally overworking or under-proofing the dough. Zojirushi’s Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker removes all doubt from the situation by making breadmaking foolproof. Dialing in the correct time and settings means there’s no chance of messing up. We’re pleased that the Virtuoso Plus offers so many different bread options, from sugar-free and vegan to multigrain and salt-free. There’s even a gluten-free option for folks dissatisfied with commercial options. Breadmaking can be intimidating, but by taking the guesswork out, this gift can turn anyone into a consistent baker.
Best for bread baking: Emile Henry Modern Bread Cloche
If the person you’re shopping for this holiday season isn’t interested in using an appliance to bake bread, we have the solution: Emile Henry’s Modern Bread Cloche. This two-piece ceramic baking dish creates the perfect baking environment for an artisan loaf by tightly surrounding it with radiating heat. Additionally, using this Cloche won’t require a baker to lower their dough into a too-hot-to-touch preheated Dutch oven, however carefully. When the loaf is done, the top piece can be easily removed to unveil the loaf, while the bottom piece of the Cloche features a textured pattern, which prevents the bread from sticking to it. Whether they’re making the dough by hand, stand mixer, or machine, Emile Henry’s Modern Bread Cloche will ensure each loaf they’ve proofed comes out perfectly.
Best cookbook for bakers: Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World
Phaidon
All the kitchen tools in the world can’t help an uninspired baker, so help them out by gifting a cookbook full of inspiration. What makes “Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World” so appealing is its mission to show that sweet treats are for everyone, everywhere. Recipes from almost 100 countries are represented with their appropriate context, including notation about the similarities between a particular confection and another found in a different part of the world. Working your way through the book reveals how food plays into cultures of the region, and when or why certain bakes are made. We guarantee that the baker you gift this book to will end up with dog-eared pages and a box full of new homemade goodies the next time you invite them over.
Best rice cooker: KitchenAid Grain and Rice Cooker
KitchenAid
Grains are a staple part of many diets, but making sure you have the proper ratio of grain to water and setting a timer to make sure they don’t overcook or burn can be a nuisance. If you’re shopping for someone who wants to upgrade their grain game, KitchenAid’s Grain and Rice Cooker is the answer. The smart appliance streamlines cooking by allowing you to select the grain you’re cooking on a touchscreen, weighing the ingredient in real-time and then dispensing the appropriate amount of water from its tank. The Grain and Rice Cooker can hold up to eight cups of food at once, which is plenty for a crowd or meal prepping. There’s even a scheduling function, so whoever you gift this to can set rice or grains to cook before they leave for home, and they can come to a fully cooked base or side dish when they return. There are 21 different settings, and the set-it-and-forget-it nature of this appliance may help your friend or family member expand their horizons.
Best for boxed wine enthusiasts: Boxxle Box Wine Dispenser
Boxxle
If you’re shopping for someone who loves to drink boxed wine, there’s no better gift than this kitchen tool from Boxxle. The Box Wine Dispenser allows you to take the bag from your favorite box, attach Boxxle’s spigot, and place the bag back inside. The entire process takes under a minute, and once it’s done you can pour wine at the push of a button. The Boxxle can be used with bags containing up to three liters of wine, including the ones found in smaller boxes. The stainless steel exterior looks nice on a kitchen counter, and its spigot is elevated enough to accomodate glasses of all sizes Boxxle says you can also use this appliance with water, coffee, juice, or other beverages that come in bags, too.
Best air fryer: Cuisinart TOA-95
Cuisinart’s TOA-95 should be one of the first gifts to consider if you’re shopping for someone with limited counter space. The sleek-looking appliance can bake, broil, roast, reheat, toast, and air fry, with dedicated buttons for preheating, slow cooking, and air frying. The TOA-95’s display makes it easy to see which setting is selected, and the function and time/temp knobs are easy to navigate its interface. Many people associate air fryers with french fries (the TOA-95 excels at making them ultra crispy), but it’s large enough to roast an entire chicken. Overall, Cuisinart’s TOA-95 is a winner, and we highly recommend getting it for any home cook. However, we’ve got you if you just want dedicated air fryers!
Best electric knife: BUBBA Kitchen Series Cordless Electric Knife
Know somebody who has the honor of carving up the main dish at every holiday party? Bubba’s Cordless Electric Knife will become their new best friend. The knife is extremely efficient at cutting through thick cuts of meat—even through bone—to deliver clean-looking, perfectly portioned slices. Bubba includes three blades for different applications, though we typically stuck with the seven-inch carving blade during our time with it. We must admit we were impressed at how well this knife fit in our hand. The curved hilt gave us a solid grip, and the thumb rest on top allowed us to put constant pressure on what we were cutting while keeping the blade steady. Bubba even cared about the quality of its carrying case, which makes the knife easy to store safely when not in use.
Best knife set with sharpener: Anolon AlwaysSharp Japanese Steel Knife Block Set with Built-In Sharpener
A dull knife can lead to injuries, so spare your favorite home chef from nicks and cuts by gifting them this eight-piece knife set with a sharpener built into its block. The set comes with a chef’s knife, slicer, bread knife, santoku knife, serrated utility knife, paring knife, and kitchen shears. These are all the tools they’ll need to carve, slice, chop, butterfly, or otherwise slice and dice protein and vegetables. All the knives fit neatly into a single block with a large sharpener built into it for easy access. All they’ll need to do to keep their knives sharp is to run their blades through the sharpener a few times on a regular basis. A knife sharpener on its own would be a great gift, but having it built into a block with an eight-knife set makes it even better.
Best steak knives: Viking Culinary German Stainless Steel Pakkawood Steak Knife Set
Our final kitchen knife gift recommendation is this six-piece set of stainless steel steak knives from Viking. Each knife is stored in a separate slot within a wooden box, which screams class each time they’re used. The knives are forged from stainless steel, with a pakkawood handle affixed to them with a pair of rivets. This gift has one real use: effortlessly cutting through steak, which is just fine if you’re shopping for a carnivore.
Best for breakfast lovers: Wolf Gourmet Precision Electric Griddle
Wolf Gourmet
Need a gift for someone who wakes up every morning ready to make bacon and eggs? Wolf Gourmet’s Precision Electric Griddle can fit a couple of eggs, half a dozen slices of bacon, and have room to spare for two pancakes. The griddle has a deceptively simple look, with a single knob used to control its temperature, but a lot is going on under the hood. Multiple coils beneath the appliance’s non-stick cooking surface evenly distribute heat, while grease falls into a tray below to avoid it pooling up. Once you’re done cooking, the grease tray can be removed to discard the drippings safely. The Precision Electric Griddle is a great tool for cooking breakfast, but it’s equally capable of making smash burgers, sauteed vegetables, and plenty of other savory delights.
Best indoor smoker: GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker
GE
Nothing bums out a pit master quite like winter when the smoker has to go away until springtime. Help them overcome the Wintertime blues with GE Profile’s Smart Indoor Smoker. The appliance, which allowed us to make credible barbeque in a New York City apartment during January, makes the seemingly impossible relatively easy to do. You can dial in your preferred smoke level, temperature, and time, and the machine does the rest. You can control these functions using an app on your smartphone, too. This indoor smoker runs on wood pellets, and while it does create some odor, it won’t smoke out your apartment thanks to a clever mechanism that drops spent pellets into water to prevent them from turning to ash, and a fan that circulates smokey air constantly rather than letting it linger. The result is fall-off-the-bone tender barbeque any time of year.
Best kitchen scale: OXO 11-Pound Food Scale
Everybody knows a home baker who uses measuring cups instead of weighing ingredients, and you can help them seriously up their game by gifting them a kitchen scale. Their bakes will turn out consistently, and the scale can be used in savory applications to portion meat and vegetables before cooking them. We like OXO’s scale because of its magnetic slide-out screen, which makes it possible to use the scale when weighing food in a large container. These containers would block the display on a lesser scale, which defeats the purpose of using them.
Best cordless appliance: KitchenAid Go™ Cordless Hand Blender
KitchenAid
Immersion blenders are a powerful tool for smoothing out soups, making homemade aioli, or breaking down fruit when making homemade jam, but some home cooks find them intimidating. Luckily, KitchenAid’s Go Cordless Hand Blender eliminates the biggest annoyance for this handheld appliance: its power cable. A corded immersion blender requires you to have a spare outlet near your stovetop or range when cooking, and can get in the way as you move it around. This battery-powered model can be used anywhere, anytime. It’s powerful enough to break up large chunks of food, can be used for a half hour before its battery needs to be topped up, and has a stainless steel blending arm. KitchenAid also includes a plastic guard to prevent you from scratching your cookware, and a blending jar (with lid) that allows you to blend smaller portions of food and store them for later.
Best microwave: Sharp SMC1169HS
Sharp’s SMC1169HS should be the first kitchen gift you consider for anyone living in a dorm or moving into their first apartment. It has all the standard features of a microwave, including preset buttons for common foods, but has many you wouldn’t expect. Three auto defrost buttons allow you to thaw meat without worrying about times, temperatures, and power levels, while support for Amazon’s Alexa allows you to operate this appliance totally hands-free. The microwave has even been certified by Orville Redenbacher’s® to make popcorn effectively. Microwaves are a common countertop appliance, but the Sharp SMC1169HS’ extras turn what could be mundane into a cool gift.
Best baking mats: Silpat Half Size Nonstick Baking Mat
Silpat’s nonstick baking mats are legendary for their durability and the ability to keep even the stickiest substances—looking at you, molten-hot sugar-leaking cinnamon buns—from sticking or leaving a mark. This two-pack of half-sized baking mats is designed to fit perfectly inside a pair of 13- x 18-inch baking sheets. These mats can withstand temperatures up to 480 degrees Fahrenheit and only need to be lightly rinsed with water to clean. A baker tired of tearing off sheets of parchment paper each time they bake, which can be especially tedious during long baking sessions, would be thrilled to receive these Silpat Baking Mats as a gift.
Best full-sized juicer: Hurom H310A
Hurom’s H310A is so good it may well convert your favorite home chef from someone who orders overpriced juice at a specialty shop into someone who makes them at home. The juicer’s self-feeding hopper will continually ingest chunks of fruits and vegetables while its blade mimics the amount of force used for manual juicing. Hurom says the H310A wrings as much juice as possible from fruits and vegetables, and that’s been true in our tests. The H310A consistently made tasty juice from whatever we threw at it, and cleaning it by hand was a quick affair. The best part about this juicer is its small size. This juicer offers the same level of performance as a bulkier one in a far more svelte package. Fresh, organic juice is very expensive if you order it out, so gifting this juicer will actually save the person you’re shopping for money without using a lot of time.
Best citrus juicer: Chef’n FreshForce Citrus Juicer
Chef’n
A citrus juice is an oft-overlooked kitchen gift because it seems too simple, but bartender, salad makers, and tea lovers alike always need a good one. The FreshForce is a handheld citrus juicer that’s designed to optimize how much liquid you can get out of each lemon and lime you put inside. It requires some force, as its name implies, but Chef’n used a dual-gear mechanism so you don’t need to squeeze too hard. This is the type of handheld tool that becomes a kitchen workhorse that you didn’t know you needed, which is exactly why it makes for such a great (and unexpected) gift for the home cook.
Best drink carbonator: Drinkmate OmniFizz
Drinkmate
If you’re shopping for someone who loves seltzer and other carbonated drinks—Drinkmate’s Omnifizz is the kitchen gift to get. The beverage carbonator can be used to add a little zing to any drink, not just water. This allows you to recarbonate flat beverages like bottled soda that’s been in the fridge for a week, make homemade sparkling juice (or wine), or make your water as fizzy as you’d like. Best of all, the Omnifizz doesn’t require an outlet—carbon from the CO2 is dispensed by pushing a button on top of the carbonator. The best part of the Omnifizz is that it’ll allow your friend or family member to make their drinks as carbonated as they’d like rather than having to find the beverage brand whose bottles and cans match their taste best.
Best for cocktail connoisseurs: Barsys 360 Cocktail Mixer
Barsys
It’s hard to beat a professionally-made cocktail perfectly poured in front of you, and Barsys’ 360 Cocktail Maker brings that experience to your home. The smart appliance connects to your smartphone wirelessly over Bluetooth and allows you to choose from a wide menu of cocktails within its iOS and Android app. Once a recipe is selected, the app will tell you which ingredients are needed and instruct you to pour them directly into the Cocktail maker’s reservoirs. The machine will then combine the perfect amount of each ingredient, and pour the drink directly into a glass for you. This allows you to make the perfect drink over and over throughout the night. This is an especially good gift for hosts who love coming up with creative cocktail pairings but don’t want to spend half the night with a shaker in their hand.
Best ice cream maker: Ninja CREAMi
The Ninja Creami is the only gift you should consider for someone who loves ice cream. The set-it-and-forget-it nature of the Creami allows you to make ice cream, gelato, sorbet, milkshakes, Italian ice, and other frozen treats with minimal intervention. After freezing the ice cream base in the included pint container overnight, you stick it into the Creami and hit one button, and the machine takes care of the rest. Blades will churn the ice cream to the correct consistency based on your selected frozen treat. You can pause midway through to fold in mix-ins, but beyond that, all you have to do is wait for the machine to do its job. This deluxe package comes with a pair of XL-sized prints, each holding 24 ounces of ice cream. Additional XL pints can be purchased separately if you want a constant supply of ice cream.
Best cutting board: Fifth & Cherry F&C 14
Fifth & Cherry’s F&C 14 is a statement piece that deserves a place in any home cook’s kitchen. The 14-inch cutting board is thick enough to feel substantial but still easy to move around when necessary. Fifth & Cherry went the extra mile to ensure its cutting boards immediately catch the eye, but their attention to detail is more than skin deep. We chopped, scraped, kneaded, and served food on this board, and it held up very well after repeated use. The cutting board will accumulate cut marks over time, but the nicks shouldn’t go deep enough to impact its performance. If they do, Fifth & Cherry offers a free refinishing service. Calling a cutting board beautiful may seem odd, but the F&C 14 earns that distinction—and many more.
Best for french fry fiends: Weston Professional French Fry Cutter
Weston
This is a niche holiday gift, but we all know someone who’s obsessed with french fries and would lose their mind if they received Weston’s Professional French Fry Cutter as a gift. Granted, it could also be used to rapidly dice up other vegetables as well, which can be helpful when prepping food for a large number of people. The tool works by pushing food through a fixed metal plate by pulling on a lever. This is one of the most heavy-duty kitchen tools we’ve ever tested, and the results are no joke. We cranked out perfectly cut fries ready to be washed and air-fried in seconds. It’s pretty large, but this is an unexpected kitchen gift that meal preppers (and yes, people who love fries) will use unironically on a regular basis.
Best colander: Dreamroo Collapsible Multi-purpose Colander
Every sink and recipe is a little different, but your giftee won’t have to worry about that with Dreamroo’s colander, which can expand and contract between 14.5 and 19.5 inches. This feature allows you to use the same colander to clean a pint or quart of fruit without reaching for a separate tool. This is the colander to reach for if you’re cooking pasta for yourself or a couple of friends. We like this colander because it’s a gift nobody expects but will immediately wonder how they lived without it. It’s even offered in multiple colors (we’re particularly partial to the blue), so you can get one to match their style.
Best knife: MadeIn Engraved 8-inch Chef Knife
A chef knife is the most versatile piece of cutlery in a home cook’s arsenal and an investment that, with care, can last decades, with many of them costing upwards of $200-$400. MadeIn offers its professional-grade 8-inch chef knife for just $99, allowing you to personalize its blade for an extra $30. This is a really nice touch that a home cook would appreciate every time they chop, dice, or chiffonade their favorite produce. This French-made knife, which combines the approach of German and Japanese blades, is made from a single piece of stainless steel hardened with nitrogen. It’ll make quick work of tomatoes, potatoes, pineapples, avocado, or anything else thrown at it. If it’s taken care of properly, the chef who gets this knife can use it for the rest of their life.
Best knife set: Cangshan N1
If you need an incredibly generous gift idea for a home cook who’s just moved out onto their own, our top recommendation is Cangshan’s N1. The six-knife block has everything a chef needs to cut, chop, slice, and filet meat, vegetables, fruit, and anything in between. The star of the show is arguably the wooden block, which is cut at an angle so each knife is easy to grab and use. The blades are forged from a single piece of German steel, so you never have to worry about a handle falling apart. If they’re cared for and sharpened a few times a year, this gift will last a lifetime.
Best dinnerware set: Stone + Lain Porcelain 16 Piece Dinnerware Set
Another great gift for folks leaving home for the first time is a good-looking set of dinnerware, which should be fancy enough to impress guests but comfortable enough to use daily. Stone + Lain knocked it out of the park with this 16-piece set, a table setting for four people. Plates, bowls, and mugs are all included, so they’ll have everything they need in a single package. We loved how nice Stone + Lain’s dinnerware set looked in person, and the porcelain material felt fancier than we expected. Importantly, every piece in this set is microwave and dishwasher-safe.
Best mandoline: Benriner Mandoline Slicer
It’s not generally good practice to give people products they could hurt themselves with—but if you’ve got a friend or family member who loves cooking up elaborate meals, this mandoline will be a godsend. It lets you quickly shave thin slices off even the hardiest veggies, making everything from salad prepping to gratin layering much faster and easier. Plus, it has a little gripper so your loved ones don’t accidentally slice their fingertips off.
Best grater: Kyocera Advanced Ceramic Grater
Yes, you could use a microplane to grate your ginger. But that’s assuming you want to clog up the tiny blades with fibers and spend twice as long doing it. Instead, you could just get this little Japanese device designed to perfectly mash up your ginger root (or garlic or fresh turmeric) without the hassle. It’s simple. It’s easy. It’s ceramic. And it’s got a silicone ring on the bottom to keep it from slipping.
Best for travelers: Nordic Ware Cakes and Cupcakes Carrier
We all have that one person in our lives who loves bringing baked goods to parties but frets about them getting there in one piece. Nordic Wae’s Cakes and Cupcakes Carrier is the perfect gift for such a kind soul. The kitchen tool will allow them to transport 12 cupcakes or a 9- x 13-inch cake safely. The cupcake holder even has an individual slot, so delicate pipework isn’t ruined by one cake rubbing up against the other. A hard plastic shield prevents anything from accidentally touching the cakes, and handles make it easier for the carrier to take bakes from a car seat into a home and vice versa. Sometimes, you can’t beat practicality. Nordic Ware also has a baking pan and lid set that serves a similar purpose but won’t require them to transfer their bake from its baking dish into a separate container.
Best sous vide: Anova Mini
Anova
OK, sure … we did start this whole list saying that Instant Pots are the new sous-vide machines. But that doesn’t mean the real things went away. If anything, they’re just hitting their stride. Anova’s Mini is smaller than previous models, but still as powerful. The appliance tool allows you to cook your food to a specific temperature and will keep it there for hours. This means your steak will never be over or underdone again, and there’s no need to frantically prod meat with a thermometer dozens of times for fear of getting yourself or someone else sick. Anova allows you to set the Mini’s cook time and temperature and keeps tabs on it using its mobile app. A subscription to its premium subscription unlocks additional features, including custom cook programs, access to a digital recipe catalogue, and the ability to connect to multiple devices simultaneously. If you’re shopping for someone who’s on the fence about sous vide cooking but has been thinking about trying it out, you won’t go wrong here.
