Smart Kitchen Picks: Your Guide to Clever Cooking
Dive into the latest kitchen gadgets that make cooking easier, faster, and more fun. We share honest reviews and tips to help you choose the best tools for your culinary adventures.
5/8/20242 min read
The Instant Pot Duo is the gadget we recommend most to people who feel like their kitchen has too many single-purpose appliances. It pressure cooks, slow cooks, steams, sautés, and keeps food warm, which means a chili that used to take two hours on the stove is done in twenty-five minutes. It's a little intimidating the first time you use it, but the presets make it hard to mess up, and cleanup is just the removable inner pot.
Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Multi-Cooker
This one lives on the counter, not in a cabinet. Washing lettuce by hand and patting it dry never actually gets it dry, and soggy greens ruin a salad before you even add dressing. A few pulls of the pump handle and it's genuinely dry — crisp instead of limp. The bowl doubles as a serving dish, and it's dishwasher safe.
OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner
This one lives on the counter, not in a cabinet. Washing lettuce by hand and patting it dry never actually gets it dry, and soggy greens ruin a salad before you even add dressing. A few pulls of the pump handle and it's genuinely dry — crisp instead of limp. The bowl doubles as a serving dish, and it's dishwasher safe.
OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner
The Ninja Air Fryer is the gadget that made us stop ordering fries out. It crisps things using hot air instead of oil, so wings, fries, and roasted vegetables come out crunchy without the grease. It heats up fast, the basket is nonstick and easy to wipe down, and it's small enough to leave on the counter without taking over the kitchen.
Ninja Air Fryer
The Ninja Air Fryer is the gadget that made us stop ordering fries out. It crisps things using hot air instead of oil, so wings, fries, and roasted vegetables come out crunchy without the grease. It heats up fast, the basket is nonstick and easy to wipe down, and it's small enough to leave on the counter without taking over the kitchen.
Zulay Milk Frother
The Zulay Milk Frother is the gadget that upgraded our coffee without buying a new machine. A few seconds of whisking turns regular milk into thick, cafe-style foam for lattes and cappuccinos, and it works just as well on non-dairy milk. It's battery-powered, small enough to store in a drawer, and cheap enough that it doesn't feel like a splurge.