Our favorite did a great job of securing wood and plastic cutting boards on different types of counters, and it was very durable, surviving testing with no visible damage. Made of connected Cheerio-size silicone rings, it collected very little food debris, so it was easy to wash. Thin and flexible, it was also easy to fold up and store.
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This petite scoop had a comfortable, generous handle that was easy to squeeze and hold. It made perfectly round gougères and evenly sized peanut butter sandwich cookies. We also used this scoop to portion the sticky peanut butter cookie filling, which it released with ease. In all our tests, it was faster and more accurate than using a tablespoon measure. At 1 tablespoon, it’s the ideal size for making petite cookies and other tiny desserts.
We think this scoop would be especially useful for recipes that call for heaping-tablespoon portions. Its bowl was the perfect size for filling the mini muffin tin cups, and its handle was easy to squeeze and hold. We found it much neater than using a tablespoon measure for the same task. The scoop cleaned up easily in the sink, though it’s also dishwasher-safe for even faster cleanup.
These covers excelled by easily creating tight seals with only the slightest effort and resisting stains and damage throughout our durability testing. They stored fruit salad as effectively as plastic wrap did, and their nearly round shapes covered bowls nicely and sealed our winning 12-inch skillet well when we used it to cover the skillet and steam broccoli. They even maintained their seals in the microwave. The covers are available in 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, and 12.5-inch round models.
Adjusting this compact mill is easy: You simply slide a big plastic tab along a row of clearly marked grind sizes. It’s also a breeze to fill, thanks to a wide opening that’s about 2 inches across. We love that the pepper comes out of the top, because that keeps your countertop free of the peppercorn debris and dust that can fall out of other models. Thanks to the mill’s clear body, you can tell at a glance when it’s time to refill it.
The newest instant-read thermometer by ThermoWorks is the best we’ve tested yet. It has all the features we loved in our previous favorite: a large, grippy handle; a rotating screen with large, highly legible numbers; and a backlight that goes on when viewing conditions are dim. It’s waterproof to a water depth of 39 inches for 30 minutes, it goes to sleep when not in use, and the display wakes up automatically when you pick up the entire unit. The ONE improves on its predecessor, though: As its name indicates, it takes just 1 second to measure a temperature. The backlight is brighter, and you can now use the thermometer when cooking on induction burners—the engineers at ThermoWorks have taken measures to eliminate the electromagnetic interference that sometimes occurs when you use digital thermometers with induction cooktops.
Our former inexpensive winner had another strong showing. It was dead accurate and extremely fast. Compared with fancier models, this model felt like driving a standard car. The display does rotate and has a backlight, but you have to stop and press a button for both functions. You have to be more careful when holding its small lollipop-shaped head, but it makes the best of its size with a grippy, ergonomic design that's reasonably secure and easy to push and pull out of dense foods. Because the head is so small, this model did put our hands a little closer to the heat.
We loved the 16 slim, neatly cut apple slices that this gadget produced from a single fruit, perfect for baking or snacking. Its raised, grippy handles were comfortable to grab and push, and we loved its cleverly designed round coring blade at the center, which protrudes beyond the spoke-like cutting blades by a little less than ⅛ inch. This part makes the first cut, anchoring the device on the apple and breaking the resistance of the apple skin, so the cutting blades glide through more easily. After you press down through the apple, you lift it onto a plastic base and push down again, which makes the core and 16 perfect slices pop up and out—no struggling to free them from sharp blades. The device works well for pears, too, and is easy to clean by hand or in the dishwasher. Our only wish is that the base attached for storage so that it would be easier to keep track of its whereabouts.
This rice cooker consistently produced excellent rice in both small and large batches. The water measurement markings on the cooking bowl, which are clearly labeled in white writing, were easy to read. The machine played a song both when it started cooking and when it switched to the “keep warm” setting. A timer counted down the final minutes of cooking. Plus, the handles on its cooking bowl protected our hands from heat. This model’s menu was simple enough, though we had to refer to the manufacturer’s booklet when picking the setting for long-grain white rice (it cooks on the mixed-rice setting, not white rice setting, which wasn’t obvious at first). It kept rice at a food-safe temperature for 12 hours, a helpful perk for people who like to enjoy rice at multiple times throughout the day. We also tested the larger version of this model, Zojirushi 10-Cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker & Warmer, which makes from 2 to 20 cups of cooked rice; it performed as well as our winner.
This no-frills Super Benriner model is a cult favorite among restaurant cooks and home cooks alike, and for good reason: Its razor-sharp blades can handle even the toughest produce, and it can be set in a seemingly infinite range of thicknesses, effortlessly churning out paper-thin or chunky slices and julienne. (There are no fixed thickness settings, but most testers saw this as a positive trait, since it allowed them to customize the thickness so broadly.) It’s big enough to handle larger produce but still relatively compact for easy storage. And though it has only a simple rubber bumper, it rarely budges, thanks again to its sharp blade, which requires so little effort to slice food that the mandoline never fights back. Its simple plank shape allows you to use it vertically or to hook it over a bowl. Just don’t expect much from its hand guard, which is pretty much useless.
Inexpensive, effective, agile, and easy to use, this longtime favorite Y peeler has held up well in our test kitchen; we have used this model for more than a decade. Light as a feather, it did not fatigue our hands. The dual blade is carbon steel, like high-end chef’s knives, and it stayed sharp. Slim and flexible, the blades glided smoothly whether we were peeling carrots or rock-hard butternut squash, while their angle peeled just deeply enough to avoid wasting food. Nearly an inch of space between the blade and peeler body prevented peels from jamming and gave us excellent visibility as we worked. Note: Carbon steel may rust if left wet, so wash and dry the blade promptly; an occasional wipe with mineral oil will keep it in top shape.
In task after task, from carrots to zucchini and papaya to potatoes, this compact peeler worked neatly, easily, and efficiently to produce piles of crisp, uniform, long matchsticks. It almost never jammed and never dragged while peeling; it cleaned up quickly under the tap. The slightly grippy, rounded handle felt comfortable and its short length kept our hands close to the produce for excellent control and leverage. Its stainless-steel blade remained sharp.
We love this model’s handle, which was thick enough to provide a sturdy place for our fingers to grip but not so thick that it felt awkward. Made of textured polypropylene, it was easy to grab onto even when it was slick with butter or sticky from bread dough. This bench scraper’s rectangular blade covered a lot of ground with each swipe as we scraped the counter and cutting board and also scooped an impressive amount of chopped onions. Though its edge isn’t beveled, it is thin enough to be among the sharpest in the lineup and had no trouble cutting through bread dough or cubing butter. While the manufacturer recommends hand washing for the best results, the scraper survived several trips through the dishwasher during this round of testing, and the copies we stock in the test kitchen have always emerged from our industrial dishwashers unscathed.
We’ve recommended this rolling pin for years—and it remains the best dowel-style model on the market. Dowel pins’ long, flat barrels make them a great choice for larger jobs such as rolling dough for slab pies or croissants. It’s 19 inches long, giving plenty of space to roll out doughs of all sizes. At 1.4 lbs, it was heavy enough to help us as we rolled, but not so heavy that it crushed the dough underneath. Because the wood is slightly rough, it held onto a dusting of flour and dough never stuck to it. The wood also gripped the dough more than pins made from smoother materials, helping the dough respond to our movements more efficiently so we never overworked it. It’s also sold by King Arthur Baking Company as the King Arthur Straight Rolling Pin.