Ah, the kitchen. It's one of those things you either love or hate. But most people fall somewhere between failure as a cook and genius as a cook - progress is about moving toward the latter and away from the former. The good news is that if you're here browsing Delish, chances are you're already headed in the right direction.
Read on to discover our favorite kitchen tools, from gadgets you never knew you needed to must-haves you never even knew existed. Whether designed to speed up the cooking process or reduce manual labor, all the products featured here are designed to improve your time in the kitchen.
Warning: Once you start using these tools, there's no turning back.
1. Avocado Multi-Tool
When you've decided which of these amazing avocado recipes you'll make tonight, make prep easier than ever with this three-in-one avocado tool. It slices, peels, and even removes the avocado pit in a snap so you can enjoy this creamy green delight faster than ever.
Buy: Avocado Multi-Tool
2. Bagel Guillotine
Bagel lovers, rejoice. This editor-tested bagel guillotine cuts bagels straight through, leaving you with two evenly cut halves: Every. Time. Time! We were impressed with the guillotine's sharp blade, which perfectly cut a day-old New York bagel (which is very thick compared to traditional grocery store bagels). You'll look forward to using this Amazon kitchen gadget every time you crave a bagel. Skip the cream cheese!
Buy: Bagel Guillotine
3. Handheld Torch
A mini kitchen blowtorch is useful for more than just adding a bit of crispy caramel to your favorite creme brulee recipe (but, hey, it makes it even more delicious, too). You can also use it to char vegetables, add color and caramelization to sous vide cooking, or make your homemade macaroni and cheese beautifully golden and bubbly on top. Plus, using it is just plain fun.
Buy: Handheld Torch
4. Compact Air Fryer
Deep fryers are the hottest kitchen appliances, but have you seen them in person? They are huge! This miniature version takes up a fraction of the space and is adorable. It has 1.2 liters of space so that you can make a pound of healthy, crispy fries, a dozen chicken wings, and more.
Buy: Compact Air Fryer
5. Herb Scissors
A sprinkling of freshly chopped herbs makes almost everything better, but they can be a bit tricky to cut into small pieces. These great kitchen shears have five stainless steel blades, so they can chop and cut green onions, cilantro, chives, dill, and more in no time. Use them with any of these irresistible recipes for fresh herb lovers.
Buy: Herb Scissors
6. Strawberry Huller
When the strawberry season arrives, you can't seem to get enough of their juicy delights, whether in pies or salads. This StemGem Strawberry Huller makes prep work easy: insert it into the top, twist, and remove the stem and core instantly. Sweet!
Buy: Strawberry Huller
7. Pocket Whisk
The small loops on this handy metal whisk allow it to work 80% more efficiently than regular whiskers. This method makes you make the fluffiest scrambled eggs, the lightest meringues, and the smoothest sauces.
Buy: Pocket Whisk
8. Fruit and Vegetable Keeper
This produce keeper from OXO Good Grips will save you a lot of money. Fruits and vegetables stay fresh longer, so you don't have to rush to consume them.
Buy: Fruit and Vegetable Keeper
9. Chilli knife
A little chili is good, but getting chili juice on your fingers while making your favorite salsa can be a real pain. This bell pepper corer is very useful because it allows you to scoop and seed the peppers without touching the spicy inside. Plus, it leaves the pepper whole (pitted), making homemade jalapeno poppers even more appealing.
Buy: Chilli knife
10. Bacon press
Bacon is definitely one of life's greatest pleasures, but it can be a real disaster when it curls up and gets greasy at the ends. This bacon press holds the slices in your pan to prevent curls from forming. You'll get evenly flat, perfectly crisp bacon that's great on its own or in one of these bacon lover recipes.
Buy: Bacon press
11. Flour Roller
This dual-purpose rolling pin helps you create the smoothest pie crusts and most perfect cut-out cookies (its ceramic construction keeps the dough from sticking), and its hollow core is the perfect place to store extra flour. Need to sprinkle a little extra on your baking mat? Just shake it out of the perforated end and keep working.
Buy: Flour Roller
12. Greens and Herbs Stripper
A diet rich in leafy greens is great for your health, but peeling the stem can be stressful. This handheld stripper has four holes on each side, where you can insert kale, chard, collards, or woody herbs and pull to remove the leaves from the stem. In addition, the curved side doubles as an herb chopper, allowing for quick food preparation with one tool.
Buy: Greens and Herbs Stripper
13. A state-of-the-art scale
At first glance, the Drop scale looks like any other digital scale on the market. Still, its compatible app on your smartphone or tablet makes it a brilliant tool for baking and cooking. Start a recipe, pour in the ingredients, and the app tells you when to stop, so each ingredient is perfectly measured in weight as you go. It's the foolproof answer for making almost anything in your kitchen. Still, it's a real game changer for baking, where measuring flour by weight is the best practice.
14. Multi-purpose hand blender
An immersion blender is an incredibly functional tool in and of itself, which can help create the creamiest butternut squash bisque or make a delicious morning smoothie. But when it doubles as a chopper and hand blender? That's space-saving intelligence, my friends. This three-in-one version has three speeds and comes with a BPA-free blending jar and a handy storage bag.
Buy: Multi-purpose hand blender
15. Cake Bands
These strips from Wilton allow your cakes to bake flat without having to cut them after baking. They're a must-have for anyone who likes to bake tiered cakes.
Buy: Cake Bands
16. Kitchen Dice
Not sure what to make for dinner tonight? Foodie Dice is here to help all the indecisive cooks out there! This fun wooden dice game lets you roll the die to land on a protein, herb, seasonal vegetable, grain, and cooking ingredient to create up to 186,000 simple and fresh meal combinations. Don't feel like rolling the dice? Pick one of these 100 five-ingredient recipes, and you can't go wrong.
Buy: Kitchen Dice
