America’s Test Kitchen reviews kitchen equipment and ingredients with the same rigor and curiosity that drive its recipe development process. The full-time editors on its tastings and testings team write only about products they’ve tested themselves. They don’t accept advertising or freebies, and their reviews are 100 percent unbiased in order to bypass the marketing hype and promote the best quality products.
1. Toddy Cold Brew System
Get a coffeehouse-style coffee or tea served steaming hot or iced cold in the comfort of your home—and for much less than signature coffee drinks. Cold brew aficionados will be clamoring for this cold brew system that uses regular coffee beans to create smooth coffee concentrate with 67% less acid than coffee made with hot brew methods. It’s easier on sensitive stomachs and all with no electricity required.
2. Click and Grow Smart Garden 9
Give a DIY gardener the chance to grow year-round with this Scandinavian-style indoor planter. The kit comes with 3 mini tomatoes, 3 basil and 3 green lettuce pods. Read ATK’s review.
3. Cocktail Kingdom Koriko Hawthorne Strainer
For your special someone who prefers to craft their own craft drinks, the Koriko Hawthorne Strainer developed by Don Lee is the best in class. Its extremely light coil makes it easy to do a true split pour, and fits large and standard mixing glasses. Read ATK’s review.
4. Breville BES870XL Barista Express Espresso Machine
For someone who doesn’t mind a bit of work for the perfect espresso, this handsome machine requires that you learn to tamp properly and move the portafilter of grounds from the grinder to the brewing position. However, it features the convenience of built-in grinding and automatic weighing of coffee, as well as push-button brewing. Read ATK’s review.
5. Excalibur Food Dehydrator
This highly praised dehydrator may be the size of a microwave, but it gets the job done efficiently and deliciously. As reviewed on ATK, its spacious trays fit long slices of beef jerky and slides easily into the unit. The lid can be removed to quickly check the progress of drying foods, and the timer allows for truly hands-off, walk-away dehydrating. Read ATK’s review.
6. Presto Dehydro Electric Food Dehydrator
This more-affordable, runner-up food dehydrator still gets the job done in record time. As tested by ATK, the drying trays are smaller but stack together quickly and easily. This machine’s lift-off lid allows you to check on food in progress and features a timer with automatic shut-off.
7. Victorio Stainless Steel Multi-Use Canner
Canning has been used throughout time as a way to preserve produce. The durable stainless steel canner can also be used as a large pot for soups and other dishes. This canner is an essential kitchen tool for anyone interested in large-batch canning. Read ATK’s review.
8. Breville Juice Fountain Plus
The holidays are an excellent time to develop healthier habits. The Juice Fountain Plus is capable of juicing whole fruits, such as apples, pears and oranges in seconds. It’s smooth, rounded parts prevent pulp from sticking and make cleaning under the tap quick and simple.
9. Babymoov The Duo Meal Station: 6 in 1 Food Maker
For DIY parents who want to make their child’s baby food themselves, the Babymoov: 6 in 1 Food Maker features a two-tier steamer that allows for cooking a lot of things at once, or cooking various types of food in separate baskets. In addition to steaming food, parents can simultaneously use it to warm bottles, reheat, and sanitize. Read ATK’s review.
10. SodaStream Source
Is there someone on your list who’s tired of buying sparkling water? SodaStream allows users to transform ordinary tap water into sparkling water in seconds. By applying light pressure to the carbonating block, users are able to choose between light carbonation and intensely fizzy bubbles—whichever they prefer. CO2 canisters last a long time and can easily be exchanged at dozens of retail stores.
11. Maverick Mince Master 575-Watt Meat Grinder
Give the gift of making quick work of beef, pork, venison and poultry with this powerful meat grinder. ATK says it makes the cut thanks to its powerful (but surprisingly quiet) motor. This grinder also features an automatic thermostat in the event of overheating due to extended use during that holiday meal prep.
12. USA Pan’s New England Hot Dog Bun Pan
It’s never too early to start planning for grilling season. This hot dog bun pan allows cooks to bake their own New England-style split-top buns—which tend to be hard to buy outside of the region. After testing the product, ATK said the buns resembled the store-bought versions once they were slice, and tasted even better.
13. Chef’s Choice 838 Waffle Cone Express
Who doesn’t love a waffle cone year-round? Enjoy delicious, homemade sugar cones or waffle bowls in just seconds. The whole family will be sure to thank you for it.
14. Shun Classic Meat Cleaver
For the person on your list who needs some chopping power behind their cooking, the Shun Classic 6-inch Meat Cleaver is an ATK favorite, and features a thick blade suitable for processing larger cuts of bone-in meat or breaking down whole poultry. Read ATK’s full review.
15. Zoku Classic Pop Molds
Ice pops are an easy treat to make yourself, and this mold was the easiest to use of all those we tested. Its detachable molds had clear fill lines and wide openings, making them a breeze to fill and clean. And it featured slender plastic sticks with unobtrusive drip guards and long, textured handles, making the resulting pops easy to grip and eat. Read ATK’s full review.
