Nearly everyone at Chatelaine spent more hours in the kitchen than they planned to this year—giving us extra time to obsess over all the things that would make our cooking lives a little easier. Welcome to our inaugural gear guide: a look at what the latest releases in home cooking can do, and which ones are worth the buy.
While they’ve been on the market since at least 2010, air fryers have skyrocketed in popularity in the past two years, promising crisp, deep-fried textures with a fraction of the oil—and the mess.
All three of these did at least as good a job as my regular convection oven in terms of results. But the Cuisinart is my favourite of the bunch, in that it cooks a big batch of fries in an efficient manner and is also a really versatile little oven. — Eshun Mott, Contributor
Ever thought about graduating from pods but worried the traditional espresso machine’s learning curve was too steep? Semi-automatics (the kind you grind, load and tamp the coffee into yourself) are more user-friendly than ever these days. We’ve found a trio that ring in at $399 or less, all outfitted with milk steamers.
If you’re a regular at coffee shops and a drinker of espresso-based beverages, these appliances are for you. An espresso machine at home means you don’t need to brave the winter weather for your caffeine fix. In my opinion, the biggest advantage to owning one is for making steamed or foamed milk beverages. (I tested these machines using barista-style oat milk to make lattes, and they all worked like a dream.) — Irene Ngo, Food Content Director
The latest generation of multi-function blenders can churn smoothies, nut milks, soft-serve ice creams—even heat up and purée chopped ingredients for quick, creamy soups.
To be honest, I had never heard of a cooking blender until I took these three options for a spin. I’m very happy with my Vitamix, and I don’t make puréed soups all that often. But if I did, I would definitely consider the Pampered Chef model out of the three I tried: It was the easiest to use and gave me the best results. — Maureen Halushak, Editor-In-Chief
Staring down a mountain of onions, peppers and other produce for your favourite chili or stew recipe? A good food processor can handle that for you in a snap—no knife skills required.
Even as someone comfortable with a knife—I’ve made peace with handling large amounts of onions and garlic—chopping produce has always been a time suck for me. I chose vegetable-heavy recipes to test these food processors and sailed through prep work every time. — Chantal Braganza, Senior Editor
The original Instant Pot may be the first tool to prove pressure cookers can peacefully coexist with slow cookers, rice cookers, sauté functions and more, but so many quality options have followed in its footsteps with their own spin on pots that do more than pressure cook. Here are three of our recent faves.
It’s stew season, exactly the time that slow and pressure cookers prove their worth. If your menu tends to include plenty of beans, grains, last-minute meats or lots of long simmering, then any one of these will be worth it—but my vote’s for the Instant Pot. It performs almost all the same functions as the rest of the group, at a better price. — Denise Balkissoon, Executive Editor
With the right attachments—whisks, mini processing jars, even smoothie cups—the biggest kitchen space-saver can also be among the most multi-functional.
Blending, whisking, chopping, slicing—these hand blenders can do it all. I don’t like clutter, so I’d rather have one device with a few attachments than a drawerful of bulky tools. I made smoothies using the immersion blender, marinades and sauces with the chopping blade, and I look forward to using the whisk to make desserts. — Radiyah Chowdhury, Assistant Editor
Stews, roasts, bread, casseroles, stovetop and oven cooking: the Dutch oven is a kitchen workhorse for a reason. We’ve found three quality options that won’t break the bank.
I used Marcella Hazan’s classic roast chicken recipe to test the pots, which involves flipping the chicken halfway to create a self-basting bird. In the end, each Dutch oven distributed heat evenly, cleaned up easily and produced a stellar roast chicken. This experiment proved it’s hardly necessary to pay upwards of $400 for a perfectly capable enamel Dutch oven—but I have to give top marks to the Ikea oven for its attractiveness and neat surface. — Isabel Slone, Contributor
