Our Favourite Kitchen Gear Of 2020

Dash Compact Air Fryer

This basket-style air fryer comes in a few retro colours (I’m partial to the turquoise), and using it is incredibly straightforward: Put the food in the basket and turn the dials for time and temperature. The Dash did an impressive job of cooking frozen French fries to a perfect crisp in 20 minutes. The one annoyance? You can’t just tip the fryer basket on to your plate to remove the food, as it has a false bottom that collects excess cooking oil as it fries. Be sure to scoop out any food from the basket once it’s finished cooking. $79, tsc.ca

DeLonghi Livenza 2

The De’Longhi was the only one of the bunch that had me reading the information booklet carefully before using, and it definitely felt “next level.” It comes with a range of pans, including a rack-and-pan combo that allows you to cook a whole pizza in it. The air fryer basket itself was smartly designed to slide onto the bake tray for maximum air circulation and oil-catching capacity. Since the cook time was longer for this oven, I’d recommend adding a teaspoon or two of oil to keep food from drying out. $239, delonghi.com

Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven

The Cuisinart definitely took up more counter space than we had to spare, but it’s stainless steel, nicely designed and easy to use. Think of it as a multi-functional toaster oven: You can roast a whole chicken in it, or bake a round 9-inch cake, and the fact that it also has convection and air fryer settings is pretty cool. The instruction booklet comes with a range of recipes to give you a sense of its capabilities, including roasting, broiling and toasting. This oven can cook up to two pounds of frozen French fries at a time. $379, canadiantire.ca

Our Favourite Espresso Machines of 2020

De’Longhi ECP 3630, MANUAL ESPRESSO

This no-frills manual dial machine features some nice touches for beginners. It has a portafilter that creates artificial pressure, helping it extract the coffee better and produce that lovely top foam (crema), even if your coffee isn’t perfectly ground or tamped. De’Longhi’s signature adjustable steam wand also allows you to select whether to steam or froth milk for espresso-based drinks, and the body of the machine features a hidden compartment for filter basket storage. $230, delonghi.com.

Breville Bambino Espresso Maker

This curvy and compact espresso machine is as sleek-looking as they come. It has a narrow frame, making it ideal for kitchens short on countertop space, and its control panel is simple and user friendly—even for beginner home baristas. It features pre-programmed single and double espresso button settings; just switch out the filter basket to whatever cup size you desire. $399, breville.com/ca

Cuisinart EM-100C Espresso Maker

The largest of all three, Cuisinart’s version also comes with more bells and whistles for its price range: three filter baskets (single, double and even one for coffee pods), a scoop-and-tamping tool, a stainless steel pitcher to froth milk and a spacious warming tray on top of the machine. The unit heats up quickly and uses a manual dial to brew and stop, so some espresso knowledge is ideal but not necessary. $239, canadiantire.ca

Our Favourite Cooking Blenders of 2020

Instant Pot Ace Blender

A decent cooking blender, but I found the controls slightly less user-friendly than the other two options, and the instruction manual didn’t include recipes. (You have to download an app or look online for that—but it was hard to find anything but recipes for the original Instant Pot on the official website.) $149, canadiantire.ca

Ninja Foodi Blender

The Ninja is an incredibly powerful blender—and I say this as a Vitamix owner. I made the most velvety squash soup in a matter of minutes. (It literally took 10 minutes.) However, I found that many of the recipes for this machine—which call for unusual measures, such as 20 grams of kale leaves—were not user-friendly. $189, costco.ca

Pampered Chef Cooking Blender

The Pampered Chef Deluxe Cooking Blender was the easiest to use of the bunch and came with the best, most-straightforward instructions—essential for anyone, myself included, who isn’t entirely sure of everything this relatively new category of blender can handle (including sauces and jams). $449, pamperedchef.ca

Our Favourite Food Processors of 2020

Cuisinart 8-Cup

The Cuisinart easily motored through a mountain of raw potatoes for a batch of chips, though it didn’t fare so well with mincing large amounts of greens. One thing to watch out for: The locking mechanism is tricky to snap into place, and the processor won’t work when unlocked. Use more force than you think you need. $139, lowes.ca

Breville Sous Chef 12

Breville’s option has the most powerful motor, the sturdiest attachments, an adjustable feed tube for food size and a design that lets you select slicing thickness on a single disc. It’s best for kitchens that use food processors quite often; otherwise, the extra features may not justify the price. $279, bestbuy.ca

KitchenAid 7-cup

The KitchenAid boasts a wide range of options: three attachments that each offer different thicknesses for slicing and grating, a dough hook and a blender blade. The feed tube is wide enough to fit larger chunks of produce—which cuts down on pre-chopping—but watch your fingers. Be sure to use the safety stopper. $117, crateandbarrel.ca

Our Favourite Multicookers of 2020

Breville Fast Slow Pro

Breville makes tidy appliances, and this combination pressure and slow cooker is compact and handsome—a bonus for small kitchens. Pre-programming helps newbie multi-cooker users figure out the best setting for common dishes: Both risotto and overnight bone-in oxtail turned out tasty and texturally pleasing. But it’s a bit annoying to do any sautéeing before setting the stew in to settle. A high-pitched alert will sound unless the lid stays open at just the right angle. Also, this model doesn’t include an air fryer. $369, breville.com/ca

Instant Pot Ultra

There’s no need to upgrade from an older Instant Pot if you already have one: This is the same affordable Canadian multi-cooker that everyone flipped over a few winters ago. The steam release valve on this model actually seems a little less intuitive: It takes a few tries to click it into place, so be careful if you’re an absolute pressure-cooking newbie. I have failed every time at making yogurt in the Instant Pot, but I do have friends that swear by it. $139, bestbuy.ca

Ninja Foodi Deluxe

Size-wise, this one’s a bit of a monster. It had better be sitting on the countertop, because pulling it out of a cupboard too often might strain your lower back. That said, the Ninja performs its duties with panache. Both slow and pressure cooking are straightforward and top-notch. Air frying is easy, but the results were a bit of a letdown—though that may be due to overly high expectations around air-fried foods. Snacks just don’t taste the same when you cook them with way less fat. $399, canadiantire.ca

Our Favourite Immersion Blenders of 2020

Cuisinart Smart Stick

This blender has two power settings, and at 300 watts it’s quite powerful. It can be finicky—you have to press an unlock button while pressing the motor button, which can be confusing—but unlike the others, its chopping blade is dual-use, with one side for slicing and one for mixing. $89, thebay.com

Breville ControlGrip Immersion Blender

With the largest jug—which has a handy spout—the Breville is best for big batches. The handle is easy to grip, and the whisk and chopping attachments are strong, too. But while it boasts the most speed settings, at 280 watts it doesn’t offer as much power as the others. $119, bestbuy.ca

Braun Multiquick 9

There are no dials on the Braun: just press the power button a little harder if you want a higher speed—up to 700 watts. The chopping bowl is quite big, and the whisk is great for whipping and mixing. However, the provided jug for the blender was difficult to pour from. $199, cookstore.ca

Our Favourite Dutch Ovens For $150 And Under

Ikea Vardagen Casserole

Updated from its previous Senior version, Ikea’s take on the Dutch oven features a new handle and pot design, making it more stovetop-friendly. While it cooks as well as its counterparts, its exposed cast-iron interior means it needs to be treated with a little extra care when washing and storing. $60, ikea.com/ca

Cuisinart 4.1L Casserole

Cuisinart’s casserole has a much flatter base, daintier handles and more heft than the other two Dutch ovens. It cooks and retains heat well, but whisking gravy in the pot after roasting a chicken in it left dark scratch marks that couldn’t be washed out. $89, cookstore.ca

Amazon Basics Enamelled Cast Iron Dutch Oven

At a little over $60, this Dutch oven’s fetching exterior is a good dupe for some Le Creuset collections—and it comes in a host of colours. It’s appropriately heavy, has large, ergonomic handles and a deep, wok-shaped bowl, making washing the pot a little easier. $60, amazon.ca