While it’s always fun to score a bargain or to get something you really covet on sale, there are times when a gadget or appliance is simply worth the splurge. We review a lot of kitchen tech, appliances, and accessories and these are the ones that have earned a place in our kitchens. Consider them an investment.
Master sous vide cooking
Anova Nano
- Compact size
- Touchscreen display/controls on the device
- Sleek design
- Durable construction
- App control
- Lacks Wi-Fi connectivity
- Clamp is small
- Tends to sit too high on the pot, requiring higher water
Anova Nano is a free-standing sous-vide cooker that can be placed in any pot, pan, or basin. It plugs into the wall and can be controlled via an app. The Nano will heat water to a specified temperature and hold it there for hours, meaning it’s impossible to overcook something. Sous vide cooking ensures your food holds at the optimum temperature so you can make the perfect steak (or a number of other foods) every time.
Smart toaster is surprisingly helpful
Tineco Toasty One
- Cooks two pieces to different crispiness
- Color touch screen
- Perfect results
- Expensive
- A bit bigger than average toaster
Tineco’s Toasty One is a smart toaster that detects your bread and adjusts the heat to ensure it comes out perfectly every time. You can even make two pieces of toast at the same time with completely different doneness levels. It has a touchscreen, so you can choose the exact shade of toast you want. It’s not cheap, but it will be a gadget that dazzles your houseguests.
Cordless appliances in the kitchen makes sense
Cuisinart EvolutionX hand beater
- No wires
- Use anywhere
- Great for RVs and camping
- Not as powerful as corded models
For those on the move, Cuisinart’s Evolution X is a hand-held blender with several different heads for immersion blending, whipping, and even drink frothing. It’s perfect for moving around in the kitchen. Since you don’t need to be tied to a wall outlet, you can mix up batter or quiche anywhere: on the stovetop, or even the dining table. Even if you already have a handheld blender, there are all kinds of reasons why a cordless version comes in handy, particularly for campers and those who own RVs.
Touchless is the future!
Amazon Smart Soap Dispenser
- Compact
- Touchless; no germs
- Nice design
- Might be bulky for some homes/sinks
A couple of years ago this might have seemed like a silly splurge, but these days it’s a wise investment. Any time we can eliminate touch points we’re avoiding contact with any kind of germs, whether that’s COVID or salmonella. Amazon’s Smart Soap Dispenser is an excellent idea for those with kids or for people who like cleanliness. You can control how much soap it dispenses by how far you place your hands under the spout, and it lights up for 20 seconds (the recommended washing time). You can also use it with your Alexa routines and have it play music.
A wire-free way to fire up your grill
Looft Lighter X
- No chemical-way to start fires
- Rechargeable
- Resuable
- Acts as a bellows to stoke fire too
- It's big and heavy
The rechargeable cordless Looft Lighter X is worth a look if you use a charcoal grill. It’s a unique tool made to both spark up your charcoal fire, and do double duty as a bellows to provide all important oxygen to your grill. Just click it on, touch it to the charcoal, and when the charcoal sparks or begins to glow, you pull the lighter back to provide a wider area of heat and lots of airflow. Within a minute, your charcoal is lit, and you’re off to the races.
All in one kitchen robot
Thermomix TM6
- 20 different cooking functions in one device
- Easy to use
- Thousands of recipes available
- Nice big screen
- Automated cooking modes in addition to recipes
- Self-cleaning
- Pricey
- Yearly Cookidoo recipe subscription required
The Thermomix TM6 is an all-in-one cooking device; it’s a blender, food processor, cooking pot, rice maker, whip, and steamer. In fact, you can cook an entire meal simultaneously, with the protein grilling above your steamed veggies. It also sous-vides, slow cooks, and even emulsifies. It’s quite pricey, but if you consider that it replaces about a dozen other appliances and gadgets, you’ll be pretty excited to give it a try. Oh, and this “kitchen robot” is all the rage across Europe.
Talk to your tap
U by Moen smart faucet
- Delivers precise water temperatures
- Accurate measurements
- Voice control works great
- Nice design in many styles
- Battery power or AC
- Can be DIY-installed
- Versatile: Sse handle, motion or voice
- Require substantial initial set up
- Some may be intimidated by installation
You might think it’s a bit decadent to talk to your tap, but hear us out. U by Moen is a smart faucet that can deliver a precise amount of water on voice command and can be activated by hand movement. It has a setting for wand washing that will keep the faucet running for 20 seconds, pause while you soap up, and continue. Plus, with the ability to set presets to fill your coffee pot or the dog dish, it means no wasted water.
Execute chef recipes like a pro
Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro
- Cooks food evenly
- 13 cooking options
- Smart app that works seamlessly with oven
- Eliminates the need for multiple small appliances
- Bagel function doesn't work quite right
The Joule by Breville is an oven and an air fryer combined. You can activate it by voice, and it has a number of smart functions designed to optimize cooking time. You can also use it to proof dough and dehydrate fruit. The companion app is filled with hundreds of recipes from New York Times Cooking (no subscription required), Top Chef alum, Breville Test Kitchen, and more. Best of all, recipes with a flight plan basically cook themselves. Want to wow your guests? Quickly cook up a batch of delicious croissants that proof and bake themselves to perfection.
With so many amazing gadgets on the market, and new models being introduced all the time, it’s never been easier to incorporate tech in the kitchen. Try out something new and see if it saves you time and money.
