I Can't Imagine My Kitchen Without These 13 Tools, and They're All No-Fail Gifts for Home Cooks

With the holidays virtually around the corner, you might just be on the hunt for some gift ideas either for yourself (you deserve it!), or for a loved one (they do, too!). And if you’re looking for inspiration, well, there probably isn’t a better place to find it than inside the kitchen of a product tester and food writer. While I can’t exactly bring you in my kitchen, I sure can arrange a list of some of my favorite gift-worthy essentials. From Fellow coffee grinders to the best vanilla bean paste, shop my 13 picks below, starting at $17. 

Editor-Loved Products at Amazon 

• Fellow Opus Conical Burr Coffee Grinder, $195 
• Frankies 457 Spuntino Extra Virgin Olive Oil, $32
• Earlywood 3-Piece Wood Kitchen Utensil Set, $40
• Vitamix E310 Explorian Blender, $350 
• Kuhn Rikon 3-Piece Original Swiss Peeler Set, $18 (originally $19) 
• Nielsen-Massey 4-Ounce Pure Vanilla Bean Paste, $19 
• KitchenAid Classic Series 4.5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, $270 (originally $330) 
• Le Creuset 5.5-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Signature Round Dutch Oven, $420
• Y Yhy 6-Piece 30-Ounce Pasta Bowl Set, $29 with Prime (originally $37)
• Microplane Zester, $17 
• Escali Primo Digital Food Scale, $25 
• Staub Cast Iron 11-inch Traditional Skillet, $180
• Rubbermaid Brilliance 7-Piece Food Storage Container Set, $40

Fellow Opus Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

The second I pulled this Fellow coffee grinder out of the box, my coffee began to taste  better. That’s for a couple key reasons, namely that it has a burr blade and a customizable design. The burr blade helps evenly grind the beans, creating a more consistent extraction when water is applied, and ultimately yielding a better flavor. Plus the dial on the front features 11 different grind settings for the perfect texture depending on what style of coffee you're brewing. There’s a guide for your grind size right in the lid, so you never have to guess either. It’s well worth it for folks who love making coffee at home. 

Frankies 457 Spuntino Extra Virgin Olive Oil

When I first had this olive oil at Frankies 457 Spuntino in Brooklyn with the Tuscan-style bread it came with, I nearly drank the bowl.. I remember the restaurant having bottles displayed, but I never thought to buy one. That is, until I stopped at Whole Foods a month or two ago. The restaurant officially launched their own products, including pasta, but this olive oil is my favorite of the bunch. It’s a little spicy and fruity, but not too overpowering. I use it for dipping bread, dressing salads, finishing pastas, or for cooking a quick tomato sauce. 

Earlywood 3-Piece Wood Kitchen Utensil Set

I love this wooden utensil set. It is still, to this day, my most grabbed kitchen utensil on a day to day basis. They might look simple, but their design is actually quite unique. They have a sturdy, hand-crafted feel, with a tapered shape that gets a bit wider towards the bottom. They’re very flat, with sharp corners. This makes them so easy to use to turn items as you saute them, to slip items over, to toss ingredients together, and to scrape bits off the bottom of the pan. They also double as bench scrapers, since you can use the flat side to whisk ingredients from the counter into a bowl or pan. I love the set of three because you get to use multiple sizes. Plus you can use two at once for serving dishes like salad. 

Vitamix E310 Explorian Blender

This is a big purchase, but one that really makes sense for folks that like to cook and experiment in the kitchen. I love this specific model because it has enough power to  pulverize and smooth everything without any added frills or fuss. It has a simple dial that goes from one to 10 depending on what you need to blend, with a pulsing switch you can use to control how blended you need something. The 64-ounce pitcher will fit heaps of ingredients as well. 

Kuhn Rikon 3-Piece Original Swiss Peeler Set

Peelers are one of those tools people don’t replace frequently enough, since they can quickly become dull and dirty (even Ina Garten agrees). I personally am partial to a Y-peeler, because I find I can get a better grip and peel on anything from a small carrot to a butternut squash. I have purchased this specific set so that I always have multiple on deck for when the current one I’m using needs to be replaced. 

Nielsen-Massey 4-Ounce Pure Vanilla Bean Paste

This is by far and wide one of my favorite ingredients. It almost feels like a trade secret, though many folks know about vanilla paste already. The Nielsen Massey paste is the best tasting I have tried so far, with the most pure vanilla bean flavor. It’s expensive, but worth it for what you’re getting. It’s essentially heaps of vanilla bean seeds suspended in a thick sugar mixture. It’s a little sweet, but has a strong vanilla taste if you try it on its own. I like to use it in buttercreams, whipped cream, for finishing puddings, homemade marshmallows, or even in jams. It adds a more pure vanilla bean taste without the fuss of scraping pods, so I reserve it for recipes where I want that punch of flavor, and reserve extracts for cakes, muffins, and other oven-baked goods. 

KitchenAid Classic Series 4.5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer

A stand mixer is genuinely one of the best gifts. A lot of people may not want to pay the steep price for something they might not feel is a kitchen necessity (though it's one for me). The value of this particular mixer is hard to beat. I have owned it for 20 years, and it still works perfectly. It's a great size at 4.5-quarts, since it’s able to fit all of the standard recipes I make without a hitch. Plus you’ll get to choose between 10 different speeds, and use any of the three attachments for the particular recipe you’re making. It comes in a sleek black or white, which are bound to match any kitchen. 

Le Creuset 5.5-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Signature Round Dutch Oven

My family has used Le Creuset Dutch ovens for so long that I’m not even sure my childhood would be the same without it. Used for soups to help mend my recurring strep throat, for stews on slow Sundays, or for sauces to dress up our weekly chicken parmesan night, it was always (and still is!)  a staple on our stovetop. I still use mine for soups, vegetarian stews, sauces, and now I even use it to bake bread. I like the 5.5-quart size for its versatility, since it’s big enough for a vast majority of recipes, but not too big or bulky for me. 

Y Yhy 6-Piece 30-Ounce Pasta Bowl Set

These are a recent addition to my collection, but I use them pretty much everyday. I’ve always had a love for pasta bowls thanks to their transformative shape. They’re shallow enough to hold your standard protein, veggie, and rice dinners, but have the walls and depth you need for salads, saucy pastas, stews, soups, and even ice-cream topped desserts. They’re also a great price point for six bowls coming in at just over $6 apiece. They’re great to add to your own kitchen, or gift to anyone. 

Microplane Zester

Do you want your pasta dishes to look like they came from the kitchen of your favorite Italian restaurant? Then you need a microplane. Unlike a cheese grater, they have very fine circular holes that create the lightest, most delicate sprinkles or hard cheeses like Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano Reggiano. I use mine every week for that purpose, but I’ll also pull it out to grate citrus zest for baking, to grind fresh nutmeg, or to finely chop garlic and ginger. It’s a small tool that every kitchen needs. 

Escali Primo Digital Food Scale

If there is one thing on this list that you pick up, let it be a kitchen scale. I own two of these Escali scales (I thought I’d lost my first one, so I bought a second in a moment of panic). It makes everything from baking to boiling pasta easier. I love that it has a platform design, because I can still read the numbers easily when there’s a bowl on top. You can weigh grams, pounds, and ounces with ease. I use it most for baking and I truly couldn't bake without its precision. I also use it for everyday things, like measuring out pasta from a package so I don’t leave a random, uneven portion for the next night. 

Staub Cast Iron 11-inch Traditional Skillet

This skillet is the one I grab for searing savory ingredients like salmon, as well as to bake biscuits, cinnamon rolls, cornbread, and a whole lot more. I love it because it creates an excellent crust and color. It’s enameled, so I rarely need to oil it, and ingredients rarely stick. I also love its straighter, higher walls because I feel like it keeps things a bit neater. The pour spouts make it easy to drain any liquid, too. I originally thought the 11-inch diameter would be too much room for me, but I find that it’s actually an incredibly versatile option for both small and big batch recipes, which makes me reach for the pan even more. 

Rubbermaid Brilliance 7-Piece Food Storage Container Set

Every kitchen needs a good set of containers, and these Rubbermaid Brilliance ones have become my most loved addition. I picked them up after we tested and ranked them as a top favorite, since they proved to be incredibly air tight, sleek, as well as both durable and lightweight. I recommend them for storing anything like meal prep, leftovers, or even pantry staples, because they’re so airtight they’ll keep liquids from leaking and will keep ingredients fresh. This set is a good place to start, because it has a nice variety of sizes to use throughout your kitchen without committing to a large set.