2024 Tested Kitchen Tools and Gadgets Worth Buying

A lot of my 2024 was spent in the kitchen. As both a writer of recipes and articles in which I talk about my favorite kitchen gear, this doesn’t come as a shock to anyone who knows me. Over the course of cooking so many different meals, I tried dozens of gadgets and tools — and found myself turning to a few specific products time and again. From a Zojirushi rice cooker to the Fellow electric kettle that I use daily, read on to shop the clever gadgets I now swear by for confidence and competence in the kitchen. 

Clever Writer-Tested Amazon Kitchen Gadgets and Tools 

• Brown Sugar Bear Sugar Saver, $5  
• Fellow Stagg Electric Gooseneck Kettle, $165
• Zojirushi 6-Cup Rice Cooker & Steamer, $65, originally $75 
• OXO Good Grips Bench Scraper & Chopper, $12
• Material The Wood Spoon, $15
• Mooshion Corn Cob Scraper, $7 
• Nespresso Aeroccino3 Milk Frother, $75, originally $99 
• Männkitchen Pepper Cannon, $200  

Brown Sugar Bear Sugar Saver 

I find it incredibly frustrating when I start a cooking project I’m unable to finish. For instance, if I decide to make chocolate chip cookies only to find unusable, rock-hard brown sugar in my pantry, I’m irrationally angry until I’m able to replace it. To keep this negativity from taking root, I’ve come to rely on this adorable terracotta tile. All I have to do is soak it in water, pat it dry, and place it in the container with my brown sugar, which will stay fluffy and soft for months at a time. 

Fellow Stagg Electric Gooseneck Kettle 

I drink a lot of tea and my husband drinks a lot of coffee, so we needed an electric kettle that could keep up with our demand. We found this and more in Fellow. Its ability to heat water to whatever temperature I want (and hold it at that same temperature for up to an hour) is a boon during busy weekday mornings when I get easily distracted. I love being able to heat water, step away to take my dog outside or answer an email, and come back 30 minutes later to finish making my cup of piping hot tea.   

Zojirushi 6-Cup Rice Cooker & Steamer

In terms of Zojirushi rice cookers, this is the most basic one you can buy. That said, it does more than enough for me in my kitchen. I particularly love the included steamer basket, which allows me to cook fresh vegetables or fish alongside any grain. It’s well-worth the price if you eat a lot of rice like I do, especially seeing as it’s on sale for a limited time.  

OXO Good Grips Bench Scraper & Chopper 

With more than 15,000 perfect ratings at Amazon, it’s no wonder one shopper called OXO’s bench scraper and chopper a “game-changer in the kitchen.” For such a simple tool, it has a remarkable number of uses, including scooping vegetables off of a cutting board, scraping dough from a countertop after kneading, and portioning butter. It also has quarter-inch markings for easy measuring while baking or cooking.   

Material The Good Shears 

Your nonstick pots and pans need a spoon that won’t scratch, and wood is a great gentle option for cookware of any material. I have two of these wooden spoons, and I want two more. I love their angled heads for effortless mixing and stirring, plus they look gorgeous and are a cinch to wash by hand.

Mooshion Corn Cob Scraper 

A gift from my husband’s aunt, Mooshion’s corn cob scraper makes quick work of taking corn kernels off the cob. While we could use a knife, this tool feels like a safer option — and a much faster one. An Amazon shopper even called it the “greatest little utility device,” adding that “the blade is sharp and strips the kernels completely.”  

Nespresso Aeroccino3 Milk Frother 

I’m cheating a little because I’ve had a version of this milk frother for a few years, but it continues to be one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. It’s seen almost daily use over the past few (chilly) months when I’m making myself tea lattes and hot chocolates with more frequency to warm myself up. It even has a setting for cold-frothed milk for drinks like cold brew. Grab it now while it’s on sale.   

Männkitchen Pepper Cannon 

Our electric pepper and salt grinders stopped working pretty quickly after acquiring them, which is why I was ecstatic when Männkitchen offered to send me its pepper mill. The brand  rightfully calls it a “Pepper Cannon,” which is a fitting name for such an efficient tool. With barely any effort on my part, it cranks through more peppercorns in a shorter amount of time than my electric model ever did. It’s an expensive mill, but it’s likely the last one you’ll ever buy.