Your knives are dull, your pans are scratched, and your peeler performs like it came free in a cereal box — no wonder cooking feels like a chore. Most of us have found ourselves prepping a recipe, then realizing we’re missing the tools that’d make the process much more efficient. But the ever-expanding world of culinary equipment can be confusing, and you don’t want to end up going on a wild goose chase for gear, just to end up with a drawer full of low-quality gadgets you never use.
In an effort to find products that truly make cooking simpler and more fun, I called up our friends at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. Alongside developing recipes, publishing cookbooks, and hosting online cooking classes, the fabulous foodie brand also has a well stocked store full of cookware they’ve developed in-house (alongside a bevy of other goods). Kimball himself shared detailed notes on five holy grail items: why he developed them, what holes they’ll fill in your kitchen, and how to use them.
But I decided to take things a step further by taking each product for a spin (or two, or three). See, after happily moonlighting as a pizza chef in college, I transformed into a devoted home chef who makes nourishing, semi-healthy dinner six nights a week. (I admittedly submit to ordering DoorDash on Saturdays.) In my twenties, cooking meant spending hours solo, fussing over DIY farmers cheese and homemade pork buns. Now that I cook for my family of three, I’m just as passionate, but definitely a lot more harried amidst the adorable chaos caused by my toddling daughter.
So consider my research the ultimate stress test: If these tools can handle my frantic 6pm dinner prep, they can handle yours.
Small Wok
Christopher Kimball: We created this because my other woks were just too bloody big! Plus, they’re hard to store, so they usually end up in the basement. Our small wok is just the right size for cooking from one to four people. I use it as an everyday pan: I fry eggs in it, make pasta and sauce, stir-fry and steam veggies, and I even bake a quick version of bananas Foster in it.
Diana’s take: For many years, I’ve used a giant wok that my husband bought at a no-frills restaurant supply store in San Francisco’s Richmond District — which would have been charming had we kept it for a year or so and then retired it. But half a decade and three moves later, I’ve yet to eliminate that giant, battered eyesore from my life. My husband has a surprisingly large tattoo of it on his ankle. (I was not encouraged to give feedback on that beforehand.)
So I was immediately charmed by the Milk Street small wok, because it’s comparably so easy to store — and because of the glass lid and steamer rack combo that ensures I can observe my food while it’s doing its thing. I’ve whipped up fried rice and garlic noodles in it with little effort and great results. That said, my husband is still a Big Old Wok loyalist because of the volume of meat and veggies it can hold. If you, too, like making a week’s worth of sizzling lunches in one go, you might prefer the ridiculously-giant option.
Everything Pan With Magnetic Trivet
Kimball: I’ve used a Dutch oven for decades, but our Everything Pan is a better option — a hybrid between a skillet and a Dutch oven. The sides are lower and the edges are rounded, which means you can stir and remove the food more efficiently. It’s also much lighter than a full Dutch oven; plus, the two handles make it easy to move around. It also comes with a glass top so you can see what’s cooking, and it has a magnetized wooden trivet so you can take it straight from the oven or stovetop to the table.
Diana’s take: If you take nothing else from this whole article, just know that I truly, without exaggeration, use this pan daily. Whether I’m planning to blacken chicken, make a cheesy chile bean bake, or toss together a quick sauce, I’m breaking out this bad boy. It works great on the stove or in the oven, but I’m also thrilled that it slides into my stove’s awkward broiler drawer. The handles are truly game-changing because lifting a hot pan suddenly feels less precarious when you can distribute the weight more evenly. I’ve yet to use the trivet, but maybe that says more about me and my inelegant, “I don’t care about burning the table” lifestyle than it does the product itself.
Flavor Jolt
Kimball: Most cooks around the world use some form of flavor enhancer, and our Flavor Jolt is our all-natural option that took more than one year to create. It’s made with dried vegetables, mushroom powder, garlic, onion, red miso, mustard, paprika, shio koji powder (big umami booster), and asafetida from India. Use it with and on everything, and it’ll become your own secret flavor enhancer.
Diana’s take: This savory, smoky, all-purpose blend has a yummy tanginess to it; I’ve rubbed this seasoning onto steak, chicken, and salmon. I’ve sprinkled it into soups and sauces. I once threw some onto a plain quesadilla that I shoved into my mouth between work meetings (glamorous). Flavor Jolt adds layers of umami, but it never overtakes a dish.
That said, my Flavor Jolt clumped within a couple of weeks, which made it hard to distribute onto my food. Plus, the seal of the container is surprisingly fragile — mine broke, and the lid would no longer stay screwed on.
Kitchen-kiji Knife
Kimball: Why do Western kitchens forget about the mid-sized utility knife? The kitchen-kiji will become your favorite knife of this ilk, since it’s bigger and stronger than a paring knife, but smaller and more manageable than a chef’s knife. It does the small jobs like slicing garlic and shallots but can also handle bigger jobs as well. And it gives you total control, which makes the kiji super safe and comfortable to use.
Diana’s take: It’s been effortless for me to add this knife to my regular cooking routine. It can handle cutting aromatics and most fruits, though given the petite size, I obviously wouldn’t use it to dissect a watermelon. I genuinely like the comfy feel of this medium-weight option, so I use it a few times a day. I’m nervous about it getting dull, so I’m actually eyeing the Suehiro knife sharpener to preempt any issues. Basically, this knife truly does what it says on the container: It’s excellent performer on in-between-sized jobs (like chopping mushrooms or slicing strawberries), of which there are plenty in the kitchen.
Közmatik
Kimball: I found an amazing device during a trip to Turkey years ago: A black, round, metal disc with slotted apertures that allows you to char and grill indoors. I knew we had to make our own version. Put it over your gas burner, place your veggies on top, and in just a few minutes you get a great charred exterior on your veggies, making them perfect for many different types of cuisines. Very few juices escape during roasting due to the clever design of the pan. It’s great for eggplant, peppers, chilies, scallions, onions, and more — truly an amazing invention.
Diana’s take: This contraption is actual magic. Even though it’s a thin, unassuming piece of metal, it somehow results in remarkably smoke-free, indoor charring. (And I say that as a person with the world’s most overdramatic smoke detectors, which will go off even during toasting bread.) I’ve used the közmatik to char eggplants for babaganoush and poblanos for various Mexican dishes. Now, whenever I need to whip up a smoky salsa, I don’t have to curse out my smoke alarm.
When the dust and spices settled, I was shocked that these five products actually have made my regular cooking routine easier and more well-rounded. Aside from my broken Flavor Jolt, I plan to use all of them on a nightly or weekly basis. Mostly because, when it comes to kitchen gear, I’m loyal — within reason. But if you spot me sprinting toward a dumpster with a giant wok in hand, let’s not mention that to my husband.
