I Test Kitchen Tools for a Living. Here Are the Ones I Recommend Most

Upgrade to a performance model blender, and you'll feel the difference immediately -- and it might even help you change your diet. I was a piecemeal breakfast eater relying mostly on empty carbs until I started using a blender with some real get-up-and-go. Now it's protein- and vitamin-packed smoothies or bust. I can absolutely feel the difference throughout my day (oh hello, energy, I've missed you), and I don't have to shell out $10 on a fancy juice bar shake or smoothie. 

Ninja makes a number of good blenders and most offer terrific value for money. My favorite is the modestly sized Ninja Twisti ($120) -- about the best blender I've ever used for making smoothies and other small-ish recipes. 

One unique feature I love is the rotating mixer blades that protrude down from the lid. You can spin those babies to loosen the contents mid-blend. That means I almost never have to stop and stir sticky ingredients such as peanut butter or chunky ice.

The Twisti has 1,500 watts of power packed into a machine. It won't eat up tons of space on the counter or coins from your bank account as a pricey Vitamix or Blendtec will.

I'd all but given up on handheld citrus juicers since they seem to leave more juice in than they get out. Enter Dreamfarm's excellent Fluicer.

This innovative kitchen brand has found ways to improve many of the most common culinary tools. This handheld citrus squeezer not only squeezes front to back but also bends each half of a lemon, lime or orange as it squeezes, leaving nothing in the rind and everything in your bowl, jar or cocktail shaker. 

At just $15 for the small size -- good for limes and lemons -- this kitchen upgrade doesn't cost much more than the original. In short: Everyone I know is getting a Fluicer for their birthday this year. As a regular lemonade and margarita maker (OK, mostly margs), this is my favorite addition to the miscellaneous kitchen tools drawer in years.

I always used the filtered water that comes out of my fridge. It's fine -- better than tap, more eco-friendly than bottled, and I got by. Then I started testing filter pitchers and discovered ZeroWater. The brand is named "Zero" for a reason, since these puppies take every last bit of dissolved sediment out of the water, leaving it as crystal clean and delicious as anything. 

My pick is the large 20-cup dispenser ($35), which only needs filling once a week or so, making it the path of least resistance for keeping yourself fully hydrated and happy. You can class things up with this smaller, cylindrical glass dispenser for $60.

Kitchen shears are about as underused and underappreciated as kitchen tools get. I say get yourself a sturdy pair like All-Clad's sleek stainless steel shears and start putting them to use. Here are five things you can do with a pair of shears in the kitchen.

At the risk of sounding like a snob, I'm astonished at the number of accomplished home cooks in my life who still don't own a Dutch oven. I use this piece of cookware more than any other, in fact, I use it so often for making sauces, stews, searing chicken thighs or sauteing spinach, that it just stays on top of my stovetop. 

Enameled Dutch ovens are great for dozens of cooking jobs. They also look nice and are nearly as nonstick as Teflon. You can find a solid Dutch oven such as the Lodge 5.5-quart model for under $50. My pick goes to the French Staub 4-quart cocotte (a good size for cooking for 2 or 3 people). It's beautifully designed and has a sturdy enameled coating that won't easily chip or scratch.

If you've become reliant on your nonstick skillets, it might be time to learn your way around a stainless-steel pan, since they offer better surface heat for browning and searing, and are far more durable than Teflon. 

The fastest way to get used to a stainless skillet is to get a great one, and All-Clad's 10-inch tri-ply skillet with a covered lid is our favorite option. While $100 might sound like a big splurge for one pan, if you care for it, it's going to last for many years. This pan is light, heats evenly and includes a lid for recipes that require covered cooking and to help manage splatter. 

TL;DR? This frying pan makes cooking a joy and I'm totally obsessed.

This is another one of Dreamfarm's simple innovations we're filing under "why didn't I think of that?" and it took just a few swipes across a carrot to fall in love. The Sharple may look like your standard peeler, but on closer inspection you'll discover the sliding case is also a sharpener, keeping the device razor-edged for years without having to do anything more than open and close it. I love a kitchen tool with high function and staying power, and this self-sharpening veggie peeler has got it all.

I like this Made In knife so much I'll go out of my way to find things to chop. Kitchen knife weight and length preferences are admittedly subjective, but I find this blade to have a perfect heft, a comfortable handle and impeccable balance. 

There's not likely a kitchen tool you'll put your hands on more than the chef's knife, so it's a no-brainer to upgrade to one you love. This is my absolute favorite, and it's reasonably priced considering the quality. 

Rice is one of the most versatile side dishes that go with so many mains, but making it at home takes time and practice to master. Even when I'd start to get the hang of time and temps, I'd need to keep at least one eye on the range and remove the heat source or I'd have some badly burned brown basmati on my hands -- not to mention some serious pot soaking and scraping to do. 

Enter the rice cooker. When I brought one into the house, I started swapping healthier brown rice and ancient grains in for mostly nutrition-free potatoes and bread. Having just one button to push for a satisfying starch makes all the difference. I did some hands-on testing of several rice cookers last year and the Tiger made the most consistent rice -- never mushy or undercooked. It features fairly basic settings and cooking programs and clocks in around $115.

For iced coffee drinkers who find cold brew too intense, cooling down hot-brewed is the best way to make the stuff at home. But it takes time to do and throwing warm coffee over ice results in a watered-down mess. Enter this smart chilling device. The Hyperchiller sloshes warm liquid around between two cold chambers and will chill hot coffee to room temperature in under a minute. You can also bring the temp down on wine or whiskey in even less time without diluting your favorite boozy beverage. 

This is admittedly a big splurge, but the Ode grinder is a joy to use and has unmatched precision when it comes to grind size. That's especially helpful if you regularly make espresso, which calls for a fine grind, or use a pour-over method that requires a coarse bean.

It's also about the best-looking and quietest coffee grinder on the market. Sometimes I catch myself grinding more beans than I even need just to hear the calming whirr. And if the price feels too steep, Fellow sells refurbished models for less.