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America’s Test Kitchen reviews kitchen equipment and ingredients with the same rigor and curiosity that drive its recipe development process. The full-time editors on its tastings and testings team write only about products they’ve tested themselves. They don’t accept advertising or freebies, and their reviews are 100 percent unbiased in order to bypass the marketing hype and promote the best quality products.
1. Marcato Atlas 150 Wellness Pasta Machine
Sure, you can make fresh pasta with a rolling pin and a knife, but pasta machines streamline the process and produce more uniform results. And no other model produces better results than this, the Ferrari of the pasta machine world. It’s a pleasure to handle, sports a variety of thickness settings, and turns out perfect fettuccine and angel hair every time. Read ATK’s review.
The Marcato Atlas 150 Wellness Pasta Machine is available for $69.99 on Amazon.
2. EXO Polymer Sealed Super Peel
This baking peel uses an innovative cloth conveyor belt to unload delicate doughs without deforming them, so your favorite pizza chef’s pies will look as good as they taste. Bonus: It also does a good job of removing finished baked goods from the oven so said pizza chef can expand into bread-baking. Read ATK’s review.
The EXO Polymer Sealed Super Peel is available for $65 on Amazon.
3. Old Stone Oven Pizza Baking Stone
A good baking stone absorbs and radiates intense heat and takes your oven—and pizza and bread—to the next level. This stone performs beautifully no matter what you’re baking, and its size, weight, and raised feet make it maneuverable for every home cook. It’s also lasted in the rough-and-tumble world of the test kitchen for nearly a decade, which means it’s likely to last a lifetime in a home kitchen. Read ATK’s review.
The Old Stone Oven Pizza Baking Stone is available for $27.05 on Amazon.
4. KitchenAid Classic Plus Series 4.5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer
With this basic, compact, heavy machine, the chore of making breads and baked goods is gone with the flip of a switch. It outperforms many other models that are bigger and much more costly, and after five years of daily mixing, whisking, and kneading in the test kitchen, it’s proven to be incredibly durable, efficient, and easy to use. Read ATK’s review.
The KitchenAid Classic Plus Series 4.5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer is available for $199.99 on Amazon.
5. Winco Revolving Cake Decorating Stand
Know someone who loves to bake and decorate cakes? This tall (5.3 inches) cake stand will help them decorate like a pro. It’s solid but light, and rotates quickly and smoothly yet stops precisely where you ask it to. It also includes three shallow circles etched onto its surface for easy centering.
The Winco Revolving Cake Decorating Stand is available for $49.19 on Amazon.
6. USA Pan 13 by 4-inch Pullman Loaf Pan & Cover
For those who like to make their own bread, Pullman loaf pans produce a squared-off loaf with a firm, compact crumb that’s perfect for sandwiches. This model has a lid that slides on and off easily, and the nonstick coating released perfectly, making the pan a snap to clean. It was also the only model that ATK tested that produced perfectly shaped bread and didn’t discolor or rust after a few loaves.
The USA Pan 13 by 4-inch Pullman Loaf Pan & Cover is available for $49.99 on Amazon.
7. Dash Greek Yogurt Maker
Many homemade Greek yogurt recipes rely on makeshift means for maintaining the proper temperature for culturing, but this electric yogurt incubator eliminates the variables and streamlines the process, producing Greek yogurt that’s tangy and creamy in 14 hours of almost entirely hands-off preparation.
The Dash Greek Yogurt Maker is available for $27.86 on Amazon.
8. Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker
This canister-style ice cream maker makes it easy to produce customized ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet at home. It has a lightweight, compact design and a simple, one-button operation, and ATK’s taste testers called its desserts “even-textured,” “velvety,” and “delightful.”
The Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker is available for $44.99 on Amazon.
9. Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker 18″
Though plenty of rib and brisket enthusiasts convert their grills into makeshift smokers, proper lower-temperature smoking is best achieved with a designated appliance. And in ATK’s review, this model literally smoked the competition: Plenty of cooking space, a water pan, and multiple vents that allowed for precise temperature control added up to meat that came off the fire consistently moist and smoky with little tending necessary.
The Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker 18″ is available for $329 on Amazon.
10. Wilton 20-Piece Beginning Buttercream Decorating Set
Whether decorating an elaborate wedding cake, swirling frosting atop cupcakes, filling deviled eggs, or piping pâte à choux for churros, the best way to instantly upgrade your game is to use a piping bag outfitted with a decorating tip. This impressive starter set comes with 10 different decorating tips and a plethora of disposable plastic bags for piping. Read ATK’s review.
The Wilton 20-Piece Beginning Buttercream Decorating Set is available for $10.83 on Amazon.
11. Breadtopia Bread Lame
Anyone who loves to bake bread knows how important it is to score a shaped loaf before putting it in the oven. A lame (pronounced “LAHM”) is made specifically for the job, and this one does it expertly. It’s sharp and comes with five extra blades that are a snap to change, and its handle—which is shaped like a baguette, natch—is comfortable and easy to grasp.
The Breadtopia Bread Lame is available for $9.95 on Amazon.
12. Joule
With sous vide there’s usually no risk of overcooking, making it a game-changing technique—especially for temperature-sensitive (and often expensive) foods such as fish or steak. This slim, lightweight sous vide circulator was the smallest circulator in ATK’s lineup and it heated water bath almost as quickly as the largest. It functions completely through a smartphone app, which is less intimidating than it sounds—the app is intuitive and simple to use. Read ATK’s review.
The Joule is available for $250 on Amazon.
13. OXO Good Grips 11 lb Food Scale with Pull Out Display
A digital scale is a game changer for baking recipes, where measuring dry ingredients by weight is the only way to guarantee accuracy. The recently redesigned product is accurate and has all the features we want in a scale: sturdy construction, responsive buttons, a removable platform for easy cleaning, and a screen that can be pulled out nearly 4 inches when weighing oversize items. Read ATK’s review.
The OXO Good Grips 11 lb Food Scale with Pull Out Display is available for $49.99 on Amazon.