I never want to be without them again.

I’ve been a professional product tester for nearly four years, and during that time, I have tried my fair share of kitchen and wellness gear. Some products don’t quite meet the mark, but others have proved to be instrumental to my cooking and baking. There are thousands of products on the market, so I gathered the 12 finds I think are worth investing in. Some of the products below include Le Creuset Dutch ovens, Earlywood wooden kitchen utensilsand Breville Smart Ovensstarting at $14.

Best Overall Professional Product Tester Recommendations

• Bentgo Signature Glass Food Storage$60


• Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron Signature Braiser$360 (was $380)


• Earlywood 3-Piece Wooden Kitchen Utensil Set$45


• Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro and Convection Oven$400


• Quinta Luna Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil$41


• Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron Signature Round Dutch Oven$348 (was $435)

Bentgo Signature Glass Food Storage

$60 at Amazon

You could buy plastic containers for far less than $60, but they won’t ever be as high-quality as this set from Bentgo. They’re non-toxic and made from glass and silicone. I’ve been testing them for a year, and I love everything about them. They’re durable, sturdy yet lightweight, airtight, and safe for the microwave, dishwasher and freezer.

Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron Signature Braiser

$380 $360 at Amazon

One thing you’ll notice in this list is that I am big on versatility. As a product tester with limited storage space, I look for kitchen gear that’s unfussy and easy to store. This Le Creuset braiser is a fantastic example of a cookware piece worth investing in. Made with the brand’s coveted enameled cast-iron, it heats beautifully and is slick enough to keep food from sticking. It works well as a standard skillet for searing, but because of the taller walls, you can use this to broil, bake or braise a wide range of recipes.

Earlywood 3-Piece Wooden Kitchen Utensil Set

$45 at Amazon

I posted about these wooden utensils on social media once and got an influx of comments saying they can get these “paint stirrers” for pennies at Home Depot. Very funny! Alongside those comments, though, folks in the know were singing these utensils’ praises. While they’re not cheap, their quality and utility warrant the extra money you’ll spend. Handmade in Montana, they have the perfect thickness, shape and firmness to toss, scrape, stir and flip with ease. It’s easily the most-used utensil in my kitchen.

Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro and Convection Oven

$400 at Amazon

This appliance is worth the space it takes up because it replaces three others—and then some. It essentially performs what three other appliances can do: toast, air fry and bake. It does more than that, of course, including proof, dehydrate, reheat, defrost and broil. It does all of these things better and faster than your traditional oven or toaster oven, and it never heats the space. We use ours multiple times a day!

Escali Primo Digital Food Scale

$27 $25 at Amazon

Many folks don’t think they need a kitchen scale, but I truly believe this is a worthy investment for every home cook or baker. I’ve owned this one for a decade and it’s still going strong. This is necessary for baking because it’s much more exact, though it proves to be extremely helpful for culinary applications. I’m sure you’ve had a moment where you needed a certain amount of cheese or sour cream, and your container weighs more. With a scale on hand, you don’t have to waste time calculating how much to use.

Made In Cookware 3.5-Quart Stainless Steel Sauté Pan

$199 at Amazon

Everyone should own one stainless steel pan, and I’d choose this Made In one all day, every day. Because it’s a sauté pan, it includes a flat base (like a skillet) with taller walls. That means I can use it like any frying pan, and then some. The walls allow for extra volume, so I can use it to make sauces, bake casseroles, shallow-fry, stir-fry, toss pasta dishes and more. This pan heats evenly, retains heat, is easy to clean and comes with a handy lid.

OXO Good Grips Fridge Undershelf Drawer

$40 at Amazon

I live in an apartment with a tall, narrow refrigerator. Adding this undershelf drawer has been a huge game-changer. It attaches to my refrigerator shelf and hangs from the bottom. The drawer slides in and out easily and takes advantage of space that would otherwise be empty. This has made it easier to store even more without overcrowding.

Heilala Vanilla Bean Paste

$14 $13 at Amazon

An industry secret: Some of your favorite treats from the top bakeries in the world aren’t following some out-of-this-world, mind-blowing recipe—they’re just putting care into the ingredients and techniques. You can do this at home by building your intuition and only using ingredients that taste good from the start. Vanilla bean paste is an elevated, easy way to begin, and Heilala’s is my favorite. I have tried all of the popular options on the market, and some have a chemical aftertaste; this one tastes exceptionally fresh. Adding this to your whipped creams, icings, puddings, ice cream bases and jams adds a hint of pure, floral vanilla that tastes expensive.

Staub Ceramic Rectangular Baking Dish Set

$60 at Amazon

Stop buying single-use aluminum pans. A chic ceramic dish isn’t just about looks—it also delivers more consistent results. You can rely on the ceramic in these Staub dishes to bake casseroles and sweet treats evenly every time. Plus, you can turn to it over and over again for many years to come.

Pyrex Colors Sculpted Tinted Glass Mixing Bowls

$35 at Amazon

This Pyrex set performs double-duty as my go-to meal prep storage vessels and mixing bowls for baking. They’re incredibly versatile, proving useful for mixing batters, storing grains, using as a double boiler on the stove, heating food in the microwave—the list goes on. They’re even attractive enough to use as serving bowls! The included lids only add to their convenience.

Quinta Luna Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

$41 at Amazon

I’m a bit of an Italy nerd, and Forsythia in New York City is one of the few places that makes food like the dishes I ate in Rome. Their olive oil is so good, I pestered the manager for the brand name so I could buy gallons of it for myself. It’s this one! Quinta Luna—a Puligan-made oil that’s olive-forward, biting and rich in flavor. This is a foundational product not just for Italian cooks, but for anyone who makes salads, sauces, pastas, soups or really anything at home. Cook with this oil to add depth of flavor, or use it raw to make produce pop. The quality is outstanding and stands out among the dozens of extra-virgin olive oils I have tried.

Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron Signature Round Dutch Oven

$435 $348 at Amazon

A Dutch oven might be the most essential piece of cookware you can buy, aside from a standard skillet. I cook 90% of my meals at home, and I’d be limited in both variety and effectiveness without one. They’re most useful for soups and sauces, though they’re also excellent for stews, jams and homemade bread. This Le Creuset model is the only one I can truly stand behind because one purchase lasts for decades—my mom’s is close to 30 years old, and she still uses it.

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