The 15 Best High-End Kitchen Tools We’ve Tested

Chef's Knife

Shun Classic 8-Inch Chef's Knife

$130 at Amazon $130 at Williams Sonoma $130 at Wayfair

An industry-wide favorite for Japanese knives, Shun Cutlery makes one of the most impressive chef’s knives we’ve used. This 8-inch knife is made with 34 layers of stainless steel, with a slight curve that allows for rocking for efficient chopping. Lightweight and exceptionally sharp, it’s all about precision, with finely honed edges that make quick work of cutting brunoise or super thin slicing. The handle is available in either black or blond wood and can be used in either the right or left hand with no difference in its utility. Plus, it’s actually gorgeous and will make you look forward to pulling it out of your knife drawer.

Dutch Oven

Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Round Dutch Oven

$460 at Amazon $260 at Williams Sonoma $460 at Nordstrom

Le Creuset’s enameled Dutch ovens are made in France and are renowned for their heirloom quality and exceptional heat retention. An ideal vessel for baking bread, simmering stews, and even deep frying, this editor favorite has proven itself time and again as one of the most versatile pieces of cookware to own. The light-colored interior enamel makes it easy to see what’s cooking, and the heavy lid keeps moisture from escaping to prevent slow-cooking braises from drying out. The brand’s signature ovens come in a multitude of sizes and a veritable rainbow of colors, with limited-edition hues released every so often. 

Dutch Oven

Staub Round Cocotte

$416 at Amazon $130 at Williams Sonoma $400 at Nordstrom

While Le Creuset is practically a household name in the U.S., restaurants across France more often rely on the quality and durability of Staub’s Dutch ovens or cocottes. The thick walls and heavy lid maintain heat well, making them fantastic for slow cooking on the stove or in the oven. These vessels have a sleek, contemporary feel with straighter lines and deeply saturated colors. The dark interiors of the Staub ovens make it harder to monitor browning — but also mask stains. While Staub and Le Creuset have passed our rigorous Dutch oven tests neck and neck, we named the Staub cocottes the Best Overall. Staub costs a bit less on average than Le Creuset, but it will easily withstand a lifetime of use. 

Espresso Machine

Breville The Barista Express Espresso Machine

$750 $550 at Amazon $700 $550 at Target $550 at Williams Sonoma

The Breville Barista Express is one of the best options for at-home espresso next to installing a giant, Italian-made machine that connects directly to your water line. It’s got both automatic and manual operation, allowing home baristas of all levels to make lattes and macchiatos with ease. An integrated conical burr grinder, tamper, and frother give you the full experience of making espresso drinks from start to finish; an included stainless steel milk frothing jug lets you heat and steam any variety of milk to the perfect temperature. We were very impressed with its user-friendly setup and top-tier performance during our tests, and find that it pays for itself if you’re using it often enough, saving you the $5 to $7 per drink that you’d pay if you went to a coffee shop instead.

Blender

Vitamix Explorian Blender

$380 $300 at Amazon $380 $300 at Target $300 at Williams Sonoma

Vitamix is perhaps the gold standard when it comes to home blenders, with professional-level results that can’t less powerful models just can’t duplicate. Testing several Vitamix models, however, we have found them generally difficult to store. Enter the Explorian, a compact model with a 48-ounce pitcher and a low profile that fits in the countertop space under standard kitchen cabinets, which we really love. It’s equipped with 10 speed options and a pulse setting: all you need to achieve silky smooth results when it comes to blending soups, baby food, smoothies, and more. You can even make frozen margaritas or daquiris in seconds. It comes with a tamper to help press frozen or thicker mixes towards the blade for processing so you don’t have to scrape down the sides. If you’re short on space, this is the perfect Vitamix model to have all of the power with none of the bulk.

Indoor Pizza Oven

Ooni Volt 12 Electric Pizza Oven

$899 at Amazon $900 at Williams Sonoma $899 at Sur La Table

If you’re a pizza-loving household, you may have realized that your electric range or gas range simply can’t get hot enough to achieve a proper Neapolitan pie. The Ooni Volt 12 electric-powered indoor pizza oven sits right on your countertop to provide the blistering heat of a restaurant oven in a matter of minutes. During our tests, this oven reached 850°F ambient temperature in about 20 minutes, with the deck reaching 827°F. We cooked one pizza in about two minutes, which is particularly fantastic when you’re churning out personal-sized pies for a hungry crowd. Well-built with excellent temperature control, this oven is our favorite for at-home pizza night, provided you have enough space for it.

Espresso Machine

SMEG Medium Fully-Automatic Coffee Machine

$900 at Amazon View on Smeg.com $850 at West Elm

For those who vacillate between espresso and drip, the Smeg Fully-Automatic Coffee Machine lets you make both of varying strengths. One of the best automatic espresso machines we tested, it’s easy and fun to use, and it comes with a built-in burr grinder and steam wand for the full coffee bar experience. It takes up significant space under a cabinet, but its size is all in its depth and height. At just 7 inches wide, it will leave plenty of space on your counters for other appliances and prepping food.

Coffee Maker

Balmuda The Brew Coffee Maker

$699 $630 at Amazon $630 at Williams Sonoma $699 $630 at Nordstrom

If you’re strictly a drip coffee household, the sleek silhouette of BALMUDA’s The Brew is also easy to use and offers options for iced, strong, or regular strength brews. One of our favorite high-end coffee makers, it automates the pour-over process, providing that artisanal touch that you’d typically only find at a boutique coffee house. We’ve been testing this one for months and still like it just as much as we did the first day we tried it.

Knife Block

Wüsthof Classic 10-Piece Knife Set

View on Wusthof.com

Instead of curating a collection of knives piece by piece, consider fully stocking your kitchen with this 10-piece knife block set from a top-tier German brand. The Classic is Wüsthof’s most popular (and most affordable) line, and this set topped our knife set tests as the Best Overall. It includes a chef’s knife, paring knife, peeling knife, long serrated bread knife, and short serrated utility knife — everything you need for most styles of cooking. You also get a carving knife and meat fork for serving up prime rib or Thanksgiving turkey, as well as two-piece kitchen shears and a honing steel. And while you the knife block does take over some precious counter space, it’s a great way to keep knives sharp and stored away for safety.

Air Fryer Toaster Oven

GE Profile UltraFast Smart Air Fry Oven

$449 $425 at Amazon $449 at Target $249 at Walmart

The many functions of the GE Profile Smart Oven — it can warm, toast, broil, roast, reheat, bake, and air-fry — make it well worth the counter space. It has 1,500 watts of power, allowing for faster cooking and heating times, as well as smart functions like app and voice controls (a big plus for fans of tech gadgets). It features a roll-up door that opens with the touch of a button and has smooth-gliding racks for easy access to whatever you’re cooking. 

In our tests, this oven did exceptionally well with cookies, turning out evenly baked batches every time. The oven has a sensor that adjusts its power to account for starting from a cold oven, a function that is useful when you’re short on time. While we had a bit of a learning curve getting toast and fries as crispy or golden as we’d like, its impressive design and thoughtful engineering made it one of the best air fryer toaster ovens we tested.

Cocktail Smoker

Breville The Smoking Gun Pro

$150 $120 at Amazon $120 at Williams Sonoma $184 at Walmart

If mixology is one of your interests, this portable smoke infuser from Breville and Polyscience will take your cocktail kit to the next level. This handheld device uses wood chips to infuse drinks with natural smoke flavor in seconds, adding depth and complexity to traditional cocktails by smoking the glass before serving. But its usage isn’t limited to drinks — it features a nozzle that can be directed into the bowl of a stand mixer to gently fold smokiness into soft, pliable foods like butter or egg whites or into a storage container to trap smokiness into popcorn, fish, or vegetables. 

Stand Mixer

Breville Bakery Chef Stand Mixer

View on Amazon View on Breville

The powerful mixing abilities of this sleek Breville stand mixer thoroughly impressed us when we put it to the test, especially because it handled every task efficiently and quietly. From beating whipped cream to stiff peaks to kneading bread dough, it sailed through with minimal mess and even results. 

The Bakery Chef has 12 speed settings and a built-in timer, a godsend when you like to multi-task and don’t want to have to micromanage your mixer. We also appreciate the integrated light that illuminates the bowl’s contents so you can always see what you’re doing. It comes with both glass and steel bowls and similar blades and beaters to others we tested. The only drawback is that unlike KitchenAid and a few other brands, it lacks additional attachment options or accessories to expand its abilities. But if that isn’t a dealbreaker, we can’t think of a single other reason to pass up this quiet but powerful machine. 

Coffee Grinder

Fellow Ode Brew Grinder

$199 at Amazon $355 at Fellowproducts.com

The minimalist Fellow Ode looks great on a kitchen counter, but it also aced our tests, with 11 different settings ranging from super-fine espresso grounds to coarser grounds for drip coffee. There are even settings that are specifically made for AeroPress, pour over, and cold brew, resulting in a big step up in freshness and quality for anyone who typically uses a blade grinder or buys pre-ground coffee. We found that this grinder tended to produce finer grounds than expected, so you may want to play around with grind settings to find the one that’s perfect for your taste. Its small footprint and easy-to-use interface make this worth the splurge. It comes in matte black or white, and is easy to clean between uses.

Bread Box

Williams Sonoma Olivewood Breadbox

$200 at Williams Sonoma

Bread boxes often come in all different types of natural materials. Olivewood kitchen accessories add a touch of natural luxury to any kitchen counter, so anyone who enjoys that aesthetic and has a regular supply of baked goods will appreciate this bread box. Carved from a solid piece of olivewood, each box has a unique two-toned grain pattern, providing a gorgeous backdrop for bread and rolls behind its acrylic window. A gentle airflow through the box allowed bread to stay fresh for over a week in our tests. If you consistently have a stash of bread — sandwich slices, baguettes, brioche, or sourdough boules — this bread box may be a perfect addition to your kitchen arsenal.

Bread Knife

Miyabi Kaizen 9.5-inch Bread Knife

$180 at Amazon $180 at Williams Sonoma $180 at Wayfair

The artistry of Japanese cutlery is often seen with chef’s knives, santoku knives, and nakiri knives, but this serrated bread knife is made with the same careful craftsmanship and precision. Taking the title of Best Design in our tests, it has the telltale swirling pattern across the blade that’s a result of many layers of folded steel, and an extremely sharp blade that makes quick work of cutting slices of baguette or through a loaf of crusty sourdough. We found the serrated edge great for bread, but it easily sliced through tomatoes and hard squash, too. One thing to note is that this blade is carbon steel, and needs a little more care than your typical stainless steel cutlery — you’ll want to wash and dry it immediately to prevent rusting.