I'm a professional baker — 10 kitchen tools I've tried and would re-buy (so many are on sale right now)
Cooking and baking professionally, combined with years of trial and error as a home cook, means I've tested (and tossed) a lot of kitchen equipment in my life. Over the years, I've formed very strong opinions about what to splurge on and what to skip altogether when it comes to outfitting your kitchen. I've cooked up a list of my favourite kitchen appliances, utensils, and accessories that have proven to be ride-or-die for the everyday home chef.
My favourites range from investment pieces like a Staub Dutch Oven to a set of silicon baking mats that are under $15. And the best part? So many items are still on sale after Amazon Prime Day 2025. Keep scrolling for the best Amazon kitchen deals.
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I can't be the only little girl who dreamed of owning an entire line-up of Dutch ovens, all matching in the same bold colour. When it finally came time to invest in one of my own, the research was all pointing to one brand: Staub. I opted for their 5.5-qt Round Cocotte, realizing very quickly it's the only Dutch oven I will ever need to own.
Made in France, these hefty pots are built to last, transferring seamlessly from stovetop cooking to oven braising. Trust me: It's more than worth the investment.
This may be surprising, but this set of mini spatulas is my most-used item in my kitchen. I actually have two sets because they're just that good.
These spatulas are perfect for everything from getting the last little morsels out of a jar of honey to cooking scrambled eggs. I find myself reaching for one multiple times a day. This set has the lowest cost per use of any tool in my entire kitchen.
As a professional baker, an accurate food scale can be the difference between an airy loaf of sourdough and an inedible brick of flour. I recently switched to the Oxo Good Grips Food Scale, and it has upped my baking game tenfold.
The unique feature of this scale is the pull-out display, making it easy to see no matter the size of the bowl you choose. This scale's utility goes way beyond a dynamite focaccia dough — perfectly portioning bulk groceries and divving up this week's prepped meals.
Please accept this as my formal declaration of love for hand blenders. Do I have a traditional blender and also a food processor? Yes. Do I reach for either of those even half as much as I reach for my KitchenAid Hand Blender? Not even close.
Soups, sauces, jams, compound butters — do I need to go on? I still have the exact KitchenAid Hand Blender I opened my bakery with ten years ago, and it hasn't skipped a beat.
You often hear chefs say that the one tool you need in your kitchen is a high-quality knife—this fact became very clear when I finally bought one for myself.
I've become a huge fan of the entire catalogue of Global Knives since purchasing my first one a few years ago, but even with a drawer full of knives I'm always reaching for the GS90 Santoku Knife. The super sharp fluted blade makes chopping vegetables less of a chore, and the lightweight handle fits perfectly in my small hands.
There are dozens of digital thermometers on the market these days, ranging in price from $10 to more than $100. You may be shocked to find that the thermometer I've trusted for over five years is one of the most inexpensive on the market.
I use the Thermo Digital Thermometer for everything from checking whether my roast chicken is cooked through to making sure boiled sugar is hot enough to turn into marshmallows. It's compact and easy to read, and I can't even remember the last time I needed to change the batteries—sometimes, simplicity is best when it comes to cooking.
Getting to feed delicious things to the people I love is a big part of why I enjoy cooking. After years of entertaining, I recently found a new favourite hosting hack: Pacolit P's Warming Mat.
The pressure of making sure everything on the Thanksgiving table is ready at the same time has finally been lifted. This mat has three temperature settings to keep the mashed potatoes from cooling while you're carving the turkey. I'm never hosting another dinner party without it.
A bench scraper is a non-negotiable tool in any kitchen I cook in. I first learned how handy they can be working in professional bakeries, and it turns out they're just as useful in my home kitchen.
Dividing pizza dough, scrapping flour off counters, and scooping up chopped onions — this may be the most versatile tool in my kitchen that's under $20! The Anaeat scraper has the added benefit of measuring guides, making it the perfect gift for amateur bakers.
It doesn't take a professional baker to know that KitchenAid Stand Mixers don't always do the greatest job of incorporating everything in the bowl. I've owned five of their mixers, and the one thing that consistently improves every batter and dough is the Flex Edge Beater. The added silicone covering drastically reduces the number of times I find myself scraping down the bowl with a spatula, often allowing me to skip that frustrating step altogether.
Whether in my home kitchen or a professional bakery, I always find that most of my waste is parchment paper. Silicone baking mats not only reduce my use of parchment paper, but they also save my pans from the wear and tear of stuck-on food.
Pro tip: If you've ever pulled out your hair trying to master a French macaron, a silicone mat may be the missing piece.
38% off: Hamilton Beach 3-in-1 Electric Egg Cooker | Shop for $18 $29
Take 38% off an ecozy Countertop Ice Maker | Shop for $99 $160
30% off a Philips Series 3300 Automatic Espresso Coffee Machine | Shop for $700 $1,000
Take 48% off a Nespresso Vertuo Pop+ Deluxe Coffee Machine | Shop for $99 $18
Save 19% on a CyberChill Slushie Machine | Shop for $243 $300
Save 77% on a Canoly Masticating Juicer | Shop for $149 $640
52% off: HOSHANHO Kitchen Knife | Shop for $38 $80
Take 38% off a Keurig K-Supreme Plus K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker | Shop for $130 $209
31% off: KitchenAid Digital Air Fryer Countertop Oven | Shop for $200 $288
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These were meant to take effect on April 9 but were delayed by 90 days due to historic stock market volatility, and then delayed again to Aug. 1. These rates are subject to change until that new effective date, and some have already been altered: the rate against Japan was upped to 25%, the same as the rate against South Korea; Trump has also threatened a 50% rate against Brazil. Trump's claim that these reciprocal tariffs are based on high tariffs imposed against the US by the targeted countries has drawn intense pushback from experts and economists, who have argued that some of these numbers are false or potentially inflated. For example, the above chart says a 39% tariff from the EU, despite its average tariff for US goods being around 3%. Some of the tariffs are against places that are not countries but tiny territories of other nations. The Heard and McDonald Islands, for example, are uninhabited. We'll dig into the confusion around these calculations below. Notably, that minimum 10% tariff will not be on top of those steel, aluminum and auto tariffs. Canada and Mexico were also spared from the 10% minimum additional tariff imposed on all countries the US trades with. On April 11, the administration said smartphones, laptops and other consumer electronics, along with flat panel displays, memory chips and semiconductors, were exempt from reciprocal tariffs. But it wasn't clear whether that would remain the case or whether such products might face different fees later. How were the Trump reciprocal tariffs calculated? The numbers released by the Trump administration for its barrage of "reciprocal" tariffs led to widespread confusion among experts. Trump's own claim that these new rates were derived by halving the tariffs already imposed against the US by certain countries was widely disputed, with critics noting that some of the numbers listed for certain countries were much higher than the actual rates and some countries had tariff rates listed despite not specifically having tariffs against the US at all. In a post to X that spread fast across social media, finance journalist James Surowiecki said that the new reciprocal rates appeared to have been reached by taking the trade deficit the US has with each country and dividing it by the amount the country exports to the US. This, he explained, consistently produced the reciprocal tariff percentages revealed by the White House across the board. "What extraordinary nonsense this is," Surowiecki wrote about the finding. The White House later attempted to debunk this idea, releasing what it claimed was the real formula, though it was quickly determined that this formula was arguably just a more complex version of the one Surowiecki deduced. What will the Trump tariffs do to prices? In short: Prices are almost certainly going up, if not now, then eventually. That is, if the products even make it to US shelves at all, as some tariffs will simply be too high for companies to bother dealing with. While the effects of a lot of tariffs might not be felt straight away, some potential real-world examples have already emerged. Microsoft has increased prices across the board for its Xbox gaming brand, with its flagship Xbox Series X console jumping 20% from $500 to $600. Kent International, one of the main suppliers of bicycles to Walmart, announced that it would be stopping imports from China, which account for 90% of its stock. Speaking about Trump's tariff plans just before they were announced, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said that they would generate $6 trillion in revenue over the next decade. Given that tariffs are most often paid by consumers, CNN characterized this as potentially "the largest tax hike in US history." Estimates from the Yale Budget Lab, cited by Axios, predict that Trump's new tariffs will cause a 2.3% increase in inflation throughout 2025. This translates to about a $3,800 increase in expenses for the average American household. Reith, the IDC analyst, told CNET that Chinese-based tech companies, like PC makers Acer, Asus and Lenovo, have "100% exposure" to these import taxes, with products like phones and computers the most likely to take a hit. He also said that the companies best positioned to weather the tariff impacts are those that have moved some of their operations out of China to places like India, Thailand and Vietnam, singling out the likes of Apple, Dell and HP. Samsung, based in South Korea, is also likely to avoid the full force of Trump's tariffs. In an effort to minimize its tariff vulnerability, Apple has begun to move the production of goods for the US market from China to India. Will tariffs impact prices immediately? In the short term -- the first days or weeks after a tariff takes effect -- maybe not. There are still a lot of products in the US imported pre-tariffs and on store shelves, meaning the businesses don't need a price hike to recoup import taxes. Once new products need to be brought in from overseas, that's when you'll see prices start to climb because of tariffs or you'll see them become unavailable. That uncertainty has made consumers anxious. CNET's survey revealed that about 38% of shoppers feel pressured to make certain purchases before tariffs make them more expensive. About 10% say they have already made certain purchases in hopes of getting them in before the price hikes, while 27% said they have delayed purchases for products that cost more than $500. Generally, this worry is the most acute concerning smartphones, laptops and home appliances. Mark Cuban, the billionaire businessman and Trump critic, voiced concerns about when to buy certain things in a post on Bluesky just after Trump's "Liberation Day" announcements. In it, he suggested that consumers might want to stock up on certain items before tariff inflation hits. "It's not a bad idea to go to the local Walmart or big box retailer and buy lots of consumables now," Cuban wrote. "From toothpaste to soap, anything you can find storage space for, buy before they have to replenish inventory. Even if it's made in the USA, they will jack up the price and blame it on tariffs." CNET's Money team recommends that before you make any purchase, especially a high-ticket item, be sure that the expenditure fits within your budget and your spending plans. Buying something you can't afford now because it might be less affordable later can be burdensome, to say the least. What is the goal of the White House tariff plan? The typical goal behind tariffs is to discourage consumers and businesses from buying the tariffed, foreign-sourced goods and encourage them to buy domestically produced goods instead. When implemented in the right way, tariffs are generally seen as a useful way to protect domestic industries. One of the stated intentions for Trump's tariffs is along those lines: to restore American manufacturing and production. However, the White House also says it's negotiating with numerous countries looking for tariff exemptions, and some officials have also floated the idea that the tariffs will help finance Trump's tax cuts. Those things are often contradictory: If manufacturing moves to the US or if a bunch of countries are exempt from tariffs, then tariffs aren't actually being collected and can't be used to finance anything. This and many other points have led a lot of economists to allege that Trump's plans are misguided. As for returning -- or "reshoring" -- manufacturing in the US, tariffs are a better tool for protecting industries that already exist because importers can fall back on them right away. Building up the factories and plants needed for this in the US could take years, leaving Americans to suffer under higher prices in the interim. That problem is worsened by the fact that the materials needed to build those factories will also be tariffed, making the costs of "reshoring" production in the US too heavy for companies to stomach. These issues, and the general instability of American economic policies under Trump, are part of why experts warn that Trump's tariffs could have the opposite effect: keeping manufacturing out of the US and leaving consumers stuck with inflated prices. Any factories that do get built in the US because of tariffs also have a high chance of being automated, canceling out a lot of job creation potential. To give you one real-world example of this: When warning customers of future price hikes, toy maker Mattel also noted that it had no plans to move manufacturing to the US. Trump has reportedly been fixated on the notion that Apple's iPhone -- the most popular smartphone in the US market -- can be manufactured entirely in the US. This has been broadly dismissed by experts, for a lot of the same reasons mentioned above, but also because an American-made iPhone could cost upward of $3,500. One report from 404 Media dubbed the idea "a pure fantasy." The overall sophistication and breadth of China's manufacturing sector have also been cited, with CEO Tim Cook stating in 2017 that the US lacks the number of tooling engineers to make its products. For more, see how tariffs might raise the prices of Apple products and find some expert tips for saving money.
