40 Little Things Any Home Chef Will Likely Want In Their Kitchen

Promising review: "I had another chopper that worked perfectly fine, but when I saw OXO had come out with one, I ordered it. As expected, I liked it much better than the first, which I gave to a friend. I particularly like that it is deeper and not as long, so stuff doesn't pile up under the chopping surface, and the best feature is that it has a hole in one end so you can simply dump it over a bowl when it's full. The little plastic grid is a nuisance, though, so I just don't use it. As long as you rinse it immediately, food doesn't usually stick too badly. OXO has the best-designed products in my kitchen. I wish they'd design a self-cooking and self-cleaning stovetop." —Springlering

Promising review: "Bought an air fryer several months ago which I haven't used a whole lot because it came with only a few recipes but not enough info on other items to cook. The Lotteli cheat sheet gives you cooking times and temperatures for a lot of your common everyday foods in a magnetized easy-to-read, two-sheet combo that fills in where air fryer pamphlet that came with the unit leaves out. I also bought an air fryer cookbook but this only comes with specific recipes, whereas the cheat sheet fills in the void for quick basic needs. Very happy with this purchase! 😁" —B. Frank Smith

StoveShelf is a US-based small business that specializes in stove shelves for various sizes of stoves.

Check out a Tiktok of the StoveShelf in action.

Promising review: "There was no set up...Take it out of the box and place it on the stove. The magnets are very strong keeping the shelf fixed in place. The magnets are raised allowing air flow underneath preventing the shelf from heating up. Sizing was perfect. I love it!" —Amazon Customer

Promising review: "These bowls are great. I lived my entire life until now without owning shallow bowls. I’ve been eating spaghetti off of a plate like some kind of wild animal. My life is forever changed." —JessieMo

BuzzFeed writer Jennifer Tonti credits this burner cover for helping her cook with ease:

"OK so I just bought this for my own tiny apartment (pictured above) and OMG you guys. Life = changed. Food = chopped. Counter space = doubled. I mean the math is all there."

Promising review: "This is so perfect for extra space. It covers the top of my apartment-sized stove so I can then use my stove space for my Instant Pot and food prep. The best space-saving and cosmetic thing I have ever gotten for this tiny apartment." —Talyn Amber Skye

Promising review: "This item is amazing for both its safety features and ease of use. I am a bit of a kitchen klutz and feel completely at ease and fearless with this device. I made my own potato chips — I sliced with my Dash mandolin and cooked in my Dash air fryer. The tasted just like the ones i get from my favorite Portuguese restaurant but I’m hoping they are much healthier. I honestly think this is a must have for all at home chefs." —Dawn

Promising review: "This is a perfect size for a small counter. It stores both blades and the cord wraps nicely. It is large enough to chop a large onion. It has a variable speed which is great for controlling particle size. It seems well-made, very little vibration and is very attractive." —D Powell

Promising review: "This is one of my favorite things I have purchased for our tiny apartment! It's a pretty good size cutting board and I can see it fitting over most sinks. I LOVE the bowl inside that can let wet ingredients drain liquid directly into the sink. It's seriously SO nice to have this when you're limited on counter space!" —Atara

Promising review: "It seems silly to say that some plastic boxes are life-changing, but these really are! Haha! My refrigerator is so organized now — and best of all, it STAYS organized! The boxes are the perfect size for all those condiments and jars, etc that get pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten about. Who would have thought that I would love having my eggs in a special egg container? I do! I don’t have to deal with the flimsy Costco egg cartons anymore. I seriously love this product." —E. MacK

Promising review: "The OXO can opener is a work-horse. It is strong, well-made and plows through whatever you give it, with ease. I've had this one before and after years, it finally gave out and was hard to turn. But in buying an alternative from another company, I quickly realized the mistake and went right back to OXO to buy another. This one is so sturdy that it will last for a very long time and I'm really glad I bought it again." —A.M. Miller

Promising review: "Love it! Don't know that I'll ever need two of them as they are supposed to last very long. The material is firm, but not so ridged that they don't provide any flexibility. All the various angles allow for great scraping of the bottom where it meets the side of the pans. Will be using them for other pans besides cast iron also. Even used it to scrape up dried super glue when my kid managed to spill it on the kitchen counter. Worked like magic! There are no sharp edges, so nothing can scratch." —Shelly Sidhu

BuzzFeed editor Kayla Boyd has this and loves it! I have a similar one and use it to remove any unwanted lumps and bumps from sauces and soups, but also to make Dalgona coffee!

Promising review: "Amazing blender! I've had other (cheap) models of immersion blenders. While they did what they were supposed to do, they did not have quality that this Mueller one has. I absolutely ADORE that the piece that does the work is all stainless, not cheap plastic. I use mine mostly for doing soups, and it does a wonderful job even on 'tough' kohlrabi. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a GOOD immersion blender!" —Judy D.

Promising review: "We live off-grid so we don’t like having a bunch of power-sucking kitchen appliances but we like to cook and needed something more powerful than a hand whisk. Amazed that we were able to make whipped cream with this. Everything pops off to make cleaning easier. Handle is comfortable and operation is pretty smooth and not too difficult." —Joi maree freeman

Promising review: "First off, I'm so happy to have found a nice, basic dowel-type rolling pin. I appreciate the smooth, finished wood that doesn't stick to my food or preparation area, the simplicity of the design that's easy to tell if what I'm flattening is under the workable area of the pin or not, and that it's easy to clean/maintain. The deeper walnut color matches my (older) cutting board and keeps it from looking cheap. There's a good weight to it and it feels solid without being too heavy to handle or store upright in a utensil container. The length is also good and covers the bases of my baking needs. Very satisfied with my purchase." —Dawn

Promising review: "Super easy to use, with easy to follow instructions. Also has an adjustable flame option. My creme brûlée came out to perfection!" —Sumithra Sriram

Promising review: "I gotta say this is the best sharpener I ever bought in my whole life. I got it today and brought it to work. I work at a Japanese restaurant as a sushi chef and I sharpened it at work and, wow, my knife was as sharp as a samurai sword! Even my coworkers were surprised and asked me to order one for them. Thanks for the product! Now I don't have to use the stone or sharpen rod that much anymore." —Rodrigo

Promising review: "Give it a cap and a costume, this is the only thing I need in the kitchen! I am often looking for tools that can replace the 30 others I have collected in my kitchen. I have used this to flip grilled cheese, stir red beans and rice, strain Brussels sprouts, and taste sauce. I used the flat edge to cut onions that were too large once in the pot and scrape the bottom of the pan. The uni-tool feels nice in my hand, has held up fine in multiple dishwashings, and has allowed me to toss a few kitchen tools that have become obsolete." —Hiawhatha

CatePaperCo is a small business based out of Washington, D.C. that primarily sells art prints and supplies.

Promising review: "If you are new to hot sauce in general, or looking for a safe thing to try or gift to an enthusiast in your life, give the original bottle a try. If you handle heat well and are looking to venture into flavor country, the Red Bottle is life changing. Truff is an experience that all hot sauce enthusiasts need to try at least once." —Spacemonkey

Promising review: "OMG! I have been looking for this my whole life! I make sugar cookies and I like them pretty thick and it is hard to roll them out evenly. This is PERFECT...and I mean PERFECT!! I baked three batches of cutout sugar cookies in less than an hour an a half!!! No joke! I was going to buy one of those cookie things with the sidebars but they are over $50. This works amazingly well and the price is perfect. Great product!!!" —L. Stanley

My mom got one of these and continues to rave about it to me each time she uses it. I wasn't sure what all the hype was about until I watched how easily she was able to squeeze a slew of lemons for a recipe she was working on. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Promising review: "This thing changed my life! We have a very high-yielding lemon tree and I dreaded the though of hand squeezing hundreds of lemons this year. This tool makes it effortless to get all the juice out of citrus. I ordered one for my mom, who has arthritis in her wrists, and she loves it too." —Amazon Customer

Promising review: "Easy to use! Easy to clean! Superior to a press and easier to use! No need for hesitation! Go ahead and buy it! You won't be disappointed!" — T. Star

Promising review: "I know — it is a little strange to love a veggie brush but the bristles have just the right stiffness and 'give' to clean potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc. I haven't used it on corn-on-the-cob yet but I think it will do quite well without damaging the kernels. (If not, I'll do a follow up on this review.) As with most OXO products, it is ergonomically designed and even fits in my smaller, chunky hands — so much so, I believe it would be good tool for arthritic cooks." —D. Lofthus

Promising review: "As a working chef for over 30 years, I've gone through dozens of thermometers, and this one stands out. I actually purchased this by accident while buying several thermometers to try with the intent of buying a dozen for my crew. I was looking for thermometers that can be field-calibrated and as far as I can tell, this one can't. But I intend to buy more of these because they are accurate, easy to read, and just more pleasant to use. They are tough, and I love the ring on the end; I keep this one hanging on a hook near our ranges so I don't have to hunt it down. It does not ride easily in my chef's coat, but that is due to the longer probe. Which I LOVE. In two weeks I have used this one thermometer over 130 times, all with pleasure." —Cetaceous Dave

BuzzFeed editor and zoodle-lover Emma Lord is obsessed with this gadget:

"I recently purchased this because it was my cheapest option for making zoodles, and also because my apartment is the size of a shoebox and there was no room for anything bigger. I LOVE how easy it is to swap out the caps to do other things, too — I've started grating my own cheeses and feel very fancy. But mostly I just love that it's very safe to use (it comes with a finger guard!), super easy to figure out, very compact, and even has measurements on the inside of the cup if you're ever portioning things out for a recipe."

Promising review: "LOVE THIS. I absolutely love this. So far I've used the thicker spiralizer, two of the grater things, and then the juicer. I love how easy this makes keeping everything together. And it's sharp so it actually cuts through things without you needing to work super hard to do it. The only thing I don't love is that the spiralizers are a bit hard to clean, but I guess that's with all of them? Not sure, this is the first I've owned. But, overall I'd recommend it. :)" —Amazon customer

They can also use this to safely cut bagels and slices of meats that they're tired of trying to cut through the middle of!

Promising review: "This item is the best kitchen helper. First time using it I was apprehensive about it really working, but it works like a charm. Put my tomatoes in first, literally slicing them immediately. Then my green olives...perfect. I know I will be making more salads and healthy veggie trays with this food cutter." —Mrs. Cynthia A. Sager

SPQR Seasonings is a small business that sells, you guessed it, a variety of seasonings!

Promising review: "This seasoning is honestly my go to! I first found this company live on TikTok when they were showing the packaging process. I originally bought it mainly to support a small business but once it came I fell in LOVE. The bottle is huge, you definitely get your moneys worth. You can tell the ingredients are actually fresh and not processed. I have used my seasoning on so much but my favorites so far have been bagels, pork tenderloin and today I used it on homemade pigs in a blanket! I 100% recommend and will be buying more when I run out." —Abiagael

Promising review: "I expected to be happy, but I'm thrilled! Each mat is pliable and fits the entire width of my standard oven. When the mat is against the back wall, it extends up to but not over the front lip of the floor. On first use, pizza cheese and sauce dripped onto the front edge of the mat and onto that uncovered lip. The baked-on cheese and sauce slid right off the mat! Effortlessly! After I cleaned up the lip, I layered a second mat to cover the lip. These mats are so great that I almost want food to drip on them so I can show off how wonderful they are." —Artset Outset

Promising review: "This is by far the best kitchen gadget I've ever owned. It actually makes me want to be in the kitchen (which is not my favorite place). It works exactly as described, is easy to clean, and is cute to boot. Just don't be tempted to stick this fish to yourself. I've had to explain to all my coworkers how I ended up with fish hickeys." —Siber

Promising review: "This is a great item for lightly spraying salads, roasting vegetables, or adding some oil to a prepared plate of pasta. Avoids using more oil than necessary so that’s a savings right there. I also use it to put a light coating of oil on all my cast-iron cookware to prevent rust. Best of all, it looks great on the dinner table. Lots of uses which really makes it an asset in the kitchen. It seems that it should last a while so I think it is worth the few bucks spent." —Clancy

You can even pop these in the washing machine for a thorough cleaning.

Promising review: "After my husband sliced his finger on our mandolin I decided to check out these gloves. We are both very impressed with how well they work. The company who sells these is also wonderful — they sent a follow-up email to ensure that we liked the gloves and would have replaced or refunded our money if we weren't happy. The only thing I was concerned about when I ordered the gloves was if I was buying the right size. My husband and I have different hand sizes, but the medium is working well for both of us. And knowing that they would send a different size free was wonderful. Now we don't have to worry about slicing off our fingers!" —That Author Guy's Wife

Promising review: "I'm loving this little brush. I had purchased another dish brush a while back from the grocery store and the bristles were so stiff that it often splattered soap everywhere. This one isn't like that. The bristles are stiff, but soft enough that they tend to cling to what you're brushing, so they don't cause that splatter effect. I also like that you can open the whole thing up by taking its top off to refill it, giving you plenty of room to pour in the dish soap. The ability to easily remove and replace the brush is another very handy feature. Both are easy to do and it's well made, so they're not likely to come open or undone unexpectedly." —Elliria

Promising review: "I'm extremely happy with my Souper Cubes! I cook chili and soup and always make too much, having the ability to freeze serving-size portions is perfect. Saves time and food quality by not having to thaw it all each time I want another serving. High quality and since it's silicone and not rigid plastic it won't crack in the freezer. Highly recommend!" —Alexander S. Waterman

Promising review: "All the years I have been grilling I have said I gotta get one of those. This is not high-tech, no bells, no whistles, it doesn't even connect to the internet. Just a piece of iron with a handle. But it works so well. Soon as it arrived I shoveled the snow off the grill, fired it up, and cooked a nice 2-inch-thick piece of steak. Beautiful grill lines on one side and beautiful hatch pattern on the other. And it tasted great. Tomorrow burgers!" —SeekerGeorge

Promising review: "Works well for shredding larger portions of meat, like pork. Plastic appears to be of higher quality. Sufficient room in the opening for most finger and hand sizes. The pointed tips shouldn't cause injury unless you're careless. I'd highly recommend the use of quality protective gloves; you're not only dealing with the mess of shredding itself but also, most likely, some elevated temperature food." —Legardi11

Each set comes with 13 professional chef knives, kitchen scissors, a peeler, a two-stage stage knife sharpener, and an acrylic knife stand.

Promising review: "I love these knives! I saw them on a TikTok and decided I had to have a set of black knives and they exceeded my expectations for sure. Super durable, and very sharp. And they aren’t an eye sore in the kitchen." —Emily S.

Fly By Jing is an Asian-owned and woman-owned small business that sells an array of delicious sauces that'll spice up your life in the best way possible. My husband and I tried this at home on dumplings and it was *chef's kiss*. It's super packed with flavor!

Promising review: "This product was such a great find! Besides stir-fries, I use this in many different recipes including those with shrimp, fish, chicken, and even scrambled eggs and omelets! It may seem expensive however a little goes a long way." —Griff

Promising review: "How could such a large set at such a great price be high quality? I trusted the reviews and won! These are as good as any utensils I’ve ever owned — and I’ve owned a lot. I have a feeling they’ll be around for a very long time." —Ebie

Promising review: "I purchased this as a gift for my friend who is a fantastic cook — she uses fresh ingredients almost exclusively — but pressing fresh garlic is a task usually delegated. No longer — Gracula is there for her. She uses him nearly every time she needs garlic (which is basically daily) and months later still makes a point of saying how much she enjoys the gift. I'm pretty sure she likes it better than other gifts I've gotten her which were more expensive/thought out, and I'm fairly certain it's what took me from "good friend" to "best friend," but it be that way sometimes. Anyway, definitely recommended for people who cook with garlic and have a sense of humor." —L

Promising review: "Definitely get one of these if you're thinking about it. I was skeptical, but it really works. I do a lot of cooking with garlic and onion, and after one wash with this, my hands no longer smell like garlic or onions. Really worth having in the kitchen." —Nos