• Recipes
  • Equipment Reviews
  • Taste Tests
  • How to Cook
  • Videos

More Essential Kitchen Equipment

12-Inch Slicing Knife

Ensures supremely thin, even slices of roast beef, turkey, and smoked salmon. Our winner has a tapered, razor-sharp blade that is long and wide enough to draw through a large roast in one stroke.

Pepper Mill

For fresh pepper flavor and aroma, rely on a pepper mill instead of preground pepper, which quickly loses its punch. Our favorite mill produces an abundance of perfectly ground pepper (in a wide range of grinds) with minimal effort.

Salad Spinner

We prefer the one-handed pump action of the OXO spinner to models with cords or levers.

Microplane Rasp Grater

Useful for foods with round or irregular shapes, which don’t grate as easily on a box grater—think Parmesan cheese, citrus, chocolate, and ginger. Our favorite is exceptionally sharp for quick, ultra-fine grating.

Wooden Spoon

We want our wooden spoons to be lightweight yet durable, with a comfortable handle, a broad bowl, and thin edges to stir and scrape effectively.

Slotted Spoon

Indispensable for scooping food out of pots of boiling water. Choose one with a deep bowl, plenty of holes, and a lightweight design.

Ladle

Look for stainless steel (plastic stains and can melt on the stovetop) and make sure the handle is long enough to reach deep into pots—at least 9 inches. Our top choice has a drip-preventing pouring rim.

Fine-Mesh Strainer

Comes in handy for dusting a tart with powdered sugar or turning cooked raspberries into a seedless sauce. Also makes an excellent stand-in for a sifter. We prefer an ergonomic handle and deep bowl.

Can Opener

Our favorite is easy to attach and detach, has a comfortable handle and smooth turning motion, and cleverly uses a magnet for no-touch disposal of the can top.

Related Content
Good:
★★★
Fair:
★★
Poor:
★
N/A:
----
*Prices subject to change
Product Tested Performance Comfort Price*
Highly Recommended
Victorinox (formerly Victorinox Forschner) 6-inch Straight Boning Knife: Flexible
Victorinox (formerly Victorinox Forschner) 6-inch Straight Boning Knife: Flexible

The nonslip grip and narrow, straight blade let testers remove the smallest bones with precision and complete comfort. Perfectly balanced with enough flexibility to maneuver around tight joints. The low price was a bonus.

 ★★★ ★★★ $19.95
Recommended
Wüsthof Classic Boning Knife
Wüsthof Classic Boning Knife

Hefty in weight, this knife was a solid performer when removing poultry bones, and the handle was easy to grip, even when covered in chicken fat. Piercing silver skin was a challenge since the tip wasn’t sharp enough and the long narrow blade produced slightly jagged cuts.

 ★★ ★★★ $99.95
Recommended with Reservations
Mundial Boning Knife: Flexible
Mundial Boning Knife: Flexible

The sharp tip performed well when removing silver skin, but it was too flexible when maneuvering around poultry joints, leaving testers feeling a lack of control. The heavy handle was slightly unbalanced and became slippery once covered in poultry fat.

 ★★ ★★ $19.95
Not Recommended
Shun Gokujo Filet Knife
Shun Gokujo Filet Knife

Designed to replicate a samurai blade, this expensive knife was a disappointment. It struggled to pierce the silver skin, although long cuts were smooth and even. Minimal flexibility and extreme curve got in the way when maneuvering around joints. The smooth handle was hard to grip and slippery.

 ★★ ★ $179.95
MAC Boning Knife—Chef Series
MAC Boning Knife—Chef Series

The large, cumbersome handle reminded testers of an outdoors knife for fishing and hunting. The blade was too wide to maneuver around joints and it struggled to pierce silver skin. Unlike other knives, this boning knife could only slice in one direction, making intricate cuts around joints difficult.

 ★ ★★ $34.95
Messermeister San Moritz Elite Flexible Boning Knife
Messermeister San Moritz Elite Flexible Boning Knife

The blade was so flexible it led to erratic cuttings; testers said the knife was hard to control. The blade was not sturdy enough to maneuver around joints and the lightweight handle felt flimsy and unbalanced.

 ★ ★ $53.60

For complete access to the results,
start a 14-Day Free Trial.

Start Your 14-Day Free Trial Membership

Every Recipe. Every Rating. Every Video from
Every Magazine & Every Episode!
  • 8 years of Cook’s Country Foolproof Recipes
  • Complete Cook’s Country TV Video Library
  • 2,900+ Equipment Ratings and Ingredient Taste Tests
  • Step-by-Step Technique Photos
  • Save Favorites, Create Menus, Print Shopping Lists
How we use your e-mail address
Christopher Kimball, Founder and Publisher

Dear Home Cook,

If I were new to CooksCountry.com, I might think, "It's easy to get free recipes on the Internet. What makes your recipes different?" Well, unlike recipes from blogs, message boards, and other recipe sites, our recipes are exhaustively tested by our team of full-time test cooks until they offer consistently great results. That means fried chicken with a crunchy coating and moist meat, a low-fat recipe makeover for macaroni and cheese that’s as creamy and cheesy as the full-fat version, and fork-tender slow cooker pot roast.

We're obsessive in our quest to find and foolproof the best of American home cooking, from fuss-free weeknight dinners, to updated, simplified versions of regional specialties, to slow cooker and make ahead meals. CooksCountry.com is the only place you can find every foolproof recipe published in Cook’s Country magazine since 2005, plus objective ratings and test results from both Cook’s Country and Cook’s Illustrated for cookware and supermarket ingredients.

Let me make a simple, no-nonsense offer. Try out our website FREE for a 14-Day, No-Hassle Trial Offer. I’m pretty confident that CooksCountry.com will quickly become an invaluable resource for everything from a quick Tuesday supper to your next get-together with family and friends.

Thanks for your consideration,

Christopher Kimball

Christopher Kimball
Founder and Publisher

How we use your e-mail address
© 2013 America’s Test Kitchen. All rights reserved.