For any salad lover, the spinner is perhaps the most elegant and useful invention of all time. Known for years as that cool, design-minded brand that manufactures everything from garlic presses to tea kettles, OXO has taken the reins of the salad spinner market.

Instead of a crank arm and string pulley, the OXO model sports a pump-action plunger-like mechanism. Click a button, and the pump springs up from being flush with the lid. Depress the pump a few times to get the sucker spinning real fast. Then, a push of the brake button stops the spinning in seconds.

The plastic is non-porous, so it’s much more resistant to odors. To top it off, there’s a rubber rim around the bottom, which keeps the bowl from slipping as you enthusiastically spin your Cocard or Rouge d’hiver.

For several years, the Zyliss was the gold standard in salad spinners. They first replaced the traditional crank arm design with a pull-string that reduced time and elbow strain dramatically. But eventually they changed their design just enough to make a once-elegant device clunky and annoying. Since the Zyliss doesn’t spin freely (it stops when the string gets reeled back in), the parts are yanked to a stop, which puts a lot of stress on them.

The OXO beats the Zyliss hands-down. I’ve been using mine almost daily for a year. I haven’t found another spinner quite like it. I grew up in a family that graduated from keeping a small garden to an actual farm, so I have always eaten copious amounts of salad, even when it wasn’t bursting out of the ground chez nous. Needless to say, I really appreciate a good salad spinner!

These ice trays aren’t glamorous or costly, but they do the job. Below each cube’s compartment is a button that releases the cube. The trays are very easy to use. My husband has very little hand strength. As such, we’ve tried aluminum, plastic and several other different ice trays. These are the only ones he has been able to use in several years.

Natural peanut butter is delicious, but the initial stirring causes a mess. The minute you put in a spatula, the oil on top overflows everywhere. Instead, try this stirrer integrated into a screw-on lid. With a few quick turns, the peanut butter is completely mixed with zero spillage. Plus, when you remove the stirrer from the gasket once you’re done, it automatically cleans the stirrer! These days, my husband actually sneaks in a new jar of peanut butter just so he can mix it up before I get to.

Concerned with our household’s waste-stream of plastic bottles and cans, we started using this counter-top soda maker to concoct our own soft drinks with tap water processed through a Britta. It’s easy to use. The durable bottles are said to be good for three years. Best of all, Sodastream’s proprietary CO2 cartridges can be conveniently exchanged either via mail or at accessible chain stores like Williams-Sonoma.

If you’re looking to save a little money, you can build your own set up, like the previously-reviewed carbonation system. However, the Sodatream has the benefit of being plug-and-play; it’s smaller and less clunky; and it’s only about $30 more than the DIY set-up. Plus, the DIY set-up requires you to lug around a big scuba tank every time you refill the CO2. But hey, to each his own, no?

After the initial investment, the only things I ever need purchase are carbonator refills and new bottles of flavoring. So far, we’ve enjoyed Sodastream’s cola, faux Dr. Pepper, tonic, and pink grapefruit—all diet with Splenda instead of aspartame (They also sell sweetened syrups without hi-fructose corn syrup). I find the taste is excellent. The pink grapefruit is one of the best soft drinks I’ve had anywhere.

Aside from reducing our waste, we no longer have to lug bottles back from the store. I also like to think about all the energy we will save annually by not buying water that’s been shipped from one part of the country to another.

We make tapenades for the local farmers’ markets and each contain the juice of half a lemon. Before getting this sturdy juicer, not only were my hands and wrists aching after a morning squeezing (literally by hand), but the lemon juice would get onto my fingers and, after a while, burn.

With this juicer, I insert half a lemon and push down using my whole arm rather than squeezing the lemon with my fingers. It works great and takes half the effort. No juice is wasted by dripping onto the hands. And the device is small enough to tote around. One caveat: Smaller seeds can sometimes pass through the juice holes, so I prefer to squeeze the juice through a sieve.

I’m sure some folks are partial to using the specific color-coated sizes, but we rely on the orange juicer for all of our citrus needs. If you’re tackling a bucket of lemons at home you’ll probably want a counter-top unit like the previously-reviewed Hamilton Beach juicer. However, if you’re juicing a few on the fly, I highly recommend these enameled aluminum juicers. There are similar stainless steel hand presses with soft grips, but they can be twice as expensive. Ours is tough enough. Besides, there’s nothing like a bright orange tool to break up the monotony of the silverware drawer.

Unlike other splatter screens made of mesh or metal, the OXO is made of perforated stainless steel. This renders it nearly indestructible, even when teenagers are involved.

Two concentric rings center and secure the screen so it stays put on all our pans. Steam easily escapes through the perforations, avoiding sogginess. The sturdy handle folds for dishwashing and easy storage.

Before we found the OXO, a typical mesh splatter screen would last about nine months before inevitably getting damaged. What tends to happen is the mesh comes loose from the frame, either in use or during cleaning. I’ve used the OXO screen on a near-daily basis for the past year. The OXO splatter screen is so superior, it reinvents the tool.

I hate most kitchen gadgets with a passion. Seeing things like an avocado slicer, mango corer, or left-handed inverted egg whatsizinger give me the hives. For the longest time, I prided myself on being able to do the most with the least in the kitchen.

I’m saying all this because I wanted to convey just how hard it was to buy the Smart Stick a year ago on the recommendation of my wife. Normally blenders are hard to clean, bulky, loud, and can only be used for low-viscosity liquids; if the mixture is too thick, the blade just whirs uselessly.

The Smart Stick solves all that. It takes up virtually no space. It is easy to clean. Instead of scrubbing out a blender, you just pop off the Smart Stick’s head, so it can be cleaned in eight seconds under running water. It’s impressively powerful and can be jammed full force down into a glass of ice to chop it up quickly. Yet, it’s still much quieter than a blender. The measuring cup it comes with is also well designed to break up the vortex the blender creates.

The Smart Stick is the cheapest and most basic hand blender I could find. Others come with whisks and choppers and brushed metal finishes, but I think the regular head works just fine. I found that the Smart Stick did 150% of what I’ve used a blender for and 75% of what I used a food processor for.

It’s very versatile. No more “pour boiling hot broccoli soup into blender to cream it, then pour back into pot.” You can use the Smart Stick right inside a stockpot on the stove. You can use it on thicker foods because you can stir and mash while blending, continuously bringing new material into the blade as opposed to a stand blender’s reliance on gravity to find unblended parts.

Making hummus, salsa, applesauce, and pesto went from “giant mess” to “easy.” Making smoothies went from “big production” to “two minutes.” Guacamole and whipped cream turn out wonderfully smooth. Margaritas can be made right in the pitcher. Almond butter can be made without too much trouble. I imagine this would also be a lifesaver for making baby food.

There are some downsides: It only has one speed (high!), so you have to be careful and use it in bursts if chopping ice, as it will happily sling iced coffee circumferentially around your kitchen in a ten-foot radius if you get too enthusiastic. You also have to be careful using it with plastic bowls as the metal head can punch through the bowl bottom if you push it too hard. The blade is SHARP. It’s not really suitable for use by children (or klutzy adults). If you need to clean around the blade’s backside with a finger, REMOVE the head from the motor first.

Again, I really really wanted to hate this thing and didn’t buy one for the longest time because I considered it useless. Now it’s the only electric kitchen tool that remains permanently plugged in on my counter other than a Kitchen-Aid six-quart mixer.

I eat fruits and veggies, but based on everything I’ve read, the potential health benefits of juicing are too great to pass up. Unless you’re an impatient person, the Omega 8003 is great for a beginning juicer. It not only handles apples, oranges and carrots, but won’t get bogged down with wheatgrass, spinach and other leafy greens. Unlike a centrifugal juicer, which violently shreds what you put in it, the Omega 8003 uses what is known as a dual-screen, single auger. That means it doesn’t cut or chew as much as it mashes pulp forward into the end of a cone using the pressure of a spinning auger. The juice yield definitely trumps my old Braun centrifugal juicer, which can’t handle wheatgrass. The pulp I get from the Omega is drier and if need be, I can easily put it back through for a tiny bit more juice. I put the pulp from the Braun into the Omega and actually got several extra tablespoons of juice!

Of all the machines I’ve researched, tested and used, the Omega 8003 just crushes every piece of machinery, especially at this price. After eight months, I still use the juicer almost every other day and nothing has broken or malfunctioned. Juice extractors tend to be jet-engine loud. While the Omega’s motor is strong and hums with authority, it’s killer quiet. I can easily juice in the early morning or night without waking my wife or the neighbors. It’s also not too large in size and the folding handle on top makes moving the machine around much easier than other machines. The construction is solid. Omega backs it up with 10-year warranty.

Juicing itself is relatively subjective. Some people want to process lots of fruit, and fast. While the Omega isn’t as quick as some centrifugal juicers and while it can’t handle soft fruit like bananas or strawberries quite as well as other juicers, it gets the job done. Plus, I feel the juice quality is better. The only other juicer in the same realm is the Green Star, which is harder to clean, bigger and almost twice the price! Since the 8003 has only a few parts, it is by far the easiest and fastest juicer I’ve seen and tried to clean. You can also use it as a food processor and grinder for coffee beans, flour, garlic, etc. There are also several optional attachments if you wish to make nut butters, baby food, frozen desserts, pasta and other things.

For those who are concerned about heat destruction of enzymes, the Omega’s auger turns slowly and doesn’t appear to generate much heat. Granted the process of crushing and squeezing the vegetable matter through a small screen will cause friction, but I don’t feel it’s a deal for the average user. Same goes for oxidation. All juicers introduce some oxygen into the juice because of the mechanical process of extraction. With some fruits and vegetables, however, this machine does a noticeable job of reducing the amount of foam. Using two carrots from the same bag, I juiced one in a centrifugal juicer and one in the Omega. There was a lot less foam with the Omega, and the color of the juice was also darker and richer.

Overall, I’m thrilled with my Omega 8003 juicer. I paid about $229 for mine, plus shipping. I feel that’s a very reasonable price to start changing my life and health.

Note: The feeder chute is relatively small in diameter, so it’s best to cut up anything large to make it fit or be more manageable.

Like the rice cooker, the electric dispensing pot is an appliance that EVERY Japanese household has. Its function is simple: It heats and dispenses hot water at just-below-boiling, as much or as little as you want. Perfect for a cup of tea or a cup of noodles. There’s even a “Keep Warm” feature for maintaining the water temp at 208°F, 195°F, or 175°F for a set amount of time.

We picked up Zojirushi’s 3.0-liter US version when we moved back from Japan. It’s performed flawlessly for well over a decade. Lots of nice little touches: The “MagSafe” magnetic power cord featured in Apple’s laptop computers? Zojirushi did it first; makes it easy to move the pot to the tap to fill it up.

At Costco, my wife and I happened upon one of those salesman wearing a headset a-la-Madonna. He was demoing a blender. As we stood and watched, I commented to my wife that all these people were just waiting to try a smoothie; and there was no way this guy would get one of these suckers to pay $350 for a blender. A BLENDER!

But guess who walked out with one? Because of Costco’s liberal return policy, we figured it was worth a shot. So for the next month, we used it...and used it...and used it. Every time, I thought to myself, $350 for a blender!? But man, this thing is an incredible MACHINE.

I once believed that a blender only needed two speeds: Off and High. I was wrong. With ten variable speeds, it makes short work of anything and everything we’ve ever put in it. We use it every single day, often multiple times. The 1380-watt motor surprisingly quiet on low, and a barracuda at high speeds. Clean-up is incredibly quick: Add water, a bit of soap, turn on high for ten seconds, and then rinse and dry.

The 64-ounce Lexan pitcher is amazingly tough. I always figured plastic was plastic, but this stuff is really tough. If you do happen to somehow break it, the company will replace it free of charge through its seven-year warranty. After that, you can simply purchase parts/replacements.

So we extended our 30-day trial to 90-days, since I still thought it was a lot of money for a blender. Ultimately—after using it EVERY day, usually multiple times a day—I realized it’s worth $350. I hesitated to send this review, because of the considerable expense. Anyone who uses a blender regularly will find this to be the best blender they ever own. My previous $45 blender, which I once thought was pretty good, now sits gathering dust. I’ve been spoiled.

Note: Check Costco, if there’s one near you. They tend to sell the blender at a discount.