10 Actually Useful Kitchen Products for Summer Cooking Made Easy, Starting at $8
A stress-free summer is just a click away.
Food & Wine / Amazon
Summer is a season of extremes. We walk up mountains instead of on sidewalks. We lounge on beaches in lieu of sitting on couches. And, we elevate the simple act of eating from ordinary dining room dinners to extraordinary summer soirées.
Naturally, extraordinary things require a little more planning and a lot more time, but I’ve found that having a fully stocked kitchen is the key to successful backyard barbecues and carefree picnics in the park. From a cherry pitter for those sunset-colored Rainiers you just bought to a glass baking dish with a lid that takes the stress out of traveling with food, these 10 gadgets will help you keep your cool on those warm summer nights. Prices start at $8, and pay dividends in the kitchen.
Kitchen Gadgets for Summer Cooking Made Easy
Ordekcity Cherry Pitter
Amazon
$10
Buy on Amazon
Cherry season is precious, but fleeting. While we here at Food & Wine like to take full advantage of its brief moment in the sun by adding cherries to every sweet treat and savory salad we can dream of, we recognize that pit-removal isn’t everyone’s idea of fun. Enter the cherry pitter. One shopper loves how quickly they can get through pounds of fresh cherries with this small, inexpensive, dishwasher-safe gadget, calling it the “unexpected MVP of the summer.”
Chef’n Original Stem Gem Strawberry Huller
Amazon
$8
Buy on Amazon
If we are what we eat, then I’m a strawberry. Come summer, I’m adding them to tarts, roasting them for homemade ice cream, and drizzling them with balsamic vinegar. But just like with cherry pits, strawberry stems can be annoying to remove. Luckily, over 10,000 shoppers dealing with this same issue recommend this huller, which streamlines the process with a simple push and pull motion. Work smarter, not harder, people.
Upalled Outdoor Set of 3 Table Top Fly Fans
Amazon
$26
Buy on Amazon
Eating outside on a patio or stretched out over a picnic blanket is lovely…until the bugs descend. To help discourage attention from our little flying friends, shoppers have turned to these battery-operated portable fans with soft blades. They're designed to move air around food, adjustable in height, and easy to pack. Customers love how simple the fans are to use, finding them to be “very effective.”
OXO 3-Quart Baking Dish with Lid
Amazon
$32
Buy on Amazon
This 3-quart glass baking dish with a lid is the hero of my kitchen when it comes to driving food around town. It has deep handles that are easy to grasp and a tight-fitting top that manages to keep everything inside, despite my propensity for clumsiness. I love this dish so much that after buying my first one in 2021, I immediately bought a few more. With them, I stack and store food like an absolute champion.
OXO Large Salad Spinner
Amazon
$25
Buy on Amazon
This salad spinner is a necessity for those times when you come home from the farmers market with a tote overflowing with dirt-encrusted lettuce. Over 30,000 shoppers love this product for how easily it cleans their greens and keeps them crisp, all with a simple press of a pump. It has a non-slip base so it never slides on your counter, a dishwasher-safe basket that doubles as a colander, a brake button to stop the spinning, and a reputation for excellence.
Chef’n Salad Dressing Mixer
Amazon
$15
Buy on Amazon
If you’re putting together a salad using all of that just-washed lettuce, you’ll likely be serving it with some sort of dressing, and we always recommend making yours from scratch. In truth, the only thing that could possibly make whisking together a few ingredients easier is this gadget, which measures, mixes, emulsifies, and stores your homemade dressing for you.
Hotec Set of 2 Stainless Steel Kitchen Tongs
Amazon
$10
Buy on Amazon
Whoever said that more is always better was absolutely right. This pack of kitchen tongs comes in two lengths: 12 inches and 9 inches. I use the longer set when I’m grilling to keep my hands far away from the flames, and the shorter ones when I’m tossing salads or stirring cooked spaghetti into a simmering sauce. The scalloped edges make it easy to grab my food, and the stainless steel ensures that everything I’m eating remains free from chemicals and melted silicone for those times when I carelessly leave them too close to the fire.
Avant Grub Heavy Duty Grill Cleaning Brick
Amazon
$13
Buy on Amazon
This chemical-free brick made of pumice stone is great for cleaning a grill without leaving behind dangerous bristles or wires like brushes have been known to do. The instructions are simple. Splash water or club soda on the grates, gently rub with the brick to remove residue, and rinse again. That’s it. One shopper reports that their grill “felt like new, and none of the food stuck” after using the stone.
Olekurt Corn Cob Stripper
Amazon
$22
Buy on Amazon
This corn cob stripper is the perfect tool for all of that summer corn you undoubtedly have alongside the lettuce in your tote bag. Shoppers love how quickly this gadget removes the kernels from the cob, leaving them whole and intact in a bowl positioned under the blade. One reviewer was “beyond amazed at how well it worked,” while another was impressed by how quickly they were able to strip 60 ears of corn.
Vitamix Explorian Blender
Amazon
$374
Buy on Amazon
As the most expensive product on this list by a couple of hundred dollars, I only included it because I’m a staunch believer in the value of a good blender. It’s one of those worthwhile investments that works just as well in the winter when you’re making soup as it does in the summer when you’re craving a smoothie, a frozen margarita, or sour cherry sorbet. This model is known for its reliability, power, and large capacity, which is a hallmark of the Vitamix brand. Buy it now, and use it for years to come.
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