Combustion Inc.

Predictive Thermometers + Display

Absolutely brilliant product design. From top to bottom, these are the nicest leave-in thermometers I've ever used and every time I use them, I find something new I love about them.

Dishwasher friendly. An app that's actually nice to use — with thoughtful details like taking before photos for referring to which piece of food each probe is in. You can even upgrade the cases to ones that double as range extenders! (Surprisingly, even the display is a range extender that you can ping with your phone.)

Developing a recipe? The graph view in the phone app is a game changer.

Working on the stovetop? Their new silicone rim clips are the best designed ones on the market.

The biggest problem is that it's so good that you wish it did a little more so that lovely experience could extend to more areas. I'd love a version of this that had a higher heat threshold so I could use it for deep frying and I wish the display had a magnet and a clip on the back so I could stick it to my range hood and my apron.

Even so, I've used dozens of leave-in thermometers and this is far-and-away the best-designed product in its category. It's not close either.

Cooking Utensils

Jar Scraper Spatula

Acids

Aprons

Chef's Knives

Chili Oils

Cookbooks

Cutting Boards

Dutch Ovens

Food Storage

Graters

Hand Blenders

Instant Noodles

Instant Thermometers

Kitchen Scales

Knife Sharpening

Knife Storage

Leave-in Thermometers

Oils

Peelers

Plating Utensils

Presses

Saucepans

Saute Pans

Serving Bowls

Sheet Pans

Skillets

Soy Sauces

Spice Grinders

Stockpots

Vinegars

Wearables

3.5qt Signature Round Dutch Oven

4qt Cocotte with Glass Lid

The Dutchess

Cult Flav

Essential Apron

Crossback Apron

Supply Apron

Neon Chef Apron

Lowboy Apron

Luxe Chef Apron

Utility Apron

Beelzebib

I love the colors and the design.  There are plenty of pockets and in all the in the right places.  The long strings around the waist are much appreciated. I bought one of each.  The best part - they're made here in the USA.  I try to buy products made in the US - I don't recall seeing this detail when ordering (I may have missed it), so I was pleasantly surprised - made the higher price completely worth it.  

Pink

Black

LB-3000

Nutro

Primo

Stela

KQ909

KQ908

KD-8000

11lb Scale

5lb Scale

Pronto

3817

1250

Enfinigy

Chef Bruce Hill

The Chef's Press

At its core, the chef's press is really just a weight to keep your food in contact with a heat source.

All of these are just chunks of metal and so they're great at that (thanks physics), but there are a lot of presses on the market that don't deliver on that promise in such a simple way. It's a single piece when many — if not most — competitors have at least 4.

It's a Lincoln Log in a world of LEGO (he said aggressively dating himself).

The hard question for me is: since this is so much simpler, you'd expect it to be a lot cheaper to produce as well. So why is it so expensive?

The answer is largely in the manufacturing. Bruce takes this product far more seriously than a 1/2lb of 304 stainless has any right to be taken. It's produced by people he knows within spitting distance of his house in a way that is economically nonsensical. But that's the way he likes it.

Side note: I find it objectively hilarious that he makes a stacking food weight and his business partner is one of the licensors for Jenga. I guess he'd know stacking better than anyone though...

13oz

18oz

17oz Round

KitchenAid

Amazon

Honestly, I'm enamored with the two-platform design. It's great for working at micro and macro scales within a given recipe.

The main platform "bouncing" between 0g and 1g ultimately irritated me enough that I couldn't make this my daily driver.

I adore this scale and it all comes down to the knob. I spend a lot of time switching modes on scales and accidentally passing the one I want, but it's literally impossible to miss on this scale. Not to mention, the tare being just a press on the knob is super clever.

It's unique as a modern design, convenient, easy to use, and has all the major details I need. The only additional feature I'd love would be 10ths or 100ths of a gram. Really a great scale — especially for the price.

Asahi

Cookin' Cut Synthetic Rubber Cutting board 

Hinoki Cutting Board

R01 Maple Edge Grain Cutting Board

Cutting Board

Chopping Block

FRK20 Soft Cutting Board

Aptitlig

Finfordela Flexible Chopping Board

Proppmatt Beechwood Cutting Board

Skogsta Acacia Cutting Board

reBoard Recycled Plastic Cutting Board

Edge Grain Cutting Board

Hi-Soft Cutting Board

Up until we discovered the Yoshihiro Hi-Soft, this was our go-to cutting board. It's rubber like the Hi-Soft and quite gentle on knives, but it's not nearly as soft.

On the plus side, it's also like half the price of the Hi-Soft, so... win some, lose some.

Eric Werner

Bookshop.org

Ammu

Ethiopia

Africana

Chicken and Charcoal

The Outdoor Kitchen

Charred

Mi Cocina

Persiana

Bavel

Cook This Book

Diasporican

Foodheim

Home Style Cookery 

In Bibi's Kitchen

An Invitation to Indian Cooking

Mezcla

Mission Vegan

Momofuku

Motherland

Night + Market

Ottolenghi Simple

A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches

Win Son Presents: A Taiwanese American Cookbook

The Family Meal

The Food of Sichuan

The Modern Larder

The Woks of Life

The Tucci Cookbook

Turkey and the Wolf

Xi'an Famous Foods

A Good Bake

All Under Heaven

Veg-Table

Start Here

Cran Kosho

Calphalon

D3 3qt Sauce Pan

Premier 2.5qt Space Saving Sauce Pan

3-Quart Saucepan

Saucy

2qt Stainless Steel Saucepan

Sauce Pan

Titanium Series Saucier

Eater Series Saucier

This is the little sauce pan that could, and hasn't let us down in nearly a decade. In fact, we we liked it so much, we went out and bought all of the stock the store had left (which was unfortunately, only 2).

This is the go-to pan we reach for 90% of the time. It's big enough to be practical, but small enough to be convenient.

It was too good for this world, so now Calphalon is discontinuing it in favor of its cheaper, nonstick brethren.

We got this pan around 2015 and loved it so much we bought two more just like it. 

They stack securely, the lids don't slip, and they hold up great over time - the only wear I've seen since purchase is some microscopic erosion in the aluminum core. 

I just wish Calphalon would bring these back as a single purchase instead of trying to sell it as a part of a set.

Xtra Hot Chili Oil

Chili Crunch

Great mix of toasty, spicy and nutty flavors, but leans heavily on garlic as the primary flavor profile. 

It's definitely got a little heat, but it won't blow your taste buds to smithereens. 

The downside for me is just how much you need to use to get any real flavor out of it.

On a spoon? It's great. But it takes a lot to hold up to food.

Kris Yenbamroong

Long story short: I think this book was under-edited. Some of the ingredients were listed at the bottoms of the pages in light blue or purple which — don't get me wrong, looks cool — but makes it pretty easy to forget those items when creating a grocery list.

That being said, when the dishes finally came together they were packed with flavor and absolutely delicious. Not exactly what you would get at the restaurant, but pretty damn close and Kris usually offers a unique wine pairing suggestion to go with your meal.

Kizami Benishoga (aka Pink Pickled Ginger)

Kizami Benishoga (aka Pink Pickled Ginger)

yield

time

ingredients

steps

Shred

Blanch

Brine