Because induction burners rely on electromagnetism to work, induction-compatible cookware must be made of a ferromagnetic material, like cast iron or stainless steel. Placing a kitchen magnet on the bottom of a pan is a good way to test if it’s ferromagnetic: If the magnet sticks, your pan is good to go. Pans made of materials like glass, copper, and aluminum are not compatible with induction unless specifically outfitted with an induction-compatible metal.

One of the things I miss most about living in my parent’s house is their wine fridge. I didn’t realize how good I had it until I moved into my much smaller apartment, where I now struggle to fit groceries in between the stacked bottles in my refrigerator. If you’re a serious wine collector without access to an actual cellar, it makes sense for you to have a dedicated wine fridge, but the problem with buying a proper wine fridge is that they aren’t cheap, and when you’re shopping online, they all kind of look the same. When you’re spending this much money on a new home appliance, you want to be sure it actually works — and that it works for you. Maybe you truly require space for a ton of bottles (I’m jealous), or you need one that fits into a compact kitchen. To help you find the perfect wine cooler for the way you drink, I talked to 13 sommeliers, winemakers, and restaurateurs about the best wine coolers and fridges they trust with their own bottles.

No matter how advanced you are at playing with fire (or if you’re shopping for the resident barbecue master in your household), buying the right grill is crucial for achieving low, slow, indirect cooking. But out of the endless options on the market, how do you choose the right one for you?

There exists a deep cleavage in the taxonomy of cocktails that I learned about as I was starting out as a bartender: One major branch consists of the cocktails you shake, the other the cocktails you stir. Drinks like the daiquiri, margarita, and whiskey sour are made through the violent action of shaking, while the Manhattan, old-fashioned, negroni, and martini are gently stirred before hitting the glass. With few exceptions, drinks that contain opaque liquids like citrus juice and dairy are shaken, and drinks made exclusively with clear liquids, such as spirits, fortified wines, and bitters, are stirred. Stirring a cocktail preserves the silky texture of the components while chilling, mixing, and diluting them. For the most part, these drinks are considered stronger and more spirit-forward than shaken drinks, and the properties of the stirring process allow those characteristics to shine through.

The spatula category is a broad one and includes a wide range of tools suited to different tasks. You’ve got your scrapers or stirrers for, say, sautéing onions or loosening the brown bits from the bottom of a pan. There are flippers or turners, which you use to get under a steak or a fried egg. And there are spreaders, which allow you to smooth out cake batter or frosting, or make sure the surface of a quiche is even. Sure, any spatula you pick up will probably do the job of transferring pancakes to a plate or spreading brownie batter, but a bad spatula isn’t just frustrating — it can make your cooking worse. It’s time to let go of the half-melted nylon and plastic spatulas that are cluttering up your drawer, and reach for a better option.

Gin-and-tonic, whisky (or rum)–and-Coke, Scotch-and-soda: These are just a few examples of the single-liquor cocktail known as a “highball,” which is served in a tall, narrow, straight-sided glass of the same name. Highball glasses (also called hi-ball or Collins glasses, as in the cocktail Tom Collins) are intended for larger-volume drinks with a ratio of two (or sometimes three) ounces of mixer to one ounce of spirit. They hold lots of ice to slowly dilute the liquor.

Technically speaking, you can drink a martini out of any glass. But having a great martini in a perfect martini glass is a specific kind of delight. No matter how you like your martini — with gin or vodka, with a twist or an olive (or both), bracingly dry or with a more generous pour of vermouth — the best martini glass is one that looks great, keeps your martini cold for as long as possible, and is a pleasure to hold and drink from.

Serrated knives aren’t used as frequently as a chef’s knife or paring knife, but that doesn’t make them any less essential. There is simply no substitute for a long and hefty bread knife when cutting bread. And a shorter blade that’s reliably sharp is always nice to have for delicate prep tasks.

My Dutch oven sits proudly on my stovetop at all times. Otherwise, there’s a rotating cast of characters (sometimes the nonstick I use for my morning eggs, sometimes a sauté pan drying on a back burner). But the large enameled pot stays. It’s a kitchen staple in line with sheet pans and high-quality knives — the kind of tool everyone, if they cook at all, should own. Dutch ovens are heavy-bottomed and thick-sided, which lets them hold very even heat. They’re also wide enough to sear meats and brown vegetables, but tall enough to contain a substantial amount of liquid, ideal for soups and stews. They go from stove to oven, the champions of braises. You can use them to fry, make rice dishes, bake bread, build pasta sauces and curries, roast whole chickens, and more.