Tembe Denton-Hurst’s 3-Day Trip to the DMV — the Setting of Her Debut Novel

While many people think storing a blender in their kitchen is worth the space it takes up, I find the smaller (and overall less expensive) immersion blender can handle a lot of the same cooking tasks with less fuss. Sure, I keep a large machine on hand for big-batch drinks or crushing nuts into butter, but I actually prefer the several handheld blenders I’ve tested — all of which you’ll find on this list — for emulsifying soups, marinades, dressings, and aïolis. And I’m not alone in that: In addition to my own testing, I talked to 15 expert cooks for this story and learned that many own both a larger standing blender and an immersion blender — mainly because the immersion is often so much easier to pull out, use, and clean. “I use mine way more than my full-size blender and food processor,” Simply Recipes associate general manager Emma Christensen told me. “It stores in a drawer where you can pull it right out. There’s no transferring. It’s much easier to clean.”

A large part of the appeal of a French press is its simplicity. No accessories to buy, no deftness needed to pour, no stressing about precise timing (as you would with an espresso shot). For a coffee enthusiast, there’s room for experimentation in the coarseness of the grind, the ratio of water to coffee, and the interpretation of “water just off the boil” that’s to your liking. But at its heart, it’s a simple device, inspiring the same simple pleasure as brewing a pot of tea (which it also does rather well).

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.