Shop Our F&W Faves at the 2025 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen

Food & Wine is your go-to destination for all things food, from recipe inspiration for your next fabulous dinner party menu to unfussy field guides for mastering the perfect sheet layer cake or pulling off a classic, crowd-pleasing roast chicken. We’ll happily direct you to the best local restaurants to hit next, and we have our finger on the pulse of major food trends to watch and innovative chefs to follow. But Food & Wine is also a great place to discover the best in kitchenware.

We’ve spent over 13,000 hours testing more than 13,000 products to bring you top-tier, tested recommendations to fill up your kitchen cabinets, whether it’s the non-toxic cookware set that makes weeknight family dinners easier, the trusted espresso machine that fuels your morning, or the chef’s knife you grab for smooth, everyday slicing, dicing, and meal prep. We’re here to bring you only the best kitchen product recommendations we rely on in our daily lives.

To us, there is no substitute for hands-on testing, and we love to roll up our sleeves and get to work. We scrutinize every aspect of the kitchen products that enter our lab, paying close attention to innovative, user-friendly settings, helpful new features, category disruptors, and, of course, shortcomings. Our goal is to bring you our expert, vetted, and honest recommendations, and we don’t endorse anything we wouldn’t also suggest to a close friend.

After countless hours in the lab and many grease stains on our aprons, these are some of the most beautiful, innovative, and downright impressive kitchen products we’ve had the pleasure of testing this past year. All of these will be on display at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.

You may have seen this $200 manual pepper grinder before and wondered: Is it worth the price tag? Well, we were sold on its value the moment we held it for the first time. Its sturdy, indestructible design pairs beautifully with its matte, modern aluminum body. The secret to its success lies in its undoubtedly powerful steel burr grinding mechanism, which has an expansive grind range from eight to 60 mesh size. The Pepper Cannon’s manual twisting doesn’t detract from its power. In fact, it outperforms its competitors by a mile, capably and efficiently shooting some of our tests’ most even grinds with each setting. 

Our editors have used the Pepper Cannon for years, and most will say they’ll never use another. Whether you’re seasoning a bird, a rack of ribs, or a simple salad, the Pepper Cannon works quickly and evenly, so don’t worry about wrist fatigue or over-seasoned spots. With a simple button-enabled release top, its large double chamber is quick to refill, though its large size means you’ll rarely need to do so. Whether you’re looking for a coarse cracked pepper or a fluffy powder, the Männkitchen Pepper Cannon has the range — and the power — to deliver in seconds. 

For us, no kitchen is complete without a full-service coffee station. A fully automatic espresso machine is the cornerstone for a coffee bar, and the SMEG Fully Automatic Coffee Machine makes the perfect pull with 19 bars of pressure (excellent for an at-home machine under $1,000) for espresso, ristretto, Americano, or black coffee. The attached frother can whip up frothed milk for specialty drinks at the touch of a button, or dispense hot water for afternoon tea. 

The dispenser has an adjustable height, and the tray pops out to give you even more room for larger coffee cups. The water reservoir holds 47 ounces, so you won’t need to refill the tank for every morning drink, and the built-in grinder means no messy grounds all over your coffee bar. With four simple buttons and eight total settings, it’s a breeze to operate. Plus, with four color options in SMEG’s classic style, it will look great on any countertop without taking up too much space.

What can we say? This knife is beautiful — and cuts beautifully, too. The American-made, hand-sharpened, 6-inch chef’s knife is a master class in knife design, and we love it for a few reasons. For one, it uses 52100 carbon steel, known for its excellent edge retention, toughness, and ability to take a razor-sharp edge. Its blade naturally patinas over time, and the ergonomic handle is made from stabilized Oregon Big Leaf Maple Burl, making each knife unique. 

Well regarded among knife enthusiasts for its agility, carbon steel is also known to cut better and stay sharp longer than most stainless steels. Surprisingly lightweight and extremely well balanced in hand, the details set this one apart — the 2-inch clearance below the handle and half-octagonal top handle shape allow for easier control and plenty of knuckle clearance. The blade also has a rounded top, giving the user more comfort when handling and guiding the blade. During testing, the contoured handle and razor-sharp blade allowed the knife to cut through any ingredient we tried, with no additional effort or discomfort. 

Our tested pick for the best chef’s knives comes with a beautiful, wood-crafted sheath to protect it from wear and tear. We don’t think you’ll need it, but it even has a lifetime warranty. 

Wyoming-based New West KnifeWorks has been making premium knives for 25 years, and its santoku is one of the best representations of the brand’s signature style of craftsmanship and attention to detail. It’s also one of the best universal knives we’ve ever tested. With a flat, ultra-sharp blade and slightly shorter handle than a standard chef’s knife, this 7-inch santoku is easy to maneuver and feels balanced and stable, especially when chopping dense ingredients. We had no issue gliding through sweet potatoes and butternut squash.

This knife has a few distinct design features that set it apart from the rest. New West’s santoku swaps the traditional Granton edge dimples for a rustic etching of the Teton mountains. The handle shape is smooth and rounded for a comfortable grip and comes in a selection of seven richly swirled color patterns you quite literally won’t find anywhere else. New West Knifeworks has won over Food & Wine’s editor-in-chief and earned top marks in our tests of more than 30 chef’s knives. It’s worth the splurge as a gorgeous kitchen gift for chefs and collectors because it’s as functional as it is stunning.

Josephinenhütte is an editor-favorite name in the world of wine glasses, and Josephine No. 2 is a work of art. This universal wine glass has an 18.6-ounce capacity, a versatile size for bringing out the more subtle flavors in red and white wines. In our tests, we were wowed by its ability to preserve effervescence in our sparkling wines. Though feather-light and elegant, these glasses are surprisingly sturdy. They’re a pleasure to hold and even more fun to swirl. 

The shape of this stunning glass, designed by renowned wine glassmaker Kurt Zalto, deserves several rounds of applause. The slightly tapered, narrower opening of Josephine No. 2 expertly concentrates aromatics, encouraging the nose of every wine we tried to blossom. The slightly wider and angular bowl allows for ample aeration and flavor development. 

These intricate wine glasses are handblown and hand-finished in Europe in a painstaking two-day process, and that level of craftsmanship simply can’t be replicated. We’ve tested dozens of great wine glasses over the years, but these universal glasses exude luxury. Beyond a conversation starter, these glasses are highly functional and work for virtually any style of wine.

We’ve tested dozens, if not hundreds, of cookware sets over the years, and the Made In Ceramic Cookware set is in a league of its own. This 7-piece set — complete with a stock pot, sauté pan, fry pan, and saucepan — is well-suited for any home cook looking to level up from the basics. Our tests proved the glossy ceramic coating paired with a 5-ply stainless-clad base to be a workhorse in the kitchen, providing a nonstick surface, even heating, and a no-fuss cleanup. The ceramic surface is free of PFOA, lead, cadmium, and other toxins, and it’s suitable for any heat source, including gas, electric, and induction cooktops. 

During testing, each piece felt well-balanced in hand, the handles stayed cool, and after a quick wipe clean, no marks were left behind. Our eggs slipped right onto a plate, and our steak garnered a beautiful crust. Right now, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a cookware set that looks as stunning sitting atop a range as it does sauté, simmer, or sear. You can choose from two high-end handle finishes: a traditional stainless steel or a unique antique brass.

We’ve tested dozens of wine stoppers for all styles of wine, and Le Creuset’s Crown Sealer kept our sparkling wine fresh for days. Since wine starts to oxidize from the second it’s opened, it’s important to seal the bottle immediately to preserve its aromas and flavors and prevent further oxidation. This stopper uses a simple yet effective airtight switch-style valve, which latches directly onto the neck of an open bottle of sparkling wine to prevent it from oxidizing. In our tests, this wine stopper maintained effervescence in our Cava for an impressive three days. 

A few features of this wine stopper make it a bit more luxurious than other options we tested, like its striking, high-quality dark nickel construction and slight heft. It arrives in a velvet-lined box and is stamped with Le Creuset’s signature branding, so it feels like a little treat for wine lovers of all experience levels. Anyone who’s ever opened a bottle of flat next-day bubbly will appreciate this useful tool, and our tests proved it’s a worthy and practical Fave.

KitchenAid’s classic 5-quart stand mixer usually needs no introduction, but the Evergreen Design Series has made us fall in love all over again. The forest green hue is paired with a unique walnut working bowl (yes, it’s food-safe!) and the gold accessory knob for extra flash. The bowl locks in with a stainless bottom so it’s just as sturdy as its classic stainless steel counterparts.

We’ve tested this model and found it to be as excellent as ever. It has all the professional features you need — a tilting head with 10 beating speeds, and 59 touch points of planetary rotation for the included beater, dough hook, and whisk — with a look that adds warmth to any kitchen and begs to be on full display.

We waited a long time for a quality blender we’d proudly display, and Beast delivered on both criteria. The Beast Mega is a powerful, good-looking personal blender that impressed us upon delivery. The blender utilizes a 1200-watt motor and a streamlined one-button operation. With its blending vessel doubling as a cup, you can expect less cleanup time. All components, except the motor base, are dishwasher-safe.

Sometimes, personal blenders can offer the convenience of a small footprint, but don’t live up to our expectations in performance. We’ve put the Mega through its paces, blitzing fibery greens, tough nut butters, and countless dips, sauces, and pestos. 

The ultra-convenient blend-and-go design is perfected by its three different vessel sizes, offering a range in utility, whether you’re making a personal smoothie, a small dip for entertaining, or a batch-sized soup for the family. Finally, we adore the modern colorways and fluted design — the colors feel fresh and contemporary, and the range outside of traditional black, white, and stainless steel makes us excited for the future of appliances. 

The Coravin Model Three lets you get the most out of any bottle of wine. It’s an advanced preservation system that keeps wine fresh for weeks, months, or even years after opening. Rather than removing the cork and exposing the wine to oxygen, the Coravin is designed to make a needle-thin incision in an existing cork and then fill the bottle with inert, nonreactive argon gas to preserve the wine as if it were never opened. The seal formed is truly as airtight as it gets, without ever having to remove the cork. 

The Coravin is best for serious wine lovers who want to enjoy a special glass or two and save the rest for later. It’s also best for the tech-savvy, as there is some basic initial setup required to properly situate the clamps over the bottle before opening for smooth insertion. It’s a simple and fun process. We’d also note that the Coravin relies on proprietary argon gas canisters, which provide enough gas for about 10 glasses each. Altogether, this is a bit of an investment, but it makes a practical addition to any oenophile’s toolset. The Coravin can keep wine fresh for years, so if you’re gifting someone passionate about their collection, consider skipping the wine gift basket and upgrading to this innovative tool instead.

The Ninja Crispi is fast becoming a social media darling, and we’ve loved it since its release earlier this year. No other air fryer offers a convertible set of sizes in such a small package, with the crisping power, glass construction, and leftover storage lids to boot. The 4-quart and 6-quart sizes can handle anything from reheating a small panini to cooking a whole bag of tater tots.

The containers are thermal-shock resistant, so your leftovers can go straight from the fridge to air-frying without a problem. There are four simple functions: air fry, bake, recrisp, and max crisp. Heat-safe feet will protect your countertops, and everything except the PowerPod top and adapter is dishwasher-safe for easy cleanup. Since the containers also nest, your cabinets or counters won’t be cluttered with another large appliance.

Certain styles of glassware have come in and out of style, but Nick & Nora glasses feel timeless. Many bartenders we spoke with consider the Nick & Nora glass the new-aged martini glass, and we couldn’t agree more. The deeper, rounded bell-shaped bowl cradles the drink, creating a smaller surface area less prone to spills than the traditionally angular, v-shaped martini glass. We also love its retro appeal, nodding to the elegance of the 1930s when the “little martini glass” first gained popularity. It’s the perfect fit for almost any cocktail served straight up.

We tested dozens of cocktail glasses but struggled to find the right balance of bowl capacity, stem thickness, and balance until we discovered Riedel’s Nick & Nora glasses. These stems won us over in each of those categories. At just under 5 ounces, these surprisingly versatile glasses easily fit our Manhattans and martinis with just enough room at the top for aromatics to develop and garnishes to shine. Crafted from lightweight yet durable crystal, these vintage-inspired glasses look stunning on the bar cart and feel elegant to hold.

A classic Old Fashioned recipe requires balanced, perfectly proportioned glassware to showcase the cocktail without dwarfing it and just enough heft and width at the base to allow for easy muddling and stirring. Etchings and crystal construction also add visual and textural interest to the classic cocktail. We tested dozens of Old Fashioned glasses to find our favorites that fit these parameters, and ultimately, we were most impressed with these Dorset Double Old Fashioned Glasses from Williams Sonoma.

We loved the fluting detail and upscale feel of these hand-cut crystal glasses, and we could easily see them appearing in high-end cocktail bars or speakeasies. Their 11.5-ounce capacity struck the magic Goldilocks balance of not too big and not too small, allowing our Old Fashioned to shine with just enough room for large rocks. The external ridges catch the light beautifully, but they also serve a functional purpose to help provide a nice, secure grip. These glasses would make any whiskey lover swoon, and we fell hard for them during our tests.  

A durable, handmade set of ceramic dinnerware can elevate your space and make mealtimes a little more special. We love the Year & Day Core Set, which includes 16 pieces for four place settings with plates, side plates, low bowls, and regular bowls. The sleek but organic look of this set comes from locally sourced clay in Portugal through a single-firing process that makes the set durable enough for the dishwasher, freezer, and even the oven up to 480 degrees.

The semi-matte glaze on these pieces is the element we love—especially with the nine beautiful color options. Choose neutrals like Moon, Fog, or Dune, or make your dinnerware your statement piece with terra cotta Canyon or the blueish Lagoon.

When San Francisco-based cool coffee tool brand Fellow launched its Stagg Pour-Over Kettle in 2014, we took notice. Over 10 years later, we’re still impressed with its design. After a few updates and iterations, the Stagg EKG Electric Kettle has landed a permanent spot on our countertops. 

Its functional design and superior aesthetic mean you’ll spot this kettle in homes and professional coffee shops. Its slim gooseneck pour spout offers precision for pour-overs, and its down-to-the-degree LCD temperature dial ensures accuracy with every batch. With a click of a button, this kettle will reach 200ºF in seconds, landing it at the top of our tested favorites. Not only has Fellow perfected the art of rapid heating, durable build quality, and user-friendly controls when it comes to kettle innovation, the brand also offers a range of style and color accents, so it seamlessly fits into many different kitchen aesthetics. 

A big beautiful cutting board can also be a kitchen workhorse if you choose the right type, and this Boos board is exactly that. The edge-grain cut with 1.5-inch thickness can stand up to all regular kitchen tasks, or serve as something special to serve as a charcuterie and cheese board, or a holiday roast display. This board comes in maple and cherry wood, but we love the walnut for its timeless look and forgiving color for chopping all types of produce and carving meats. 

The recessed finger grips help with handling either side of the reversible board, so it could be used for cutting on one side and displaying on the other. As with most wooden cutting boards, it does require proper care, but with gentle washes and a bit of mineral oil, it will keep in great condition for years to come.

If you need a great fridge pitcher with filtration, it only makes sense to use the very best. This LifeStraw pitcher is the only filter pitcher that removes bacteria and parasites in addition to microplastics, lead, mercury, and PFAS from tap water. It’s made from hand-blown borosilicate glass with a silicone base that will protect the pitcher and counter surfaces. It’s excellent quality, functional, and looks great, which is all we can ask for in our favorite kitchen products.

LifeStraw’s membrane filter technology has also changed lives around the world for communities with limited access to safe drinking water, and every one of its products employs the same top tier filtration from its large community water filters to its water bottles and portable straws. Every purchase from LifeStraw also contributes to the brand’s Give Back Program, which provides primary schools in Kenya with safe drinking water.

How We Test Our F&W Faves

Our team of dedicated experts comprises a vast network of culinary professionals, seasoned food writers, and editors. All of them lend a hand in testing the most important and frequently used categories of kitchenware for our readers. Whether we want to maintain our recommendation of a legacy piece or test it against an innovative new model, our testing labs are ready to put our methodologies into action.

After our initial days of rigorously testing a product in the lab, our work isn’t done. We then bring our winners into our own homes, using them in our daily lives. To continue updating our recommendations with new learnings, we reach for our winning knives to test their durability over time, experiment with the various settings on the latest and greatest blenders, and brew countless cups on the most advanced and innovative coffee machines. Even when we’re not testing winners, our team of writers and editors consistently brings the latest-launched tools into our kitchens, so our output of insights never runs dry. 

When selecting our products to test, we consult chefs, culinary specialists, sommeliers, and other experts. We ask them what qualities make for the best-in-class and gather their expertise on maintaining each item in pristine working condition. We want you to feel that we are equally invested in your investment.

When it’s time to make our recommendation, each and every tool is rated across multiple metrics and weighted according to the areas that are most important to us, such as performance, durability over time, design, ease of use, and overall value. We select our F&W Faves from the winners — they’re always a mix of the most important categories to our readers, from budget buys to special splurges.