Look, this is not the best bread machine. That’s the Breville. But for a bread maker that was a third the price of our top pick (at publish time) the Oster ExpressBake did a decent job—we didn’t get evenly risen loaves, but we did get evenly browned ones with a nice crumb. This one has … Read more
The specific settings for things like cookies and pizza in the Breville Joule Oven use the heating elements differently to help you get the best texture for different foods. Emily Farris Factors we evaluated Toasting capability When making toast—a toaster oven’s primary function—we looked for even color on both sides of the bread. In back-to-back … Read more
The All-Clad’s settings make a huge difference in doneness. Megan Wahn Other waffle makers we tested There’s no easy way to say this: The real revelation of this test was just how mediocre most waffle irons are. But at least they were consistent in the ways in which they were mediocre. Far and away, the … Read more
Of all the kitchen appliances out there, sous vide cookers fit most seamlessly into the ever expanding smart home. Preparing food sous vide is much slower than using an oven or the stovetop, but you don’t need to stand over your food while it’s cooking—really, you don’t even need to be in the house while … Read more
Ninja has gained a reputation for offering reasonably-priced alternatives to more expensive kitchen equipment. We’ve tested a lot of their products with generally favorable results—their electric kettle and the juicer scored particularly well in our head-to-head product tests. So when we found out about the Ninja Frost Vault cooler, which seemed like a turn away … Read more
We first evaluated each machine by reading the assembly and operation instructions. Then, using cold water, we tested the highest carbonation setting for each model. We then had several coworkers do a blind tasting out of identical drinking glasses to assess the carbonation levels, and I tasted the water myself. During the tests, we found … Read more
Cons: Creating and recalling custom settings might be confusing for less techy home cooks. Most cooking pressure: Instant Pot Max The Instant Pot Max is best for: someone who wants an Instant Pot that’s powerful enough to handle traditional stovetop pressure-cooker recipes, and possibly a home cook who wants to test the waters of sous vide cooking and pressure-canning before … Read more
Breville has staked out a place as one of the most reliable makers of well-designed small appliances out there. You’ve seen the brand garner top marks in so many of our Epicurious product tests: best food processor, best home espresso machine, and best hand mixer are just a few examples. So when the Breville InFizz—the … Read more
Lastly, the Instant Vortex Plus has a fryer basket that we prefer, even to our top pick, because it doesn’t have a detachable basket insert. Instead it has a single perforated rack that easily tucks snugly in the base, and when you toss food, you can simply slide it out of the fryer and shake … Read more
Once it began cutting, the stability of the Wusthof’s blade really showed when we were slicing sourdough; The Wusthof easily made even bread slices barely a quarter-inch thick—thinner than any other knife. While we admit that isn’t a particularly practical use (bread cut that thin has pretty limited applications), it shows just how effective the … Read more