If Your Knife Skills Are Abysmal, You'll Wanna Check Out These 26 Kitchen Gadgets And Tools
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Because every time you use a knife in your kitchen, it feels like it could turn into a Final Destination scene.
1. A chicken shredder with suction cups to keep it in place on your kitchen countertop while you do the pre-dinner twist.
RedRoko is a small biz.
Promising review: "After watching a video on this it seemed I had to buy one and try it. This makes life so much easier. No cutting board, no knife. Can make chicken salad professional style in shreds now. It does an excellent job staying suctioned to the countertop while you swirl the top to get perfect even shreds from your chicken." — Katie
Get it from Amazon for $15.99.
2. Or some meat-shredding claws that'll help you do a whole lot of shredding in a little bit of time. And according to reviewers, they're fun to use!
www.amazon.com
Promising review: "They're great (I've used them on a chuck roast and chicken so far) and pretty fun to use. They make quick work of needing to shred whatever you need shredded." — CoyKoiCourtney
Get them from Amazon for $9.44.
3. A jalapeno corer and deseeder will have you whipping up jalapeno poppers like you're running a Chili's. This spicy gem makes it easy to slice off the pepper's top, and then reach in and grab all the seeds.
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com
Promising review: "Started using jalapeno and such along with the green peppers when I do my skillet chicken just for a bit more flavor. Jalapenos lack heat to me since I love heat and enjoy carolina reaper level heat if I'm just looking for a hot kick, but jalapeno does class up my skillets.
And this makes it so easy to core them and prep them. So much better than using my knife alone as I had up to this point." — LegoDude
Get it from Amazon for $7.99.
4. A corn stripper with a serrated stainless-steel blade because the last time you tried the bundt pan corn hack you ended up tossing corn all over your kitchen and (thankfully) missed yourself with the knife.
www.amazon.com
Promising review (from August 2023): "So let's start by saying that this gadget seriously did some damage. It's survived 80+ ears of corn, which yielded about 28 cups. It was relatively easy to use; however, it had its flaws. For the most part, it removed the kernels flawlessly. There wasn't much waste left behind in the mid-section to the end. However, it at times missed quite a bit at the narrowest part of the cob. We went back through and focused the edge on each side and cleaned it up. The other challenge was removing the gadget from the thickest end without practically throwing corn. It took some practice but you were able to control it a bit more by slowly rotating the cob and striper in opposite directions until it basically twisted off. Overall, well worth the money! I couldn't imagine stripping the kernels by knife. It held up great, will be used again and is definitely something I'd buy again!
Update on 9/15/2024: This gadget lasted yet another season. This time shredding 138 cups of corn and still going strong!" — amaesing5683
Get it from Amazon for $9.59.
5. A reviewer-beloved veggie chopper can make onion tears and food prep mess a thing of the past! This way, you can actually pull off that Pinterest recipe you've been meaning to make instead of paying Uber Eats $30 for Taco Bell. (Sometimes that's worth it, though.)
www.amazon.com, Amazon
Check out a TikTok of the veggie chopper in action.
Promising review:"Makes life so much easier. I can't imagine chopping onions or bell peppers by hand anymore, and it does so much more. We used to have a Prepworks chopper, which was a similar idea, but you had to press so hard to chop and it broke after not too long. This one requires very little effort to cut through the food and it has a generous container." — Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $24.97+ (clip the $5 off coupon on the product page to get this price; available in four colors).
6. Plus, a mandoline slicer to let you whip up all kinds of things from sweet potato fries to chopped herbs. Reviewers with limited mobility say this is a great knife alternative!
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com
Promising review: "I had a stroke almost 10 years ago, and my dominant side was paralyzed as a result. I suffer random bouts of spasmodic shaking.
Using a knife in cooking is no longer an option for me. But THIS device is a godsend for me. I'm still able to slice dice and shred. This tool is perfect.
Thank you." — Christina Jackson
Get it from Amazon for $27.99+ (available in five colors).
7. A"Gracula" garlic crusher will be adorably helpful and remind you that it's always a good night to rewatch Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula and then text the group chat to see who thinks if Winona and Keanu are legally married because they used a real priest for that scene. (I vote YES.)
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com
Promising review: "I love this little guy. I found him on a BuzzFeed list and had to have it as soon as I saw it! I've minced as many as five cloves in it in seconds. It's a little tricky getting all of the garlic out once minced (I use a silicone basting brush to get most of it but I always use more than the recipe calls for anyway so it's not a deal breaker). Cleanup is a breeze because he goes right in the dishwasher!" — Barbie
Get it from Amazon for $24.95.
8. Or a garlic rocker for a much easier solution to use (and clean) than your traditional garlic press. The bread is waiting!
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com
Promising review:"I like garlic very much, so I use this garlic press every day. It works very well, is easy to use, and easy to clean. Compared with the garlic press I used before, this is more labor-saving and comfortable." — Jessica
"Just what I was looking for. Saves so much time. A little difficult to clean...but I don't see how that could be remedied. Would definitely buy it again." — MRH Speech
Get it from Amazon for $10.97+ (available in two colors).
9. A pair of cut-resistant gloves to help safeguard yourself for when you DO have to use a knife. Even with all the tools and gadgets, you've gotta use one occasionally!
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com
Food-safe and machine-washable. Check out our full review of these NoCry Cut Resistant Gloves.
Promising review:"After my husband sliced his finger on our mandolin, I decided to check out these gloves. We are both very impressed with how well they work. The company who sells these is also wonderful — they sent a follow-up email to ensure that we liked the gloves and would have replaced or refunded our money if we weren't happy. The only thing I was concerned about when I ordered the gloves was if I was buying the right size. My husband and I have different hand sizes, but the medium is working well for both of us. And knowing that they would send a different size free of charge was wonderful. Now, we don't have to worry about slicing off our fingers!" — That Author Guy's Wife
Get them from Amazon for $13.59 (available in sizes S–XL and in five styles).
10. An electric potato peeler you'll be SO glad you bought any time you use it, but especially come the holidays when all of a sudden you're on mashed potato duty for 40 people. (FYI, it also works on fruits and veggies like apples, kiwis, and tomatoes.)
www.youtube.com, www.amazon.com
Promising review:"Love it! It's light and easy to use. When I use a potato peeler, I was always peeling too much potato with the peel. This blade is fine and only gets the skin, in seconds. Except for the 'poles' of the potato, but I don't mind. It's easy to clean if you have a sprayer to just rinse off the spikes where you insert your potatoes. Small enough and doesn't take up much room." — yestfl
Get it from Amazon for $19.98.
11. A 3-in-1 watermelon cutter to help you serve up your fave warm-weather snack nearly any which way you want. I see a whooooole lotta watermelon in your sun-dappled future!
Amazon
Promising review: "Works great!! I had given up on cutting watermelons as it's such a pain and a mess, but this tool makes it so easy and painless and no mess!! So I eat much more watermelon now! I told everyone I know about it!!" — christy
Get it from Amazon for $3.14+ (available in three colors).
12. An incredibly handy cheese grater to help you actually swear off the bagged stuff like you keep saying you will since you found out that if you want a cheese pull, you need to rinse that pre-shredded cheese! This makes quick work of the task so you won't feel inconvenienced.
Check it out in this TikTok video to see it work its magic.
Promising review: "The one I received was sharp enough to get the job done! I shred a large head of cabbage in less than five minutes, counting clean-up! Shreds potatoes just as quick with peels on, or thin slices just as easy! Cheese I would partly freeze before shredding as it will get a little gummy the warmer it gets! Clean counter suction works great. I lightly dampened, dried, placed on counter, holds real strong! Oh, I also slice a cored apple in no time!" — Macy S.
Get it from Amazon for $32.99+ (available in 11 colors and two styles).
13. Some kitchen shears can help you slice through all sorts of stuff, whether that's some green onions, raw chicken breasts, OR a bag of frozen mozzarella sticks you're about to eat for Monday night dinner.
Amazon
Promising review: "I got these adorable scissors for my kitchen scissors. They are super cute. Amazingly sharp, I was not expecting them to be as sharp and solid as they are. The handles are perfect for any adult-size hand." — Kim
"These scissors are awesome. On top of being shaped like a bat, they do the job in the kitchen really well. They're sharp, and I've used them on chicken and vegetables (separate and cleaned between uses.) Many times I don't feel they need to be sharpened yet. They cut everything else really well also, so like paper lol." — Alexis
Get them from Amazon for $19.95.
14. Plus, some herb scissors that'll help you use your herb garden even more on the reg! Its cover also has some handy notches to help clean cuttings form the shears.
Promising review: "These are sharp and work well. I like how it cuts three pieces at a time so you can cut your herbs faster. I actually got them because we use a lot of green onion and these work well to cut that. They are easy to clean, too. They are lightweight and sturdy." — Nederland*brasil
Get it from Amazon for $9.99.
15. A clever 2-in-1 knife and cutting board so you don't have to dig through to find a clean cutting board (oh, the struggle!). It's like a step up from chopping shears thanks to the flat surface (aka, a mini cutting board). Now you can chop your salad ingredients right over the bowl!
www.amazon.com, Amazon
Ronan is a small business that specializes in multipurpose tools for home use.
Promising review:"This is a kitchen must-have. We use it all the time — it's so easy to use that even our kids use it. Very durable blade that continues to perform and get value for your money." — Dawn R.
Get it from Amazon for $15.99.
16. A super efficient Oxo Tot grape cutter anyone with kids or just an appreciation for grapes (or grape tomatoes!) can really appreciate.
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com
See why one parent on TikTok loves it here! Note that Amazon currently only carries the grape cutter in blue. It's also perfect for cherry tomatoes, berries, olives, and many reviewers say it works on a variety of fruits!
Promising review: "Our 2-year-old and 10-month-old LOVE grapes and cherry tomatoes, and it was a chore to manually quarter them. This gizmo made it a breeze! Only complaint is if the grapes/tomatoes they kind of roll a bit before being cut and some of the resulting pieces are a little bigger. Otherwise 5/5 would DEFINITELY buy again and recommend to others!" — Abby K
Get it from Amazon for $11.95.
17. A ceramic herb stripper that'll be pretty enough to leave out on your kitchen counter as a reminder to actually use it.
Lily Lane Ceramics is a Lehi, Utah-based small biz.
Get it from Lily Lane Ceramics on Etsy for $12 (available in a variety of styles).
18. A set of toss-and-chop salad tongs, or "salad scissors," can help break your $16-salad habit from that place down the street. This chopping tool (that costs less than two of those salads, btw) will bring a little bit of action to food-prep while helping convince yourself that your homemade salads are delish.
www.amazon.com, Amazon
Check out a TikTok of the salad scissors in action.
Promising review: "Love these! I hate big leafy salads so I bought these and they're perfect for chopping greens into bites. I also use them to quickly chop cherry tomatoes, onions, and other veggies. VERY nice quality." — asoon
Get it from Amazon for $24.99.
19. A manual food chopper for quick work of herbs, fruits, veggies, and ice in case your knife skills could use some practice or you just wanna make food prep a lil' more fun.
www.amazon.com
It's also dishwasher safe (top rack only!) so cleanup is super simple.
Promising review:"This is great for cutting lots of veggies super fast. All you have to do is roughly chop down your veggies, toss them in, and give it four to five pulls for perfectly diced chunks for salsa or toppings on eggs or tacos. It comes with a handy cover too so all you have to do is rinse the blade and toss the container in the fridge or cooler." — Kevin B.
Get it from Amazon for $14.71+ (also available in green).
20. A Cherry Chomper to help you get a snack AND practice your "NOM NOM NOM" cartoon voice while removing cherry and olive pits.
Amazon, www.amazon.com
Promising review:"Hands-down, one of the coolest and cutest kitchen gadgets I own. I bought this pitter because my father is a HUGE bing cherry fan. When cherry season is in, you can guarantee he'll be sitting in his recliner with a bowl full of cherries. He normally eats cherries and pits them in his mouth, but at his older age, I worried about him cracking a tooth or choking on the pit. So I bought this pitter, and it was an INSTANT hit! He loved how cute it was, and the pitter does an amazing job. Easy to use, not a ton of force needed, and then the pits are in one place and easy to throw away!" — cocade27
Get it from Amazon for $17.99.
21. A cleverly designed lemon juicer that'll still efficiently squeeze out the good stuff and then fold down flat for easy in-drawer storage.
Amazon
Promising review: "The best! TikTok made me buy it. The squeeze power is unique, this product wastes no juice, and the way the seeds stay inside is just a great feature. This is the best, look no further!" — MJ Zuniga
Get it from Amazon for $16.93 (available in three colors).
22. A three-pack of egg slicers in case you're a hardboiled egg fiend but have had some scary slips with those shell-less bad boys. They're just SOOOO slippery.
Amazon
Kare & Kind is a small biz.
Promising review: "It is easy to use, very durable, and allows for many dissections of the egg to whatever size/shape you prefer. Because it is a bit larger than others, it is better and more comfortable. I had a smaller size I gave away when I got this one because I prefer it so much more." — MrsBowl
Get them from Amazon for $12.49.
23. An avocado tool because it's QUITE easy to cut yourself while opening up that fruit early in the morning for your avocado toast. This 3-fer tool helps you slice it open, pull out the pit, AND scoop out the innards.
It'll slice open the fruit, painlessly (aka no knife needed) pop out the pit, and create perfectly Instagrammable slices.
Promising review:"I thought this was a unitasker, but it isn't at all! I eat avocado daily and this thing saves me from having to use three utensils. I finally gave in and bought it after I was trying to remove a pit and cut my hand. It was the last cut! Best purchase I made this year. Do your hands a favor and get two of these if you eat 'cados frequently like me." — JR
Get it from Amazon for $11.29.
24. A Bluapple produce extender you'll def wanna re-up after you see what it can do in a mere three months. Time to actually get through all your fresh produce you went to the trouble of slicing and dicing before it goes bad!
Amazon
This absorbs ethylene gas that would otherwise ripen your fruits and vegetables. It's safe to put in the fridge or even in a fruit bowl. Each packet lasts three months.
Promising review:"These REALLY work! We have to move them away from our fresh fruit so it would ripen! My produce is lasting at least three times as long without spoilage. This is a great product, and I have already bought many as gifts. They don't seem to work on tomatoes, but they are great with bananas, apples, kiwi, pears, grapes, plums, peaches, lettuces, mushrooms, and many more fruits and vegetables." — Jacki
"This has literally made my produce last longer! I love this. I will definitely be buying again." — Lavone
Get it from Amazon for $23.99.
25. An excellent chef's knife can help you cut up those whole ingredients with finesse so that's one less thing you've gotta worry about. ICYMI, cutting with dull knives is extremely dangerous!
Amazon
Promising review:"I was a butcher for years and always used good knives for my work. Now, I love to cook but can't afford pricey knives. I saw the other reviews here and was very skeptical. After using this knife for two months as my main kitchen knife, I couldn't be any more impressed with it. I use and abuse it, throw it in the dishwasher, and use it and abuse it again, and it keeps coming back for more. I use it on bone-in meats, veggies, tomatoes...whatever, and it retains its edge and still looks brand-new. I haven't had to sharpen it at all yet and it is still razor-sharp. I highly recommend it." — HSHS Dad
Get it from Amazon for $23.99.
26. And a color-coded Cuisinart knife set can help you jazz up your cutting skills and provide a little more color to the white subway tile backsplash that the former owners installed.
It includes a chef's knife, paring knife, bread knife, slicing knife, utility knife, and santoku knife. Psst — the knives don't come with this a holder, but you can snag an easy-to-install magnetic bar for knives on Amazon if you want to display them like this reviewer did!
Promising review:"This is my best buy of the month, and best knife buy of the year. Yeah, I've had sharper, better-quality knives in the past, but for hundreds of dollars more. For basic kitchen use, this is the set to buy. I like that they're colorful, because I've already been able to familiarize myself with which knife is which color and what I need to use them for. I haven't had to sharpen them yet and I've been using them pretty steadily for about a month. The blade cases they come with are extremely handy. I like that I don't have to use a knife block. These fit nicely in my drawer. At this price, they are worth every penny. I wouldn't have a problem spending $40–$50 for these knives." — GWP
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It easily disperses from the built-in sponge applicator and comes in 28 shades, including a redness-canceling green shade and a brightening pink tone.I personally can't speak to this comparison, but the Age Rewind is often cited as an affordable alternative to the Nars Radiant Creamy concealer, a medium-coverage product that promises to be good for dark it from Amazon for $8.98. A fine-line liquid eyebrow pen that looks like real brow hairs I have some sparse patches on my left eyebrow from previous scarring, and I adore how NYX's Lift & Snatch eyebrow pen manages to fill in the gap, without making it look like I just have a solid block of color on my skin. The flexible tip is ultra-fine to help mimic the look of brow hairs, while the ink-like formula is instantly drying and completely budge-proof. Available in 10 shades, this product is strikingly similar to my beloved micro-stroke pen by Anastasia Beverly Hills, a brand known for its incredible brow products. Get it from Amazon for $9.99+. Latex-free makeup sponges that perform exactly like the Beauty Blender For the longest time, I only used a Beautyblender to apply my makeup, a $20 tool that is so revered it can even be considered the industry standard for makeup sponges. Then, about three years ago, I discovered these latex-free lookalikes that cost around $5 for a colorful carton of five and have never looked back. Like the Blender, this delightfully squishy sponge makes my foundation look airbrushed and mimics the original's exact shape: a round body and a pointed precision tip. I use this damp for the perfect dispersion of products and bounce it along the skin in a stippling motion to apply my foundation, blend cream products and even a five-piece set from Amazon for $5.38+ (available in five color combos). The most hydrating and cushiony lip oil I've ever used If you're not familiar with lip oils, think of them as a grown-up version of those sticky glosses from the '90s that promise the same coveted shine, but with the feel of a hydrating balm. Colour Pop's Lux lip oils were the first I ever tried and ultimately the reason I fell in love with this type of formulation. Available in four sheer shades, this lip oil has a unique gel-like texture that melts down to a lightweight and cushiony gloss that's incredibly comfortable and smooth to wear. It uses a blend of antioxidant-rich chamomile and calendula oils to help nourish lips and keep them feeling hydrated. In my opinion, the feel and longevity of this gloss even beats the cult-favorite Tower 28 high-shine lip jelly, which costs $6 more. Get it from Amazon for $9.97. A milky skin conditioner that reminds me of Laniege Although this isn't a product that you could grab from your local Target or Walmart, it does have a drugstore price and a list of ingredients that is strikingly similar to the Laneige Cream Skin milky toner, a formula that's also Korean and costs over twice as much. The PDRN pink milky toner is a recent find from buzzy Korean skin care brand, Medicube, and so far, I'm loving it. The hydrating skin conditioner contains both ceramides and peptides (just like Laneige's Cream Skin product) for brightening and plumping power, but it also contains the addition of salmon-derived PDRN, an anti-aging ingredient that's risen in popularity this past year for its potential to improve skin texture and collagen production. Even after just a few months of use, I've already noticed increased softness and better bounce-back to my it from Amazon for $16.16. A nourishing body oil that's not greasy My skin is notoriously dry and I've found that incorporating body oils post-shower and after moisturizer has helped trap in hydration, improved skin texture and stave off my chronic eczema. This was one of the best oils that I ended up trying (including better than the uber-popular Osea Undaria algea body oil), and I don't hear a lot of people talk about how great it is. As a person who is opposed to certain textures, I'm in love with the fact that this formula doesn't sit greasy or stick atop the skin. It actually soaks in quickly and thoroughly to the point that I'm able to throw on my clothes right after and not leave a stain. Deceptively luxurious and available in five mild scents, it's enriched with three different oils that are nourishing and rich in antioxidants like squalane and you want to go a step further, I also use Saltair's SPF-infused version of this body oil because I prefer it significantly more than rubbing on regular SPF lotions that feel suffocating on my it from Amazon for $22.
