The best kitchen tools to seriously improve your cooking

Stop letting your avocados go bad. Stop making messes transporting your chopped ingredients to the stovetop. Stop almost slicing your knuckles while chopping onions. Stop losing pieces of penne while straining your pasta. There are things out there in world to help you with your kitchen annoyances. It’s time to upgrade the essentials from your college years.

While the top of this 14 x 11-inch cutting board is oak or walnut, the bottom is made of non-slip silicone. The combo makes the board bendable, which is great for putting chopped veggies in a pan without a major spill. It is not dishwasher safe and should be treated like any other wood cutting board—protected with oil and hand-dried. It’s flexible, sure, but the wood can snap if bent too much.

The Breville appliance is an indoor/outdoor smoker that allows you to infuse your food with flavor from woods, teas, or herbs. The handheld device has two smoking speeds, a removable burn chamber on top, and a silicone air hose so you can snake it into any covered container.

A sous vide lets you evenly cook your food at a specific temperature. It’s pretty darn hard to overcook your meals with one of these. The 12.8-inch-tall Anova Culinary Nano sous vide precision cooker is a smaller version of the popular immersion circulator. The device moves and heats the water it’s submerged in. It connects over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, so you can monitor your food’s progress on your phone from anywhere in the house. The app features more than 1,000 recipes. To use a sous vide, place seasoned food in a plastic bag, drop that bag in a deep pot or container of water, and let the Anova cook it at the right temperature—anywhere between 32°F and 197°F. It’s also great for developing film.

Without a thermometer, it’s hard to truly tell if your meat is cooked as you prefer. The Meater is like any meat thermometer, but with wireless connectivity, so you can monitor your food’s internal temperature from your phone. The Meater has a five-inch-long probe and charges in a AAA-powered wooden box. Pretty classy.

Circular pancakes are cute and all, but you’ll really wow your breakfast mates with some sweet pieces of batter artwork. Tovolo’s Pancake Pen 2.0 has a free-flow cap that makes it easier to transfer batter to the pan, fill in molds, or draw free-form patterns. The Pancake Pen holds up to three cups of batter and is dishwasher safe.

Gut your fruit, insert the tap and fill it with delicious juice or alcohol.

A plastic tooth that takes care of your pits. It’s kid-friendly, so don’t worry about them losing a finger.

There is nothing worse than getting finger in your food. It stings and ruins the meal. Get a finger protector.

Keep your drinks and food free from pulp and pits.

A compact—and colorful—way to prep dinner. The nine containers fit together in storage, and will help you mix, measure, and sift like a pro.

Fold your cutting board edges upward so never drop your vegetables on the way to the stove.

Save some space and throw away your colander. Hold this 13-inch stainless steel sieve against your pot with two hands and pour out the water.

If you love avocados, you want to hold on to them for as long as possible. An avocado hugger will keep the second half of your avocado fresher for longer.

Reusable, non-stick toaster bags to heat up or melt things that usually have to lay flat.

The brushed stainless steel Cuisinart electric fondue set has a 3-quart bowl. It comes with eight fondue forks and a rack to hold them.

Hate plucking herbs? Put the stem into this stripper and pull it through. It’s that easy. You’re welcome.

These claws make for good meat shredders, tenderizers, and flippers. Or, if you really dislike kale but are trying to be healthy, have at it. You’re going down, kale!

While the drained flavors might make the milk tastier, soggy cereal is no improvement. That’s where this never-soggy cereal bowl comes in.

Did your roommate leave the microwave full of spaghetti sauce splashes? Don’t blow your lid. Erupt a volcano instead. Add water and vinegar and turn on your microwave. Just wipe out the grime and your microwave will be good as new.

Corn on the cob—while delicious—is for suckers and people who love having stuff in their teeth. Remove the kernels and enjoy your corn without a mess.

This coffee bag clip comes with a built-in coffee scoop.

All yolking aside, this pig will get the job done.

This 3-in-1 tool will split, pit, and slice your avocados. Throw it in your dishwasher for a quick clean.

It is early in the morning. You probably haven’t had your coffee. Don’t let your finger slip in between your knife and your bagel. Keep it safe with this bagel guillotine that’ll give you a swift, even slice.

This stainless steel pie cutter doubles as a pie server. It has serrated edges to help break through tougher areas.

The silicone devil will help you remove your bakeware or pull out your oven racks. It’s heat-resistant up to 536 degrees.