Ultimate Gift Guide: The Coolest Kitchen Gadgets for Your Foodie Friends
We all have that one friend who loves trying goofy kitchen gadgets. They were the first one to buy a Veggetti to spiralize their zucchini, and they have definitely told you a story about their Slap Chop. For those friends, this is the guide to gifting them with something they’ll love.
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While any of the nifty kitchen gadgets I’m about to talk about would be a great gift for anyone, I’m focusing on small items that might fit in a stocking and categorizing them to help you hone in on the best thing for your particular friend.
What to Get the Bread Master
First up, what to get the broke friend who really wanted to get into sourdough this year, but never did get the tools for it. There are actually a couple of options! Feel free to make a “breadbasket” for your friend and share more than one or all of these ideas with them.
You can start with a good sourdough proofing basket. This comes in handy when you want to form your loaf into a perfectly round, artisanal shape. It comes with a linen liner that helps to smooth the surface of your dough.
Pair this basket with a quality bread bakers lame and this book on how to make sure you’re getting the absolute best sourdough bread, Artisan Sourdough by Casper Andre Lugg and Martin Ivar Hveem Fjeld.
Kitchen Gadgets for the Pie Aficionado
My mother-in-law gifted me this cherry pitter, and it’s the best thing ever. It tackles 6 cherries at a time and is pretty darn accurate. It saves me the hassle of trying to use a smoothie straw or the blunt end of a chopstick on each individual cherry. So, that is where I’d start for your friend.
Next, I’d present them with a beautiful pie plate like this teal number from Le Creuset so they can really show off their favorite bakes in style. Just don’t forget a nice set of pie weights in a cute container to go with it. They’ll be itching to get in the kitchen.
Don’t forget to print out a couple great pie recipes to help them along. Here are a couple of my favorites:
What to Get a Barbecue Buff
One of the simplest things you can get a carnivore is a simple, good quality, digital meat thermometer. It’s nothing too fancy, but it does the job well and folds up neatly to avoid causing chaos in their utensil drawer.
The next thing I’d consider is a pair of heat resistant gloves like these CoolBebe Skeleton gloves that can withstand up to 1472ºF for 10 seconds. These double as a cool gift for your goth friend who dabbles in cooking.
And since I’m committed to giving you three options for each of these friends, you can’t go wrong with the original meat claws by Bear Paws. Now your grillaholic friend can authentically shred up chicken, pork, or beef like an animal.
Kitchen Gadgets for the Artsy Baker
This person is either the one who would totally win Cupcake Wars or the one who thinks holiday fun is building a scale replica of Hogwarts in gingerbread. Yeah, that’s specific because I’m totally calling someone out right now. You know who you are, and I love you.
Whether or not they need to start a Youtube channel, help get them started with this video rig that works with their phone or tablet. It also pairs well with a pocket projector like this, so they can easily trace designs onto their bakes before going in with the icing bag.
And for a bit more fun, fill their stocking with some really cool sprinkles from Sprinkle Pop (in containers. Please do not dump loose sprinkles into anyone’s stocking). My favorite are the Old Hollywood ones. I mean, look how cool these are!
What to Get the Lazy Cook
We all have that friend who can smash a bowl of popcorn and call out bad plays on a cooking competition show like it’s football. They love food and they want to cook, but they need a little motivation. Here’s what they need.
First of all, who’s going to inspire your friend more than the Queen herself? Send them a copy of Mary Berry’s Baking Bible. They’ve watched her kindly critique everyone else’s soggy bottoms, so maybe this will inspire them to give tart baking a try.
Add in a set of herb shears so they can skip the chopping and this neat mat that includes guides for perfectly shaped pie crusts (it comes with a rolling pin that has interchangeable thickness guides). They’ll be presenting quiche Lorraine within the hour.
And to further encourage them to get into the kitchen without being too pushing, gift them with really cute prep bowls like these pink, blue, and white geometric bowls. The bonus here is that, even if they don’t start cooking for real, they have awesome little bowls for everyone to eat snacks from.
Kitchen Gadgets for the Health Nut
One of the best purchases I’ve made is this Misto oil sprayer. Instead of pouring oil into my pan or feeling like I’m destroying my cooking surfaces with propellants, I can make my own. This way, I can make sure there’s just enough of a good quality ingredient used.
A kitchen scale is not just good for portion control, it’s a vital kitchen gadget to make sure your cheat day macarons come out perfect! This is the one I have, and it’s simple, easy to use, and not that expensive.
Then maybe get them a gift card for Sunbasket so they can try some new healthy flavors, too.
What to Gift the Wannabe Gilmore Girl
My sister is going to assume this is what she’s getting for Christmas. Ha! Your friend wants to be Lorelei Gilmore. She drinks a ton of coffee, eats out almost every meal, but knows good food when she finds it.
Treat her to a great French Press that will actually keep that pot of coffee hot until she’s ready for the last cup. Seriously, this thing is a revelation, and all the parts are dishwasher safe. Hallelujah!
Don’t forget to send along some Scotty P’s coffee beans because Lorelei can’t function without Luke’s coffee. No, seriously. Scott Patterson who played Luke now runs a coffee business. Why would you not buy that?
And give your girl a shot at making Dalgona coffee with a fancy milk frother in her favorite color. Even if she’s not into cream in her coffee, at least she can attempt a fussy coffee drink when the mood strikes her.
What to Get the Littlest Cooks
Whether it’s your own kids, nieces, nephews, or the neighbor’s cute offspring, maybe you’ve got some tiny chefs to shop for. That’s where I’d take a look at a vintage box or a subscription to Raddish Kids. They’ll get a box with cool kitchen gadgets, three themed recipes, a badge, and a whole lot more (see my review) every month. It’s super fun!
Pair this with a child-sized/child-safe chef’s knife that teaches them how to safely use it. It has a finger guard to help with their grasp. Just remember to keep them supervised while they use it.
You might also consider some NoCry gloves to further protect little fingers from cuts while they learn knife safety. They’ll think these are cool looking, and you’ll feel more confident letting them take charge of dinner.
Did I Miss Anyone?
If you’ve scanned through and couldn’t find the right kitchen gadgets or tools for your friend, leave me a comment and I’ll see if I can help you out. Share this post with your friends if you need to drop a hint or two, because let’s be honest, these are really cool kitchen gadgets.
And let me know if someone you loved gifted you something from this post! I want to know what kind of friend they think you are and how you feel about that. Were they right?
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