So, like many, I started trying out new recipes, from baked mac and cheese with pesto and peanut sauce-topped crispy tofu, to pecan pie muffins and cucumber sorbet. And not to downplay the importance of high-quality ingredients or proper cooking techniques (not to mention plain old practice), but what’s really helped to build my confidence in the kitchen throughout the pandemic is acquiring the cooking tools I didn’t know I needed. If you’re looking for a few new tools to pull you off a cooking plateau, scroll down to see the nine products that have drastically improved my confidence in the kitchen. Some are fairly standard tools I never got around to buying, while others are more eco-conscious, and still more are just cleverly designed or downright delicious. The best part? Save for the first item (which, to be fair, is legendary), everything is under $40, and often well under.
