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Clean-up is a breeze: Wiping out the trays only takes a minute, and there’s even a tray for crumbs. I never want to own another toaster.

—Tim Plumley

Back to Basics Toaster & Egg Poacher

$40

Manufactured by West Bend

Available from Amazon

Classic Ceramic Smoker/BBQ

Big Green Egg

The Big Green Egg is an awesome-looking ceramic smoker with amazing heat retention. Modeled after the ceramic kamado pots used in Japan, the “BGE” has been around since the 70s, but has developed a rabid fan base in recent years (They call themselves “eggheads”). It’s easy to see why people love them. The BGE gets to temperature in 10 minutes, allows a bag of charcoal to last for 6 months, and can cook from 150-700°F. Thus, it enables proper smoking and grilling, where the flavor gets right into the meat.

The top and bottom halves feature a felt seal that’s virtually airtight; the only holes are a variable intake vent at the bottom front and a variable exhaust. With the combination of these vents you can vary and maintain the temperature to around 25 degrees of accuracy within that 150-700°F range. This keeps all the smoke and heat inside, while also limiting the amount of fuel burned. Like an oven, the ceramic doesn’t develop hot spots, so the cooking is completely even and food stays moist and juicy (We’ve had awesome pulled pork, ribs and steaks).

With the right accessory, you can also use the BGE as a clay oven for cooking pizza, tandoori and even pies. We have the XL BGE, which is massive enough for smoking 15 chickens at once! The smaller BGEs are cheaper, of course, though not cheap. Still, you can basically do everything on a BGE that you can on a regular grill. Our old bbq and BGE sit side-by-side on our back patio; these days, we only use the BGE.

—Matt Field

Note: A reader pointed out that the Big Green Egg Company has an odd policy regarding “internet retailers.” The manufacturer does NOT honor the warranty if you purchase online instead of ordering from an offline retailer. —SL

Big Green Egg

$630 (medium)

Available from Home Village

Some sizes and various accessories also available via Amazon

Manufactured by Big Green Egg Company

2. Cutting

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Quick Apple Peeler and Corer

Progressive Apple Peeler

My wife’s grandmother seems to effortlessly make dozens of wonderful apple pies. And yet, she has poor hand strength due to advanced rheumatoid arthritis. Finally, we convinced her to pass along the secret behind her pie-making success: She uses one machine to peel/slice/core her apples.

Simply poke the three prongs into the base of an apple and turn the crank. Before you know it, a lovely spiral of apple skin will unfurl before you, leaving a perfectly cored and peeled apple that can be quickly cut into quarters and thrown into a pie.

As soon as you see the device in action, it’s obvious just how elegant the mechanism is. It’s safe for children to use, once the apple is situated on the prongs. Best of all, it makes prepping apples so simple you’ll wish you had one years ago. There’s a version that clamps to a kitchen bench, but I find the models with a vacuum base are the same price and are far easier to set up and use.

—Steve Allen

International Apple Peeler and Corer

$20

Available from Amazon

Precise Sharp Slicer for Kitchen

Microplane Grater

Microplane began making micro-blades for woodworking use, but they’ve diverged into making fantastic kitchen tools. Their kitchen graters will turn a little block of Parmigiano-Reggiano into a huge cloud of billowy cheese wisps. Vegetables grate into little strips that almost melt in your mouth. My favorite use is with citrus zest. My lemon bars, lemon tarts and key lime pie have a much greater depth of flavor than ever before.

With most zesters, you end up with too much of the pithy white rind of the citrus fruit, but the Microplane takes off only the very thinnest layer of the outside of the fruit, the part