If you’re already thinking about getting prepared for the fast-approaching holiday season — with all of its opportunities for cooking for and entertaining others — make sure you get your hands on all the right kitchen supplies to cook, bake and keep your guests entertained during the holidays.
Cooking store Sur La Table is your destination to find the top-rated kitchen appliances, cookware, bakeware and kitchen tools that you’ll need. Just perusing its site can help inspire some creative new recipes or useful kitchen organization ideas, including using a cabinet organizer or spice drawer organizer to hold all your holiday spices.
To help narrow your search for the perfect kitchen supplies, we’ve done some hands-on testing on many of the bestsellers that Sur La Table offers. Below you’ll find 15 top-rated, tested items that Sur La Table offers at a great price.
OXO Good Grips Non-Slip Cutting Board ($18.95; surlatable.com)
Named our best plastic cutting board during testing, this was the sturdiest, most stable plastic cutting board we tested. The OXO Good Grips boards are well-designed, easy to take care of and resistant to knife marks.
Epicurean Gourmet Series Groove Cutting Board ($85; surlatable.com)
Our winner of best all-purpose cutting board, this one’s built with Richlite, a paper-based composite material. The durable Epicurean Series board looks like a wooden cutting board, but cleans up like plastic, making it perfect for any type of kitchen prep work.
Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven ($369.95, originally $460; surlatable.com)
Named our best splurge Dutch oven, Le Creuset’s iconic colorful Dutch oven has been a go-to for nearly a century. While it’s much more expensive than most of the models we tested, its perfect heat distribution, easy handling, high performance and durability make it an heirloom piece you’ll hand down to your children.
Lodge Chef Collection 12-Inch Skillet ($49.95; surlatable.com)
Named our best cast-iron skillet overall, the Chef Collection pan — the company’s lightest skillet — outperformed most of its much-higher-priced competitors in nearly every test we threw at it.
Cuisinart Double Belgian Waffle Maker ($119.95, originally $220; surlatable.com)
Winner of our best waffle maker overall distinction, this Cuisinart makes two great-tasting, deep-pocketed Belgian waffles at a time. It features a flip mechanism that not only gives you fluffy, evenly cooked waffles, but also makes the machine easy to store.
Nespresso VertuoPlus Deluxe by Breville ($249.95, originally $269.95; surlatable.com)
Named best overall single-serve coffee maker, we found the Nespresso VertuoPlus Deluxe by Breville extremely easy to use, and it looks great on your counter. If you’re in the market for a coffee machine that can brew a consistently great cup that’s piping hot, then you need this coffee maker in your life.
Zwilling Pro 7-Piece Knife Block Set ($349.96, originally $680; surlatable.com)
When you’re seeking out knives that are super sharp, durable, ergonomic and will last a lifetime, we highly suggest you stop and give this standout set a good look. Named our runner-up as best overall knife set, the Zwilling Pro 7-Piece Knife Set comes complete with an 8-inch chef’s knife, 4-inch paring knife, 5 1/2-inch prep knife and 8-inch bread knife, plus shears, a sharpening steel and a 16-slot hardwood bamboo block.
Wüsthof Classic Ikon 7-Piece Knife Block Set ($449.95, originally $836; surlatable.com)
Named the best luxury knife set, the Wüsthof Classic Ikon has knives that are elegant, ergonomic and sharp as hell. There’s just so much to appreciate about this German-made, handcrafted knife set that includes the four basic knives that a serious home cook needs. This knife set has a classic design plus high-tech, high-quality craftsmanship that comes with a lifetime warranty (on workmanship and materials under normal conditions).
Breville Super Q Blender ($499.95, originally $749.95; surlatable.com)
Named best overall blender, the Breville Super Q boasts surgical stainless steel blades that can get up to 186 miles an hour. That fact, along with a big-time 1,800-watt motor in a hefty blender with a sleek design, delivered high marks on all of our tests. This blender turned out creamy smoothies and perfectly blended hot soups throughout our testing.
Cuisinart Power Advantage 9-Speed Hand Mixer ($79.95, originally $145; surlatable.com)
Not only does the Cuisinart Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed hand mixer whip up pro-level baked goods, it’s also extremely user-friendly. Named our best overall hand mixer, this Cuisinart beauty is lightweight with easy-to-reach buttons, an LED display that shows a simple number so you know exactly what level you’re working at, and an eject button, positioned conveniently under the handle, that works with a simple squeeze.
Breville Handy Mix Scraper Hand Mixer ($139.95, originally $199.99; surlatable.com)
The style, versatility, power and speed of the Breville Handy Mix Scraper make it akin to a sports car of the small-appliance world. Named our best high-end hand mixer, this mixer scored the maximum points for speed, never slowing down even with heavy ingredients. The Breville offers features we didn’t see on any other mixers, like rubber-coated scraper beaters, which (besides being quiet) didn’t have any dough clinging to them when we were done mixing.
Technivorm Moccamaster KBGV Select Coffee Maker (starting at $349, originally $379; surlatable.com)
During testing, the Technivorm Moccamaster brewed 10 cups in less than six minutes, and, on a second trial, six cups in under four minutes. Named best luxury pick in our drip coffee maker testing, this unit sports an innovative and old-school industrial design. Setup takes little time and its brew function is extremely fast, making what was possibly the most delicious, hot, fresh cup of coffee we have ever tasted from a home-brewed machine.
Chemex Pour-Over Glass Coffeemaker (starting at $38.95; surlatable.com)
Named best pour-over coffee maker for making multiple cups, the Chemex Pour-Over Glass Coffeemaker sports an elegant leather and wood collar, but more importantly, it produced wonderfully light, delicious, flavorful coffee during our testing. An all-in-one model that serves as carafe, dripper and pitcher, it can brew up to three or eight cups at a time, making it a fantastic alternative for a couple or small group.
OXO Good Grips Thermocouple Thermometer ($104.95; surlatable.com)
Named the most stylish instant-read thermometer in our best meat thermometer testing, the OXO Good Grips Thermocouple had consistently accurate temperature readings, a handy hinge design and a quick reading time.
Cuisinart Classic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker ($69.95, originally $110; surlatable.com)
During our taste tests, the Cuisinart Classic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker (also known as the 1.5-Quart ICE-21P1 ice cream maker) made one of the smoothest ice creams, with only a little iciness, beating out machines that cost hundreds of dollars more. Named best overall product in our best ice cream maker testing, it’s incredibly easy to use, although you do have to pre-freeze the mixing bowl overnight.