As people who write about food and kitchen gadgets for a living, Bon Appétit editors are constantly surrounded by a wide range of products. Between our own purchases and the endless stream of samples sent our way, it means there’s always something new coming across our desks and into our homes. Every month, we’re rounding up the standouts we’ve tested or bought ourselves that changed the way we cook and eat.
This month, a Test Kitchen-approved pepper grinder (excuse us, pepper cannon), a new favorite piece of cookware, and a spring dinner-party-worthy serving set.
Read on for all of the products we’ve been obsessing over this March.
Veark Magnetic Knife Rack
I recently purchased the Veark Magnetic Rack for my partner after it took over his Instagram feed. It’s a master class in minimalistic design. I bought two, and they basically Lego together, with no hardware required aside from the screw that fastens them to the wall. You can also purchase containers and shelves that attach to the rack to store your wooden spoons, spatulas, tongs, tweezers, and more.
We use the rack to store anything magnetic in our kitchen, including knives, scissors, a Microplane, and our kitchen thermometer, and we hang our pots and pans off the hooks. It’s a huge space saver in our small NYC apartment. —Emma Jacobson, contributing social media editor
Männkitchen Pepper Cannon
When the Männkitchen Pepper Cannon came to my attention, I sat up and looked closely. The all-metal body and burrs (the wheely thing that grinds the pepper) sounded promising. We go through immense quantities of black pepper in the BA Test Kitchen. Whatever amount you use at home, multiply that by 6, maybe even 10, and you’ll start to understand. Three of our previous pepper mills all died an untimely death, each lasting only a few months. Let’s just say we put the stress in stress test. I am pleased to report the Männkitchen has held up exceptionally well, blowing past its one-year mark with barely a scratch, its grinding mechanism still as smooth as the day it arrived. It is sleek and beautiful, easy to fill, and pleasing in the hand. It is also unignorably expensive. On its website, the company admits as such, saying, “Yes, it is. And a Ferrari is expensive compared to a Volkswagen.” Period.
I, for one, think it’s absolutely worth it. Amortized over even just one year, it’s literally pennies per use—and basically free after that (girl math!). —Shilpa Uskokovic, senior Test Kitchen editor
