As people who write about food and test 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 gadget for brewing better tea, a love letter to a lost water bottle, and a new-and-improved version of viral pan (yes, that one). Read on for all of the products we’ve been obsessing over this October.
Made In x Tom Colicchio Carbon Steel Frying Pan
I am not a big fan of “get-it-while-it’s-hot” kitchen equipment. Cookware that shows up in super limited quantities usually feels gimmicky to me. But the collab between Made In and Tom Colicchio is one limited run I can get behind. The pan has been offered a few times in the past couple of years and tends to sell out quickly, but as I write this, the 11" carbon-steel pan is still available, and it’s a beaut. Made with preseasoned black steel with a gorgeous brass handle, this pan is 25% thicker than Made In’s normal carbon-steel pan, which lets it hold its temperature a little bit better. Made In’s handle design on its carbon-steel collection has also been a bit polarizing during our testing process (it’s got a much higher arc to it than other pans). But even if I’m in the minority, I love the way the handle feels: It gives good leverage for tossing and keeps your hands far from any splattering oil if you’re moving it into the oven. —Noah Kaufman, senior commerce editor
Great Jones Muffin Tin + Stellar Eats Muffin Mix
As long as I've known my boyfriend, he's had a soft spot for buying a muffin whenever we go out for coffee on the weekends. Every single time I remark that I could make the muffins at home and I subconsciously acknowledge that I have baked very few muffins in my lifetime and that most importantly, I haven’t owned a muffin pan since I moved out of my childhood home. The solution to both of these problems came in the form of a new muffin mix and the Great Jones Stud Muffin Tin (yes, it’s worth buying for the name alone). One of my go-tos for baking mixes is Stellar Eats. They make almond flour-based mixes for treats like carrot cake, fudge brownies, and now chocolate zucchini muffins. The mix boasts zucchini powder, so it’s delightfully vegetal (a lovely counterpart to the fudginess), and the baked chocolate muffins pop beautifully against the bright royal blue muffin tin. Plus, the mix makes 12 muffins, so you can eat a few after baking and freeze the rest for your future self on a rainy day. —Kate Kassin, editorial operations manager
Traditional Medicinals’ Tea Buddy
Whenever I make a cup of tea, I grab my Traditional Medicinals’ Tea Buddy along with a mug from my cabinet. It’s a cleverly designed silicone lid that fits atop (almost any) cup to trap steam and aroma while your tea brews. But it’s also got a fold across the top that snugly holds the string from a tea bag (preventing the dreaded sink of the entire bag and tag into near-boiling water). And when your tea is ready, you can simply flip the lid over to hold the steaming hot tea bag until it’s cool enough to compost. It’s dishwasher- and microwave-safe, hasn’t ever stained (not even when I brewed loose leaf Assam and let the strainer sit on the lid a little longer than I intended), and helps me enjoy a richer, hotter brew, even from mid-range tea bags. —Kelsey Jane Youngman, senior service editor
Yeti Stackable Mug With Durasip Ceramic Lining
Give me a crisp fall morning, a hot mug of coffee, and a wood-burning fireplace, and I’m in heaven. On a chilly, misty morning in Napa, I poured my latte into Yeti’s new ceramic-lined mug and immediately noticed how smooth it tasted. My OG Yeti mug sometimes leaves acidic coffee tasting faintly metallic, but the ceramic lining keeps every sip clean and balanced. I’m a slow sipper by nature, so I loved that the double-wall insulation kept my latte (and later, my chamomile tea) warm while I cozied up by the fire before breakfast. —Olivia Tarantino, senior commerce editor
Montana Labelle Red Marble Tray
I’m admittedly a bit of a hoarder when it comes to kitchen gear and pantry products, so I’m always on the lookout for products that can help streamline the mess that is my kitchen countertop—and preferably look good while doing it. This gorgeous red marble tray from Westbourne is the latest addition to my setup. Made in collaboration with Montana Labelle, it’s crafted in hand-honed Rosso Alicante marble that’s quarried in Spain and features beautiful striations that are unique to each piece. I’m using mine to hold my everyday cooking oils (the Westbourne avocado oil and whichever extra virgin olive oil I’m currently working my way through), and thinking of ordering a second to gift to a lucky someone this holiday season. Or maybe I’ll keep that second one for myself—it would work great as a vessel for lotion and jewelry on my vanity. —Alaina Chou, commerce writer
Zwilling XTEND Cordless Hand Blender
For years I’ve held an opinion that I believe to be the consensus at Bon Appétit: Cordless kitchen tools are underpowered and are never a better choice than a plug-in version of the same tool. That goes for blenders, for hand mixers, all of it. But I got my hands on Zwilling’s new Xtend series, and I have to admit: I love having a cordless immersion blender to zip together scrambled eggs and pancake batter. It’s got two power settings—yes, both notably less powerful than my plug-in Breville immersion blender—which are enough for the lighter tasks you use an immersion blender for. I wouldn’t use it to replace a high-powered, full-sized blender, but it’s certainly a handy companion piece. —N.K.
Jovial Farfalle + Force of Nature Meatballs
I’m already a big fan of Force of Nature’s ground bison and ground chicken, but lately my go-to product has been their 100% grass-fed beef meatballs. These fully cooked, frozen meatballs are the perfect weeknight dinner solution after a day at the office. They’re pre-seasoned with organic ground spices like sumac and garlic and are gluten-free (organic brown rice flour is the binder), dairy-free, and egg-free. Having them in the freezer means all that stands between me and a delicious, filling, mostly homemade dinner is heating them up in the oven for just over 10 minutes (an air fryer works too) and serving them with some quick roasted vegetables, pasta, and sauce. In case you were wondering, my hyper fixation meal right now is pairing the meatballs specifically with Jovial farfalle. A Tuesday night dinner of bowtie pasta and meatballs makes me feel like a kid again, and what could be better than that? —K.K.
Our Place Always Pan 2.0
After months of back-to-back travel, I barely remembered the last time I cooked at home. When I finally had a free Sunday, it was time for a meal prep marathon. Normally, I reach for stainless steel, but after a week-long cross-country trip, I wanted low-effort, and that’s where Our Place’s Always Pan shines. This ceramic, PFAS-free nonstick skillet is a kitchen lifesaver—it's so nonstick that food literally slides off with a splash of water or a quick paper towel swipe. Bonus: the handle doubles as a spoon rest, so I didn’t have to wash mine. I got a great sear on some spicy shrimp, scrambled eggs (no butter required) for fried rice, and heated up some MiLa soup dumplings using the included metal steaming basket. At 10.5" it’s versatile enough for nearly anything, and cleanup is a tired cook's dream. —O.T.
A. Vogel Herbamare Organic Herbed Sea Salt
My beloved green tub of Herbamare has become something of an all-purpose seasoning in my kitchen. It’s made from sea salt and a blend of dehydrated organic herbs and veggies like celery, leeks, rosemary, garlic, basil, kelp, and more. The greens-heavy blend gives it a savory-but-mild flavor, with an almost vegetable bouillon-like taste (don’t worry, it’s not nearly as concentrated), and a gentle kick of saltiness (it contains about 360 mg of sodium per ¼ tsp. serving). There are no fillers or additional preservatives (other than salt), so it doesn’t get gummy when you mix it into soup or rice or eggs or sprinkle it on roasted meats or veg, which I do nearly every time I cook. It’s a nice boost for most staples I whip up, and a real upgrade for make-ahead batch cooking because it lets me season nearly everything, but still leave each dish neutral enough to transform with bolder spices and sauces as my cravings change throughout the week. —K.J.Y.
JonnyPops
My favorite little treats come in the form of a new-to-me ice-pop brand, JonnyPops. Despite not being made with any artificial dyes, the bright ice pops scream childhood joy in a way I least expected I would need or enjoy as a full-grown adult. My favorites are their Cream Pops, notably the Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry and Birthday flavors. The Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry pops, deeply fruity like your ideal strawberry milk and with a snappy dark chocolate exterior, truly recall everyone's favorite Valentine's Day treat as a kid. Their line of mini pops is about half the size of a standard ice pop, but it is enough to satisfy that late-afternoon craving. (The Orange Cream Minis and standard-sized Mango pops were the first to go when I shared them with the wider BA team, btw.) They also have a line of supremely fun Sour flavors for those who crave that fruity tang. —A.C.
Owala Freesip Water Bottle
I’ll admit I was late to the party about the Owala Freesip. But after kindly receiving one as a gift a couple of months ago, I became immediately hooked and quickly abandoned all of my other water bottles. The cute butter yellow color, the satisfying click of the spout cover as it pops open, the joy of sipping through a straw—I loved it all, and found this was the first water bottle I’d owned that actually encouraged me, a person who is perennially underhydrated, to drink water throughout the day.
And then tragedy struck: My beloved bottle was snatched out of my bag while I was getting off a flight, which I know because I saw someone holding it minutes later while I was in line at customs. Am I entirely certain it was my bottle he was holding? No, but it seemed too coincidental, and I’ve since been referring to this incident as Owalagate.
Losing my emotional support wattle bottle at the beginning of a 10-day trip was tough, but I made sure to order a replacement immediately so it would be waiting for me when I got home. I like the 24-ounce model because of its slim profile, but the brand also makes 32 and 40-ounce versions if you’re a better hydrater than me. —A.C.
Coway Bidetmega 500S
Stay with me here, folks. On some recent travel I was lucky enough to stay in a hotel with a bidet toilet and found the experience such an improvement to what I had at home, so I set myself a mission to get one. This particular toilet add-on from Coway (famous for its air purifiers, which I used to clear out the air in a small apartment kitchen I had) has all the add-ons the fancy hotel toilet did: heated seat and water sprayers, auto closing, UV cleaning. But it’s easy to slap on top of whatever you have in your bathroom now. All that I expected. What I didn’t expect was what a hit it would be for dinner party guests at my house. I put it in a hall bathroom (the only one with an outlet where I needed it) and it has impressed everyone who has come by. —N.K.