How We Choose

Every pick on this site goes through the same four questions.

1. What is the job?

A pan for searing is not a pan for braising. A blender for smoothies is not a blender for soup. We start with the job the reader has, not the product category. That is why our guides are named for the job: "for a small apartment", "for weekly meal prep", "for beginners".

2. Does it do the job well for a normal cook?

We look at the parts that matter for that job: capacity, size on the counter, weight, how it cleans, how long owners keep it, and what goes wrong. We read owner reports with a bias toward the long term ones and the returns, because the first week tells you little.

3. Who is it for, and who should skip it?

Every pick names both. A product can be excellent and still wrong for you. If you cook for one, a seven quart Dutch oven is a mistake no matter how good it is.

4. Is the price fair for what it does?

We do not list prices. They change daily and Amazon's rules do not let us show them without their feed. We do say when a pick is the budget option, the middle, or the one you buy once.

Hands on versus research picks

A page marked hands on means we own the product and use it in our own kitchen. Those pages carry our own photos.

A page marked research pick means we have not used that product ourselves yet. We compared it on specs, owner reports, return reasons and fit for the job. We say so at the top of every such page, because a site that claims to have tested everything has tested nothing.

What we ignore

Star ratings, because they are gamed. Sponsored placements, because we do not take them. Brand reputation on its own, because every big brand has a bad product somewhere in the line.

Corrections

If a pick is wrong, tell us on the contact page. We would rather fix the page than defend it.