This book, The Flavor Thesaurus; Pairings, recipes and ideas for the creative cook,  is original and without peers. It starts by mapping out 99 flavors of foods into a “flavor wheel,” and it then examines all the plausible combinations of these flavors, with comments on the pairing. I find it useful for cooking new things, but it is also a very enjoyable browse. How about trying these unexpected pairings: coconut & dill, or saffron & rhubarb, or walnut & cauliflower? There are thousands more, including well-loved common pairs. — KK

I learned about silicone freezer trays during a visit to my parents' house. They use them to store leftover soups and stews. The flexible silicone makes it easy to pop out individual frozen 1-cup cubes, and the rigid lids make them stackable in the freezer. — MF

Silicone suction dishes won’t move unless you want them to. They stick to a table with surprising instant force but are super easily released. This makes them perfect for minimizing spills by toddlers. Their flexible sides also won’t hurt. Lots of brands make silicone suction bowls, but the Mushies are the simplest and most elegant, and will stack with other bowls. — KK

The Impresa coffee machine descaler solution has transformed my coffee machines — a 15-year-old Rancilio Silvia and a 2-year-old Nespresso Inissia — by eliminating built-up residue and oils. I was shocked by the amount of discolored gunk that was flushed out by using this cleaner. It's a game-changer for maintaining coffee quality. — MF

My husband bought this XULRKOS Splatter Screen ($9) for our frying pan, and it’s one of those indispensable multi-purpose kitchen tools that I didn’t know I needed.  It doesn’t prevent all splatters, but it significantly reduces excess grease on our stove and counters. You can also use it as a sieve or cooling rack. — CD

I’ve been using these Swedish DishCloths to cut back on my use of paper towels. It’s basically a really thin sponge. They’re super absorbent and can pick up the tiniest of crumbs. When dry, they’re gritty enough to scrape gunk off countertops and stoves — which is exactly what I wanted them for. — CD

Using wide-mouth mason jars is a great way to store leftover soups, stews, and curries that I prepare in a pressure cooker. However, transferring the liquid into the jars often creates a mess on the counter. That's where a canning funnel comes in handy. I wish I had purchased one 20 years ago. The one I currently use is the Bilal stainless-steel model. — MF

I loved finding these tips on MyFridgeFood.com, which is a website that gives you recipes based on what you have in stock. I can’t verify the usefulness of all the tips, but the two I’m walking away with today are 1) spiraling my spaghetti so that falls naturally into the pot and 2) crushing garlic in a ziplock bag. — CD 

The second most-used tool in our kitchen (after the knives) are our kitchen shears. We’ve had several lightweight kitchen scissors which we use for everything, from opening packages, to cracking nuts, to opening bottles, to cutting craft projects, to cooking chores. But over the years all of the shears cracked their plastic handles, so we replaced them with solid stainless steel kitchen shears. These are heavy duty, but not too heavy, and indestructible. We have a couple of pairs of Newness Multi-Purpose Kitchen Shears ($18), and they will last a lifetime. — KK

We don’t normally allow single-task gadgets into our kitchen, but there is one we do: an avocado knife. Now that avocados are available year-round, we grab this simple device to open, pit, and scoop out the creamy green. The Kuhn Rikon Avocado Knife has a flexible scalloped blade, with a blunt serration on one edge and two probes on the other. You use the safe edge to open the avocado, and the probes to stab the pit to remove it – but neither are sharp enough to cut your hand. The blade is non-stick coated, flexible, and curved enough to scoop out the meat in one stroke, and to spread if wanted.  The whole operation is done with one easy-to-clean hand tool.  In a Cool Tools podcast, Nathan Myhrvold, the gourmet nerd who owns every single esoteric and expensive culinary tool there is, told me that this $13 device was his favorite kitchen tool. — KK

Unlike most ice cream makers that use a paddle to scrape solidified ice cream from the interior of a chilled drum, the Ninja Creami uses metal blades that rotate at high speed to shave frozen homemade mix into deliciously textured ice cream. I prepared vanilla ice cream sweetened with a touch of honey for my friends, and it was an instant success.One caveat: it’s loud when in operation. — MF

I used to randomly hack away at bell peppers, ending up with oddly shaped slices covered in seeds. But a few years ago, I learned the trick to cutting bell peppers. Once you learn this method, you’ll never go back. — MF

I recently purchased the Chopula spatula after reading Yitah Wu’s review about it on our website, Cool Tools. Yitah had praised its flexibility and unique shape, which makes it easier to flip and cut food in the pan. After trying it out for myself, I agree with Yitah’s assessment. The spatula's design allows me to easily maneuver food while cooking, and I appreciate the fact that I can set it down on the counter without the business end touching the surface. It has quickly become my go-to spatula. — MF

Something new worth worrying about: PFAS. Basically non-stick coatings like Teflon, but on many containers, and not just in food, but also in drinking water, etc. In this video Adam Ragusea does a hard look at the early science on these very hardy and persistant molecules. We’re converging on something similar to Adam: one Teflon pan, used sparingly. — KK

As baking season begins again, I am reminded of how fantastic our Classic KitchenAid Stand Mixer is after 25 years of use. I believe it could easily go another 25 years. There are mini and maxi versions and scores of competitors and imitators, but KitchenAid is still making this same “K” design – which is built like a tank – since the 1930s. They are so rugged there is a healthy aftermarket for used ones on Craigslist. — KK

We eat apples often enough that an apple slicer wins a spot in our kitchen. A good one will core and carve an apple into 8 to 12 slices in one swift motion. There are lots of brands, like OXO’s, that are good enough, but they can’t deal with the largest apples. The apple piecer you want is a Newness stainless steel one with a 4-inch diameter that is heavy duty enough to slice all apples (and pears and onions) forever. — KK

I wear cut-safety gloves when I am wood carving or using sharp bladed tools in my workshop. Many professional workers using knives all day wear similar gloves. These are made with HPPE, formerly called Kevlar, which is a soft fabric wound around steel, and is overall stronger then steel. It greatly reduces the chances of getting your hand / finger cut. Yet the gloves are not bulky at all, but are extremely flexible and comfortable, and can be washed easily. The brand I use are NoCry Gloves, which are $13 pair and have 13,000 reviews on Amazon. A pair last a long time in part because the gloves are ambidextrous and I only wear one at a time on my holding hand. — KK

I’ve never had much success with sharpening kitchen knives to a razor’s edge by hand using traditional sharpening stones. But I now get razor sharp knives very fast using a small motorized sharpening belt made for the purpose. The Work Sharp MK2 requires little skill, it’s small, and relatively inexpensive ($80) for a sharpening system. Sharpening takes maybe 5 minutes per knife even when very dull, and is pretty foolproof. It also sharpens scissors, axes, and other tools. I now sharpen our knives much more frequently. — KK

I have a smooth-edge can opener and I like it much more than an old-fashioned can opener. My wife complains when she uses it to open a can of tuna, though, because the diameter of the cut lid is too large to squeeze the water out of the can. So I bought this simple tuna strainer. It’s a metal cup with holes in it. Press down on the handles and you can squeeze as much liquid as you want from the can. — MF

The reason I dislike aprons is that they don’t cover the whole of my shirt, so grease droplets are likely to stain my sleeves and collar. I bought this short sleeve chef’s coat that buttons up to my neck. Whenever I am cooking or eating, I wear it. The idea of wearing it to restaurants is appealing to me, but my wife is not a fan of the idea. — MF