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In my opinion, the best kitchen gifts for mom are the ones that make her happy and make my life easier.Like, last year I sent her a set of burlap and barrels of spices.She loves Vietnamese cinnamon and I love that the next time I come home and bake banana bread, I don’t have to use the expired 80′s spice.I know I’m not alone here!We love our moms, ummas and ammis, and many of us have learned how to cook on their apron strings – but there’s something in mom’s kitchen that drives us nuts.Mother’s Day is the perfect excuse to give them the gift of upgrading their kitchen tools, and give yourself a gift of not cutting fingers on utensils that haven’t been sharpened in a decade.Just be sure to throw in some flowers or fancy chocolates too (if you need more Mother’s Day gift ideas, we’ve got you covered).Here are some of our editors’ favorite kitchen gifts for moms — for ourselves, actually.
My mom is the kind of girl who’s picky about the environment who washes out plastic bags, composts like a champ, and saves leftover salmon skins for our omega-3-loving dogs.Her crunchy granola is a family legend, which is why her coffee strategy totally baffles me: My mom owns a non-brand Nespresso machine that uses coffee pods.(Yes, I’m talking about those infamous little turtles choking single-use plastic cups.) I know she’s sticking with The Machine because (1) she’s picky about her flat whites, and (2) the technology is enemy.I believe this lovely Smeg espresso will change her.There aren’t many beeps or buttons for a scary kitchen gadget that takes nice pictures and whips up milk at the same time.Did I mention it’s also the most beautiful coffee maker on the planet?–Ali Francis, Associate Editor
Legend has it that my mom’s nonstick cookware used to actually be nonstick.But over the years, the coating on her frying pan has been so scratched up that it has long since given up on fried eggs and salmon fillets without a fight.I’d love to replace it with this Tramontina frying pan, one of the best nonstick pans BA has picked out.It’s made of heavy-duty aluminum, so it’s a lightweight option for all mommy’s wok needs – but it also has a stainless steel handle, making it oven-safe at 400 degrees.The removable silicone cover means you don’t even need oven mitts or pot racks.–MacKenzie Chung Fegan, Senior Business Editor
I love to cook for my mom every time I come, but every time I make garlic fried rice, I forget that she doesn’t have a rice cooker.To her credit, there are plenty of other ways to make perfect rice (I usually default to oven rice when I get home), and she’s never been one to collect fancy appliances – the more buttons and settings, the less likely she is use it.But in my opinion, the best gift ideas are a little extravagant and a little selfish.I’ll give her this lovely one-button Zojirushi rice cooker to put on her countertop so that she – and more importantly, me – will always be just one touch away from perfect rice.— Nico Avalle, Digital Operations Assistant
My mother is a true gadget queen and her kitchen is no exception.Her measuring spoons are a set of china with decorative swirls that she definitely got in the homeware clearance aisle (we love good sales).So cute!So impractical!What a shame, because besides being a gadget, my mom loves to bake, and any great baker needs a set of high-quality, practical measuring spoons.This Oxo Good Grips set is something in my house and I knew it would make a great gift for my mom.They’re magnetic so they can nest in drawers, but they’re super easy to separate when you’re ready to use them.Mom, leave the trinkets in the living room!—Emily Schultz, former social media manager
My in-laws live in Provo, Utah.Elevation: 4,551 feet.I love to cook for them when I visit, but whenever I use their oven it always doesn’t quite go right.Being called a “daughter-in-law who works in food magazines but doesn’t know when her cakes will be ready” is a bit of a shame, so I’m trying to figure out how to adapt my bakes and stews to high altitudes.Next time I’m in Utah, I’ll bring a Thermoworks DOT oven thermometer so I can eliminate one variable and accurately adjust the oven temperature.—MCF
I’ve never met someone more dedicated to making and packing lunches every day than my mom.She’s even been known to wake up before the sun rises to cook a pot of rice and fry a batch of lumpia to take to work – giving!It’s just one of the traits I wish I inherited from her.But while I admire her diligence, I don’t appreciate her work lunch setup, which includes old, stained Tupperware and an everyday brown paper bag.This bento box, or should I say gift box, is functional and stylish – just the upgrade she needs.- Tiffany Hopkins, business writer
Although I look exactly like my mom, every time I see her using a plastic fork as a whisk, I question how we could possibly be related.A culinary gift I’d love to surprise her with is a real wire whisk that won’t snap under the weight of a thick batter.We may not agree on everything, but I hope she’ll see that I’m right on this one.- Chala Tyson Tshitundu, Associate Editor
Like most South Asian cooks, my mom didn’t have a measuring cup.She’s an amazing home cook, putting in a little bit of this and a little bit and letting her gut guide her.The only problem is that since nothing is standardized, I have a hard time replicating her recipes at home!A good measuring cup would be the perfect gift so she can write down her recipes and pass them on to future generations.—Rachel Gurjar, Grocery Editor
The only thing my mother-in-law dislikes more than R-rated movies is clutter.I have a deep, somewhat intimidating respect for her commitment to the order, but it does mean that whenever I prepare vegetables, I can never find a cutting board larger than a paperback in my life.I would love to please(?) her with a sturdy end grain bootie block that is so pretty that it doubles as a cheese board.It’s one of the best cutting boards BA has chosen, and for good reason – the checkerboard pattern is attractive and easier to use on your knife set.—MCF
My mom’s black corduroy jacket from the 80s was cool.The citrus juicers of her day were not.Huge two piece, cup and reamer case always separates in the drawer and once you put it together it produces juice with speckled seeds – not cute!So this year I upgraded her to an all-in-one extruder, which requires less effort for less dirty results.Even the driest limes and the most extra-large lemons can’t match the double-lever technology of this squeezer—its yellow warning tape is easy to spot for my mom’s baby boomer eyes.Amanda Shapiro, former digital editorial director
My parents had a collection of very old, yellowed, heat-labile rubber spatulas.They melted at the sight of an open flame, and they were so old that the rubber started to pill.like a sweater.Did you know this is possible?!My mom didn’t know the Mother’s Day gift she needed was a Get It Right spatula.Made of heat-resistant silicone, it’s as smooth as a dolphin – no pilling in sight.—Christina Chaey, Senior Food Editor
Whenever I wanted to grate some fresh Parmesan or lemon zest at my mom’s house, I ran into my old rival: a novelty mini grater the size of a doll’s hairbrush.Who is this grater for?Elf?A baby who loves food?Maybe it’s the perfect size to put in a purse in a Palma emergency, but it’s a horrible size for anything else.For Mother’s Day, mom will get a micro plane whether she wants it or not.—MCF
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Post time: Apr-23-2022