Christmas dinner is arguably the best meal of the year. But Christmas cooking doesn’t have to be stressful…
It’s not really relaxing to cook. There are a thousand and one things to roast, bake, boil, flame, mix and baste. And after all that work, the vegetables are usually soggy, the turkey is blackened, and cooking times previously written in stone are thrown under the crippling weight of pressure.
But Christmas dinner doesn’t have to be the ultimate test of human endurance. There’s a better way with our selection of must-have gadgets to streamline your Christmas dinner. Trust us, you deserve better.
Best for Multitasking: Instant Pot Pro Plus
The Instant Pot Pro Plus is a 10 in one. It’s a pressure cooker, steamer, rice maker, yogurt maker, warmer, sauté pan, and probably a few other things we haven’t discovered yet. The Instant Pot Pro Plus is controlled wirelessly via the Instant Brands Connect app. Open the app, select one of over 800 recipes and the app will program the pot to cook whatever you want to perfection – all hands free. Yes, that includes crispy roast potatoes and slow-cooked meats, ideal for cooking out of sight.
Best for Schedules: Lenovo Smart Clock 2
For the Christmas Day chef who just can’t seem to get the timing right, the Lenovo Smart Clock 2 with Google Assistant is the gadget for you. Multiple reminders and alarms can be set using your voice, a 4-inch LED display is easy to read, and it doubles as a nightlight and charging unit. As a bonus, three front-firing 3W speakers let you listen to music while you cook and happily ignore arguing family members in the living room.
Best for Temperatures: Thermapen Classic
There are a number of smart thermometers out there that will give you a perfectly cooked Christmas roast (or barbecue in the summer). The MEATER is a wireless smart meat thermometer that tells you when your food is cooked to perfection via an app. But the MEATER is far too expensive for what is a relatively simple task. Not all things have to be “smart” either. For something a little more humble, the Thermapen Classic does everything a thermometer should do, which is take temperature accurately, for a much more reasonable price. The Thermapen Classic is hard-wearing, takes temperature in three seconds with an accuracy of ±0.4 degrees, and is water resistant for easy cleaning. What more could you want?
Best for Sauce: Stirr
üutensil may seem like a Swedish furniture name, but they’re a British company that creates a host of smart, reasonably priced kitchen gadgets. Take the Spudnik for example, a rotating potato masher that should be in the kitchens of anyone who knows that mashed potatoes IS traditional at a Christmas table. The Stirr is our favorite though, a battery-powered device that swirls and stirs your sauces and sauces that’s heat-resistant up to 120 degrees.
Best for chopping: Japanese mandolin
Japanese metal doesn’t have to go broke. This Japanese mandolin from Sous Chef will slice your vegetables and make perfectly thin potatoes for scallops. The Sous Chef Mandoline comes with three types of blades for all kinds of vegetable slices. A fine-toothed blade is intended for chopping fruit and salad. The medium tooth is ideal for grating carrots and cabbage (and is ideal for homemade kimchi). A larger blade is also suitable for harder vegetables. Be sure to use a cut resistant glove to protect your fingers though.
Ideal for baking: the Kenwood Autograph collection
If you’re really pushing the envelope this Christmas by making your own dessert, instead of panicking about buying a soggy cheesecake on Christmas Eve, then the Kenwood Autograph collection will be your best friend this holiday season.
The three-piece range includes a stand mixer, versatile food processor and electric hand whisk, and lands in matte black and stainless steel. The £45 Autograph Collection QuickMix+ promises 650W of egg beating power, while the MultiPro XL Weigh+ food processor combines in-bowl weighing and food blitzing. The Titanium Chef Baker blender has 3.5 liter and 5 liter nesting bowls and four stainless steel cooking tools. It’s also all dishwasher-safe, making post-dinner cleanup a hassle-free experience.
Ideal for avoiding burns: Coolskin 375 GTX
Everyone has at least one Christmas dinner war story, with the scars to prove it. When there’s pandemonium in the kitchen, it’s easy to burn yourself on a hot thrown griddle or pan, so we suggest investing in a pair of industrial-grade Coolskin 375 GTX oven gloves. The Coolskin 375 GTX gloves are made from flame retardant aramid fibers that can withstand temperatures up to 250 degrees. Additional wrist protection provides additional safety, although the gloves are not resistant to steam or hot liquid spills. They’re not exactly aesthetically pleasing either, seeming more suited to a job site than a kitchen, but the Coolskin 375 GTX offers high-quality roast protection at a reasonable price.
