Ranked: the greatest kitchen gadgets of all time

The evolution of modern cooking

Over the past century or so, kitchen gadgets and appliances have revolutionised the way we cook – turning once inconceivable processes into everyday conveniences. Here, we've taken a trip down memory lane to bring you the kitchen tools that have been making our lives easier for decades. How many have you used?

Click or scroll through our gallery to discover the best kitchen gadgets of all time – counting down to the most indispensable of all.

We've based our ranking on how useful and timeless each appliance is, and on the opinions of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. This list is unavoidably subjective.

34. Spiralizer

Spiralizers were all the rage in the early 2010s, when health-conscious cooks ditched pasta in favour of courgetti noodles and vegetable ribbons. The gadget has fallen out of favour a little in recent years, but there’s still a large online community of food bloggers dedicated to creating spiralized meals.

33. Fondue set

Few kitchen gadgets scream '1970s' more than the fondue set. Though fondue has been eaten for centuries, the concept took off in the United States after Konrad Egli brought it to his New York City restaurant in the 1950s. There's no word on who first started making and selling domestic fondue sets, but their popularity peaked in the 1970s. Fondue parties were commonplace, and fondue sets – complete with a communal hot pot and long forks – flew off the shelves.

32. Teasmade

This automatic tea-making machine – which included a timer function for hot beverages on demand – was patented in the 1930s, but it became a cult product in the 1960s and into the 1970s. It was made by Goblin, but other companies jumped on the bandwagon, too.

31. Waffle iron

People love waffles. Need proof? Cornelius Swarthout patented the stovetop waffle iron all the way back in 1869, and General Electric put out the first electric waffle iron as early as 1911. Home cooks around the world have been perfecting the treat for well over 150 years – and hot waffles are still as popular as ever. Technology has improved since 1911, of course, but the basic principle of the iron has remained the same.

30. Sous vide

The sous vide (pronounced sue-veed) cooks vacuum-sealed bags of food in temperature-controlled water. A gentle and precise way of enhancing flavours and ensuring tender meat, the method has been used by high-end restaurant chefs since 1974; however, domestic sous vide appliances only became available in 2009. Credit for popularising the method is generally given to American chef Thomas Keller, whose 2008 book Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide showed home cooks the ropes.

29. Pressure cooker

Pressure cookers work by sealing in heat and cooking ingredients using the resulting steam. People have been cooking this way for centuries, but the modern pressure cooker was first brought to market for domestic use in Colorado, USA in 1910. The popularity of pressure cookers burgeoned throughout the 1960s, and cooks around the world still rate them today.

28. Salad spinner

In the 1980s, home cooks were becoming increasingly health conscious – and limp lettuce simply would not do. The invention of the salad spinner is typically credited to French duo Jean Mantelet and Gilberte Fouineteau, who pioneered versions of the device in the 1970s. By the 1980s, the salad spinner was a countertop staple.

27. Coffee pod machine

In the early 1990s, an appetite for barista-quality home brews was growing – and one man took it upon himself to make it possible. John Sylvan, the co-founder of coffee pod machine company Keurig, introduced the first K-Cup coffee pods and brewing systems in the 1990s, and American coffee lovers haven't looked back since. Across the pond, the popularity of Nespresso coffee capsule machines, patented in the 1970s but not released until the 1990s, was burgeoning too.

26. Electric blender

Stephen J. Poplawski is widely credited with inventing the world’s first electric blender – used for mixing malt drinks and milkshakes in soda fountains across America – in the 1920s. But it wasn’t until the stylish Waring Blendor (note the trademarked spelling) and Vitamix's The Blender hit the market in 1937 that the gadget became a true kitchen essential. Unsurprisingly, smoothies started to become a thing right afterwards.

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25. George Foreman’s Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine

From heavyweight superstar to grill master, George Foreman launched his Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine in the mid-1990s. The countertop grill was sleek and easy to use, and the promise of ousted fat tapped into the psyche of the health-conscious 1990s cook. Foreman's slogan – 'It's so good I put my name on it' – became as famous as the cult product itself.

24. Tupperware

It’s hard to imagine life without Tupperware now; these handy and ubiquitous storage tubs fit neatly in fridges and cupboards like Tetris blocks, and they have an endless number of uses. Invented in 1946, they were a sleek solution for leftovers and packed lunches – and a godsend for working women still trying to uphold household duties. Tupperware parties, where hosts sell the products to their friends and family, are still popular today.

23. SodaStream

The SodaStream – the carbonating machine that makes plain old water into a fizzy drink – was invented in 1903, but it didn't come to home kitchens until 1955. It was such a hit that in the 1980s, according to The Guardian, 40% of Brits owned a SodaStream. 'Get busy with the fizzy' was the catchy line that rang out from TV ads throughout the decade.

22. Bread maker

Panasonic (then Matsushita Electric) invented the very first domestic bread maker in 1986 in Japan. You simply poured the dough mixture into the device and, hey presto, the comforting smell of freshly baked bread filled your kitchen in no time. The appliance's popularity skyrocketed in the 1990s; it's estimated that 25 million Americans owned a bread machine in this decade.

21. Electric steamer

Steaming is a cooking technique that's been employed for thousands of years, but the advent of electricity brought the electric steamer into modern kitchens in the 1950s. However, it truly came into its own in the 2000s, sating a growing appetite for uber-healthy meals. Anybody who was anybody was waxing lyrical about the benefits of steaming rather than boiling vegetables; steaming is thought to seal in more nutrients than other methods of cooking. The gadget remains popular today.

20. Ice maker

Refrigeration paved the way for all sorts of kitchen innovations, but one of the unsung heroes of the home is the humble ice machine. After all, what would our cold drinks be without an ice cube or two tinkling around in them? Jurgen Hans invented the first machine to produce edible ice in 1929, and he founded a company to sell it in 1932. Cheers!

19. KitchenAid

For those who could afford it, the KitchenAid, an automatic stand mixer, meant waving goodbye to the toilsome task of mixing dough and batter by hand. The first KitchenAids came out in 1914, but they were big machines designed for industry (the US Army was the first major fan). A smaller home version was invented in 1919, but the company introduced its game-changing Model G mixer in 1927. This was a lighter, more compact version of its predecessor, and it sold like hot cakes.

18. Slow cooker

The Crock-Pot didn't hit the market until 1971, but the concept of the slow cooker came about 30 years earlier. Irving Naxon secured the patent for the device in 1940 and started selling it in the 1950s. But it was only after he sold his business to Rival Manufacturing that the newly christened Crock-Pot took off. The popularity of the handy slow cooker soared, and sales rose to $93 million in 1975.

17. The AGA

An iconic contraption born in the 1920s, the AGA aimed to make cooking less fiddly, fussy and time guzzling. Swedish physicist Dr Gustaf Dalén invented the AGA after losing his sight in an accident. Spending more time at home, he realised that his wife was fatigued and frazzled from using her unwieldy cooker. His solution was the AGA, a cast-iron oven that stayed hot continuously. It soon became a hit, arriving in Britain and beyond in the late 1920s – and rising in popularity throughout the following decades.

16. Rotating wheel can opener

The humble can opener was first patented in 1858, but it took more than 60 years for the device to reach its peak design. One rotating wheel was added to the standard can opener in the 1870s, but it wasn't until 1920 that Charles Arthur Bunker patented a design that featured two wheels. Subsequent can openers have followed the same basic blueprint ever since – making our lives a lot easier in the process.

15. Juicer

Unbelievably, juice cleanses have been a thing for nearly 100 years. The first home juicer arrived in the 1930s, thanks to raw food enthusiast Dr Norman Walker. The first masticating juicer hit shelves in the 1950s, and the twin-gear juicer revolutionised the scene again in the 1990s. The NutriBullet, which first came out in 2003, is the frontrunner these days.

14. Deep-fat fryer

Who invented the deep-fat fryer, and when did they do it? These questions are surprisingly hard to answer. Stanley J. Budlane and Dusek Robert filed a patent for an 'electric deep fat fryer' in 1949, so that seems like the obvious answer. Until, that is, you discover previous patents for a 'deep fat cooker' from 1931 and an 'electric deep grease fryer' from 1936. Either way, it's safe to say that the deep-fat fryer was a kitchen staple in the 1950s and 1960s.

13. Automatic kettle

The busy 1950s housewife didn't have time to wait around watching pots boil – and so Russell Hobbs came to the rescue. Though electric kettles had existed since the late 19th century, the brand introduced a model that would switch itself off when done (like modern kettles do) in 1955. The progressive appliance was marketed as 'the kettle that watches itself' and was promised to be super safe and efficient.

12. Non-stick pan

The non-stick pan was the invention of French engineer Marc Grégoire, although his wife Colette gave him the idea. She challenged him to create a non-stick pan using the Teflon polymer she'd seen him use to coat his beloved fishing gear. He succeeded, creating the Tefal brand in 1956. Other brands followed suit, and non-stick pans were soon a household mainstay.

11. Food processor

This multi-tasking domestic gadget was invented in 1961 by Pierre Verdun and Robert Comte. The Robot Coupe food processor was sold in 1963 to commercial kitchens, but the real revolution came in 1971. That's when the pair invented the Magimix, a compact food processor ideal for home use. For the first time, arduous and time-consuming tasks such as chopping, grating and slicing could all be done by one compact machine – and fast. Home cooks have never looked back.

10. Speed peeler

Oh, the humble potato peeler. Imagine how much longer your mashed potatoes would take without this simple bit of kitchen kit. The painstaking task of peeling potatoes was made a lot easier with the invention of the French Économe peeler – with a split blade – in the 1920s by Victor Pouzet; however, the Zena Rex speed peeler (pictured centre) came around in 1947 and took things up a level. Still on the market today, it was dreamt up by Alfred Neweczerzal and is an icon of Swiss design.

9. Air fryer

Convection ovens have been around since the 1940s, but the Philips Air Fryer took the world by storm when it launched in 2010. Using just one teaspoon of oil, the device circulates super-hot air around food to give it a crispy texture. The device received lots of praise at the prestigious 2010 IFA consumer electronics show – and it really took off in the 2020s.

8. Electric dishwasher

The history of the dishwasher is longer than you might think. The first successful dishwasher was invented in the 1890s by an affluent American woman named Josephine Cochran, who wasn't satisfied with the care her servants took with her expensive china. Electricity changed everything, of course, and German heavyweight Miele led the way with a domestic dishwasher in 1929. A post-war boom saw to it that, by the 1950s, dishwashers were increasingly commonplace in kitchens across the world.

7. Mr. Coffee

Many of us can barely get out of bed without a cup of coffee, and we have Mr. Coffee to thank for making it so easy to enjoy. Before Mr. Coffee was unveiled to the world in 1971, people at home had to make do with percolators and coffee filters. But after Vincent Marotta Sr. and his business partner Samuel Glazer challenged engineers to create a drip brewer suitable for home kitchens, everybody had access to good coffee at the touch of a button.

6. Automatic toaster

After World War I, kitchens changed in America, Britain and beyond. With more women filling the workforce than ever before, the need for nifty, time-saving cooking devices was paramount. Enter the automatic toaster. The first automatic pop-up toaster that could brown bread on both sides at once was patented in 1921 and, in 1926, it was on shelves under the name Toastmaster.

5. Deep freeze

The invention of the deep freeze is very closely related to the invention of the refrigerator. But, while the fridge was perfect for keeping food cool, the freezer took domestic food preservation to new heights. When the first domestic deep freezes went on the market in 1955, it was the first time home cooks could freeze their own fresh food. Before this, only food bought frozen could be stored in a freezer.

4. Electric stove

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the electric stove was born around the same time as the electric oven. William Hadaway received the first patent for an electric stove in 1896, with his invention eventually coming to replace coal or wood-fired stoves. The electric stove naturally didn't become a common part of kitchens until the 1930s and 1940s, when electricity found its way to more and more homes.

3. Electric oven

Fast and economical, the electric oven was a kitchen game changer. Incredibly, it was invented in the 1890s, with most giving credit to Thomas Ahearn. However, it wasn’t until the 1930s that electric ovens became more commonplace. In Britain in particular, the birth of a National Grid in the 1920s meant that more households were connected to power than ever before.

2. Microwave

The mother of all time-saving devices, the microwave was actually invented by chance. Percy Spencer, an engineer who worked with magnetrons, was conducting a test in the 1940s when he realised that radiation had caused the chocolate bar in his pocket to melt. He soon set to work on an early version of the modern microwave – and it was in commercial kitchens by the end of the decade. It wasn't until the 1960s that microwaves were built to sit neatly on domestic kitchen countertops but, after this, the rest was history.

1. Refrigerator

A post–World War II technology boom transformed kitchens at a more rapid pace than ever before. The first home refrigerator was introduced in the 1910s, but it was the preserve of the very wealthiest in society. In the following decades, companies such as Whirlpool pioneered more efficient, economical designs, leading to 45% of Americans owning a refrigerator in the 1940s. They were mostly boxy and compact, with little freezer compartments built in – so not a lot has changed.

Now discover the retro ingredients we wish would make a comeback

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