Yes you can actually buy a gift for a room in someone’s house and everyone who cooks in the kitchen will benefit. Having the right tools around can help make cooking easier and more fun. Here are some gift ideas for the kitchen.

Juicer

Juicers are a popular kitchen gift and are great for making all kinds of healthy drinks, but a lot of health conscious people don’t buy them or think they are just too much of a mess to keep clean. Here are a few that do the job of juicer and aren’t that hard to keep clean. There are different juicers for different jobs. There are ones made for vegetables, fruit, wheat grass and extractors. Basically there are juicers to juice citrus like oranges and lemons and there are extractors to make juice out of about any vegetable or fruit. Some ads will say that a slower RPM machine is healthier with preserving the nutrients. Some juicers will create juice that actually comes out warm to hot; those probably aren’t the best for the nutrients. Juicers are either masticating type or centrifugal juicers.

If you are mainly interested in a juicer for wheatgrass, look for slower juicers, 80 – 120 RPM. The Samson GB-9001 does both wheatgrass and juicing.

• Oster 3186 citrus juicer is a very good 27-ounce juicer for all citrus at a great price. It is easy to clean up and all the parts except the motor can go into the dishwasher. $23.75
• Samson GB-9001 6-in-1 juicer for wheatgrass, leafy greens and multi-purpose juicer. It also has optional accessories for ice shaving and oil extracting. Automatically shuts down when it gets too hot. It can go onto the dishwasher’s top rack for cleaning. Comes in numerous colors. It has a 10-year warranty on the motor and a 5-year warranty for the operational parts. $229.
• Omega juicers are reported to be quiet. It has a small mouth, so you will need to cut the vegetables to feed them into the juicer. A 10-year warranty.
• Breville is the most popular juicer with many reviews on Amazon.

Food Processors

Another great gift the healthy kitchen is the food processor. After reading reviews, the Cuisinart and KitchenAid brands are the best. Here are some from each brand to look at.

• Cuisinart DLC-10S Pro Classic 7 cup - $100.00
• Cuisinart DLC-2011BCN for $179.
• Cuisinart DFP-14BCN 14 cup for $165.
• KitchenAid KFP-750CR 12 cup for $177.
• KitchenAid KFP-715 7 cup - $100.

Blenders and Hand Blender

Blenders can be very handy in the kitchen without having to get out the food processor to blend hot soups, making smoothies among other kitchen tasks, and can do many things if you don’t have a food processor. Some blenders are better at some jobs than others, like making frozen drinks and grating. Something else that might matter to you, some blenders have glass jars and some are plastic.

• Cuisinart CSB-77W SmartStick. The W is for white and stainless - $49.
• KitchenAid KSB465 4 speed 48-ounce blender has great reviews and a strong enough motor to do the job right. A squat jar, which makes it easier to store - $80.
• Oster BCBG08 - $40 and rated a best buy in 2010.
• Breville Ikon BBL600XL - $200
• L'Equip 228 - $170, rated as the most quiet.
• Vita-Mix 5200 - $450, rated number in 2010.
• Kitchen Aid Professional VBLG01 - $150
• Waring MBB518 - $130
• Viking Professional VBLG01
• West Bend Performance 7010 - $130
• KitchenAid KSB560MC - $130

Cookware

Non-stick cookware can make cooking and the after dinner cleaning up easier. Recently, health concerns about Teflon has many people wondering about their cookware, other people aren’t concerned. Teflon and other non-stick pans did or still do contain PFOA and PTFE (Teflon). DuPont, the makers of Teflon, have a new product called Autograph® 2 that is supposed to be safe. Anolon contains Autograph® 2. Earth Pan does not contain either of these non-stick products.

• Anolon Titanium non-stick 10-piece dishwasher safe cookware set for $210. Ranks high in even cooking.
• Anolon 12-piece nonstick hard anodized cookware $180 and the 8-piece set for $135.
• Earth Pan 10 piece hard anodized or stainless steel cookware set for $115.
• Emerilware from chef Emeril Lagasse was reported to be excellent for even cooking. Stainless steel 10-piece for $200 and many other single and multi-piece sets.
• Cast iron is always nice to have in the kitchen. Lodge Logic brand has many cast iron products to choose from.

Tea or Coffee

Teas have health benefits and the easier tea is to make, the more tea people might drink. There are all kinds of teas you can make and different ways to make it. A great cup of coffee can also be perfect at times.

• Bodum french press is great for making tea as well as coffee; they have many different versions and sizes.
• Frieling stainless steel 35 ounce french press for $64.
• Chatsford teapots are nice and come in different sizes and colors for around $25.
• Teavana 32 ounce Perfect Tea Maker - $30

Knife Set

Cutting with a dull knife is aggravating to say the least. A good knife set can be a nice gift for the kitchen and the cook. The most recommended knife set according to reviews on Amazon and Consumer Reports is Ginsu. They have plenty of different sets at good prices for the right gift.

Meat Thermometer

Some people have a knack for cooking meat perfectly every time. Others don’t yet have this experience or knack and a meat thermometer is a good item to have in the healthy kitchen.

• Taylor 806 and 807 Weekend Warrior series at $18-$20 was rated as the best and most accurate. This thermometer will check and give you the temperature right away.
• The Polder THM-360 will monitor the temperature of two foods in the oven at the same time. You insert this before you start cooking.

Other Kitchen Gift Ideas

Some other kitchen gift ideas are mixing bowls with handles, an olive oil and balsamic vinegar gift set, yogurt maker, ice cream maker or a wine aerator.

© December 2009 Sam Montana

Other Gift Idea Articles

Gift Ideas For The Health Conscious

Gift Ideas For The Young Scientist

Resources

Amazon.com

Consumer Reports