I first used this bottle scraper twenty years ago while boarding with a family in the Netherlands. At the time, Dutch pudding came in glass jars similar to traditional milk bottles. This spatula was the only way to get out the last drop. Since then, I’ve thought wistfully about the bottle scraper every time I’ve tried to get gooey foods, sauces or peanut butter out of a bottle or jar.

Unlike most spatulas, the long handle reaches the bottom of tall bottles. The small silicone head bends to enter small openings, then re-opens inside. The curved head fits snug against interior bottle walls, making it easy to scrape the contents out.

On a recent trip to The Netherlands, I made sure to purchase one for my home kitchen. Of course, travel isn’t required. They’re sold online at Fante’s Kitchen Wares Shop.

I try to bake by hand as much by hand as possible, because it’s a nice contrast to working in front of a computer everyday. But one part of baking I never used to enjoy was the mixing of the dough. At first, it gets all gummed up on the spoon or spatula. Then, once the dough comes together, it doesn’t seem as if you’re mixing the ingredients so much as pushing a big ball around the inside of the bowl.

For year, I’d seen the dough whisk in the King Arthur catalog. I never ordered it because I thought the wire part looked a bit fragile. I finally decided to give one a try, figuring I’d send it back if I didn’t like it. Well, I’m never sending it back.

The whisk’s wire is extremely stiff. I’ve yet to encounter a dough it doesn’t slice through with ease. I don’t know how much thought went into designing the twists of the wire, but it’s amazingly efficient at bringing a dough together. When I made a double batch recently, I was worried I might have given the whisk more than it could handle. Nope. Mixing took no more effort than a smaller batch.

Clean-up is a breeze: Only a little bit of dough adheres to the wire, which is easy to dislodge with a wipe of the fingers. After that, it goes into the dishwasher.

So far, I have the large model, but I’m planning to buy the smaller one to use in smaller mixing bowls. I suspect that once I also have the smaller one, I’ll never have to order another, unless it’s for a gift. I’ve seen similar-looking whisks on Amazon for a few dollars less, but I don’t know how well they’re constructed. King Arthur’s whisks have their logo on the wooden handles and feel very, very sturdy.

Bamboo utensils are great for cooking with nonstick pots and skillets. Recently, I found an even better version: Bamboo utensils with rests carved right into the handles. Lay down the utensil, and the business end won’t touch the surface. You don’t need a spoon rest, and you don’t need to clean a spoon rest either. Thus far, I have purchased a spatula and two spoons; I intend to buy more. I converted overnight. The other wooden utensils I’d been using for years? They’re all gone.

Unfortunately for my waist, I love ice cream. For a long time, I accepted the fact I either had to strengthen my wrist muscles, leave out the ice cream to soften up, or run the frozen tub or spoon under hot water before digging in (which dilutes the ice cream if you forget to dry it off beforehand). Not anymore.

The trick to this scoop is a heat-conductive fluid sealed inside the handle and business end. The heat from your hand warms the fluid, which lets you scoop easier and quicker. I find it can scoop ice cream from ice cream tubs that are hard as a rock, like a spoon through a tub of margarine.

This Zeroll scoop is not dishwasher safe, and must be hand-washed in warm or luke warm water (the fluid in the handle can’t take any hotter). It comes in different sizes from two to four ounces, in either a silver aluminum or Anodized Teflon finish. I opted for the two-ounce aluminum scooper because I’ve heard the Teflon finish wears off over time.

It’s worth mentioning that I learned of the Zeroll from a cooking magazine. They tested various scoopers to settle on one that makes the “perfect, round scoop.” The Zeroll won.

It may be a terribly long and unwieldy name, but it is far and away the coolest can opener I have ever used.

Why? The blade cuts into the can below the rim so the lid never falls into the food, and the blade doesn’t touch the food either. You can use it to open “pop top” lids as well. A can opened with this tool will have no sharp edges. Apparently it works for both righties and lefties (not tried). Best of all you can challenge your friends by handing them the opener and a can and watch them figure out how to use it.

This flour duster allows for remarkably light and even dusting of dough or a work surface. You simply squeeze the wire handle, which expands the spring bulb so that the wires have space between them. Stick it in a bag of flour, stop squeezing and the spring bulb closes around a golf-ball-sized wad of flour. Then, shake it over a work surface squeezing gently—I tap it over my free hand ala David Byrne’s “Once in a Lifetime”—and voilà: A very even dusting is achieved. I’ve used this flour duster for five years, and have found nothing else that can compete.

Unlike traditional measuring spoons resembling those intended for stirring and eating, these stainless steel Spice Jar Measuring Spoons are rectangular in shape with a narrower profile. Translation: They fit easily through the small opening of a spice container. Bonus: If the container’s opening has a straight edge, you can level the scoop as you withdraw the spoon.

In addition, the set contains two sizes that aren’t normally included with the average measuring spoon set: 1/8 and 3/4 teaspoons. I find the 3/4 spoon particularly handy in that two 3/4 teaspoons equals 1/2 tablespoon, a measurement I frequently encounter after scaling down a recipe.

After three years of daily use, I’ve found no down-side to using these sturdy spoons for all my measuring needs—liquid or dry. Given their advantage with small containers, I see little reason to use traditional measuring spoons other than a slightly lower cost.

Although it was designed specifically for bakers, this low-tech tool is absolutely indispensable in the kitchen. Beyond scraping bread dough off the counter, we use ours to transport all types of chopped foods from counter to bowl, counter to skillet, etc.

There are other dough scrapers out there, but Dexter-Russell’s S496 features a wide wooden handle that helps make it the best. Don’t want take my word for it? I was in a local Sur la Table recently. They had various bins filled with dough scrapers; the Dexter bin was empty!