Buying Guides

I’ve been chasing the perfect fluffy snow cone texture for years, and after testing dozens of machines in my own kitchen and at our small bistro counter, I can tell you this: the best manual shaved ice machines beat most electric ones on texture alone. Hand-cranked shavers give you fine, snow-like ice that soaks up … Read more

There’s nothing like biting into a piece of fresh mochi. Soft, chewy, slightly sweet, and infinitely more satisfying than anything you can buy at a store. For years, I thought making mochi at home meant an hour of pounding steamed rice with a wooden mallet in a giant mortar. Then I tried a real automatic … Read more

Few kitchen appliances earn the loyalty that Zojirushi bread makers enjoy. I have baked my way through nearly every model in the lineup over the past three years, and the consistency still surprises me. Whether you want a daily sandwich loaf, a soft Japanese milk bread, or a gluten-free option, these machines deliver results that … Read more

I still remember the first time a Japanese bread maker landed on my kitchen counter. Within an hour, I had a loaf so soft and pillowy that my neighbors started knocking on the door asking what smelled so good. That moment kicked off years of testing, comparing, and quietly obsessing over these machines. When I … Read more

I have been cooking rice nearly every day for the past decade, first in a tiny apartment kitchen and now at our sushi bistro. Over that time I have thrown out more spoiled rice than I care to admit, mostly because I trusted the original bag and a loose rubber band to do the job … Read more

I’ve been storing rice in the same flimsy plastic bag for years, and the moths that showed up last summer were the final straw. After losing a 25-pound bag of basmati to a pantry moth infestation, I went on a mission to find the best airtight rice containers on the market. Our team tested 12 … Read more

I have been making matcha almost every morning for the past three years. Some days I reach for my bamboo chasen, and other days I want something faster when I am rushing out the door. That mix is exactly why I put together this guide to the best matcha electric whisks on the market in … Read more

I make matcha almost every morning, and I learned the hard way that not every frother handles that fine green powder well. After burning through three cheap gadgets that left clumps at the bottom of my cup, our team spent six weeks testing eight of the best milk frothers for matcha currently on Amazon. We … Read more

I still remember my first attempt at homemade soy milk. I soaked a cup of soybeans overnight, dragged out my old blender, and spent the next hour straining pulp through cheesecloth. The result was thin, gritty, and frankly not worth the cleanup. That was before I tried a dedicated soy milk maker. After testing eight … Read more

I’ve been making natto at home for the past three years, and I’ll be honest — my first dozen batches were a disaster. The beans came out either soggy or bone dry, the smell was either missing entirely or unmistakably off, and I wasted more soybeans than I’d care to admit. The problem was never … Read more