Christmas Gift Guide 2018: 15 kitchen gadget gift ideas for food lovers

READY, STEADY, COOK!

Nothing quite satisfies a food lover like, well, food. And there isn’t much better than a corker of a Christmas pud. But Christmas – sadly – comes just once a year. Once the food coma subsides and the final choccies are polished off, desolation and despondency ensue, leaving fans of all things edible with little to look forward to but Boxing Day leftovers. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of the best gifts for those with an insatiable appetite – and it’s delicious.

MORPHY RICHARDS MICO JACKET POTATO (£30)

Forget roasties and stuffing: the true food of kings is the jacket potato – and it’s never been easier to suit up. Stick a well-selected spud in this silicone shell for a thorough bake in your microwave. Yes, you heard that right: metal plates hidden in the case create the ideal conditions for taters that are fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside and ready in just 18 minutes. Talk about a Christmas miracle.

JOSEPH JOSEPH DUO BAKE (£14)

Behold! A silicone scraper for bringing a silky dough together and a steel knife for dividing it both click together magnetically to form Baketimus Prime, perhaps the most useful item in any breadmaker’s arsenal. After Megaloaf, that is.

SMEG HBF01 HAND BLENDER (£95)

This fetching hand-held blender from Smeg might look innocent enough, what with its ’50s-inspired styling and natty presentation box – but don’t let its good looks fool you: this is one very capable whizzer. Oh, sure, things start calmly enough – but turn the top-mounted speed control to ‘Turbo’ and you’ve got 700W of pure blending performance in the palm of your hand. Just remember: with great power comes a bowl of well-mixed ingredients.

NKUKU KINUKU PIZZA BOARD (£60)

Putting mango on a pizza is sacrilege. Making pizza on mango wood? Now that’s a recipe we can get behind. Add an exotic flavour to your chopping and serving with this stylish board from the artisanal sorts at Nkuku – sure to stimulate discussion over antipasti.

AN ANARCHY OF CHILLIES (£17)

Know someone who likes a kick to their carbonara? Cut out the sweaty guesswork with this tasty chili compendium. Packed with bold and bright illustrations, it details 100 of the tongue-burning blighters in order of hotness, covering shape, colour, flavour and that all-important tingle – so you’ll never confuse a cayenne with a Carolina Reaper again. Best buy in some milk, eh?

ABEL & COLE GIFT VOUCHER (£50)

Know a foodie who needs to cut their carbon footprint? Abel & Cole have long been waxing lyrical about the benefits of going organic – and now it’s easier than ever to get on board. Give the foodie in your life this gift voucher and they can use it on one of Abel & Cole’s ace recipe boxes: they’ll get a bundle of totally organic ingredients delivered to their door every week. Recipes are included, and it’s all planet-friendly (from the packaging to the delivery routes) so they can cook and munch their culinary creations guilt-free.

CUCUMBO (£10)

You know how your friend/other half/parent/child/uncle/postman is always complaining that she/he/it can’t spiral-cut a whole cucumber so that it forms one huge, paper-thin, unbroken strip of watery wonder? CUCUMBO! It’s that simple.

MASTRAD THERMOMETER SPOON (£34)

Is the pasta done? Youch! That’s boiling water, you silly sous chef. That said, the dreaded dip and sip has caught out the best of us – and it’s a one-way ticket to a burnt-tongue bad mood. Put paid to a painful palate with this smart spoon from Mastrad: part ladel, part thermometer, it’ll stir your soup and check the temperature at the same time.

KING TONG (£11)

Gorillas – and apes in general – are notoriously difficult dinner guests. If they’re not scaling the curtains or howling at the cat, they’re destroying your carefully tossed salad because they don’t like pomegranate seeds. Teach them some table manners with a face they’ll recognise: these bamboo tongs harbour a familiar primate at their hinge, reminding hominid visitors not to monkey around.

BIOLITE FIREPIT (£270)

No oven can compete with the charcoal joy of roasting dinner on a proper BBQ – turkey or otherwise – and outdoor grills don’t come smarter than this Bluetooth fire pit from BioLite. Stick four logs in the belly of the beast and its clever airflow tech will serve up smokeless warmth for all, or fit the fuel rack for a spot of grandiose grilling in the garden. Fire up the partner app and you can even control the flames from your phone, like the Lord of Light himself.

JAPANESE KNIFE TRIO (£99)

Buy someone a set of seriously sharp knives and there’s every chance they’ll take it as a not-so-festive death threat. Avoid social faux pas and treat yourself, instead: this trio of choppers is perfect for Japanese cooking, with a Deba blade for fish, a Sontoki for rapid veg dicing and a nakiri for wafer thin daikon. Perfect for your Kill Bill nights in.

AIRCRAFT ALUMINIUM ROLLING PIN (£40)

Ah, aluminium: from foil to fences to engines, that most beautiful of materials can bring smooth sophistication to almost any object – including rolling pins. Yes, this award-winning roller is machined from the aircraft-grade good stuff. Why? Besides giving your cutlery drawer a slice of sky-high style, its supreme heat-conducting skills mean it can do superior smoothing, whatever the weather.

ANOVA PRECISION COOKER (£100)

Uncle Martin might like to think of himself as a dab hand in the kitchen, but last steak he made was tougher than the sole of his faded espadrille. Subtly suggest that he learns the fine art of sous vide with this precision cooker from Anova. Connect it to the Wi-Fi and he’ll be able to control his rib eye jacuzzi from Spanish class.

SALTER CHOPPING BOARD DIGITAL KITCHEN SCALES (£28)

Weighing out every herb, vegetable and knob of butter might not look as cool as dicing and dropping with the wanton abandon of a pro chef, but who’ll be laughing when your whole dish is cooked evenly through and perfectly in proportion? Probably them, because they have a Michelin Star. Still, this two-in-one combo from Salter should help keep your chopped bits in check: a clever digital scale that can handle up to 15kg and even measure liquids, its toughened top can do double duty as a chopping board. Which means half the washing up and twice the obssessive fun. Yes chef!

GREEN PAN SQUARE EGG EXPERT (£11)

This is the secret to the geometrically perfect fried egg sandwich: Break your egg into the Green Pan Square Egg Expert, with or without oil (it’s lined with non-stick Thermolon). Fry it. It’ll only take a couple of minutes. Turn your square egg out on to a slice of square, buttered bread. Add ketchup (preferably in a right-angled manner). Add another slice of square bread. Serve on a square plate. Egg-cellent.