After years of using their products, our kitchen and dining writer breaks down six direct-to-consumer kitchenware brands and declares which items — skillets, cooking utensils, glassware, and more — are worth buying.
Where someone with years of hard-won personal experience, and lots of trial and error, shares everything they’ve learned. Read moreBetween 2015 and 2019, a slew of direct-to-consumer cookware startups cropped up on the market.
Misen was first, with more to follow, each proclaiming their value-add to a space full of tried-and-true legacy brands like All-Clad and Cuisinart. Similar to Casper’s mattresses and Warby Parker’s glasses before them, what each of these companies delivered was an ultracurated, aesthetically minded, and not-too-expensive array of pieces to shop from online. Many started with modest collections, and sometimes a signature product broke out of the pack and became, in the era of Instagram and YouTube, as immediately recognizable as a Le Creuset Dutch oven. When it was all still very new, back in 2018, a then-writer at the StrategistIn the seven years since, the companies that have stayed players in the market have expanded their stock quite a bit — and a few she didn’t get to have made themselves relevant. Their offerings are now even more wide-reaching with appliances, dinnerware, glassware, linens, tools, and just a ton of new cookware. Still, I get the sense that many people shop in a vacuum of one brand or another, and I’m here to say: That’s not the way to do it. I, my colleagues, and a lot of the professionals I talk to regularly in this job have been using products from these brands for a long time now. To that end, I have a good sense of what individual pieces are standouts. And while many are listed across ourSo here, I’ve compiled the best of the best. This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive review of every single company out there. But Itried something from virtually all of them, and quite a few pieces in most cases. So consider this a curation of the ones I love most — the items I would enthusiastically recommend to friends or family and I think will really stand the test of time — now that this DTC space has settled.To me, Made In has the best shot of all of these companies at becoming a truly long-lasting staple in kitchens for generations to come. The only category I’d skip is tabletop: Its plates, bowls, and glassware are totally fine, but I think you canMade In’s stainless steel is stellar. It is, notably, right around the same price point as industry-standard All-Clad — so which you choose will come down to the details. I like the slope of the skillet and find all the handles especially comfortable to grip. The lids fit securely. The stock pot, which you can buy with a fitted pasta insert, is excellent: big enough to handle a generous portion of stock and more than a pound of pasta if I’m cooking for a crowd, but not so big that it is cumbersome to move or hard to store.. I’ve had my Staub for more than a decade, and I would never give it up. But Made In’s smaller version is a more recent addition to my kitchen that, so far, performs just as well.Made In makes both a traditional nonstick skillet and a ceramic one. Both work well — but I’m calling out the latter material here in particular because I am generally more skeptical of it. Across the board, I find the performance of ceramic nonstick to be worse than thoseGreat Jones has some solid stuff — though it’s more of a random smattering than Made In. Before I get into my very favorite products, I will note that many people love the brand’s; there’s a reason it’s on our best-of list, and I stand by that. I’ve had one myself for more than a year now, and it’s still in good shape, though I alternate it with some aluminum and other nonstick ones . And other bakers, cooks, and Strategist staffers endorse it, too. However, I heard one report of the nonstick coating chipping after a few months. And in general, I think the price point is pretty high for what you get and that you’re mostly paying for aesthetics here.. I have many such pieces in my collection . Which one I decide to cook with often comes down to the shape and size I need — but this is certainly one of my most used. It’s high-sided and sturdy with comfortable handles and has great heat conduction — and the surface holds up beautifully. It looks just as new as when I bought it about five years ago.. I’ve only ever heard good things about it — from one trusted home cook and several Strategist staffers. All are fans of the oval shape, which they say heats super-evenly even over a round burner. The aesthetic details are another plus. And notably, it’s cheaper than Le Creuset and Staub — and the Made In above.. I also don’t think the brand’s kitschy-looking appliances are a good investment: You should stick with well-established, reliable brands in this category.However, I really like Our Place’s tabletop goods — and especially its Night & Day Glasses, which I own in the shorter size and use for wine, cocktails, water, juice — basically anything and everything. To me, they strike the perfect balance of being design-forward but not too trendy-looking. Plus they stack, they feel incredibly durable but not hefty or chunky, they’re comfortable to hold and sip from, and the colors are pretty.has been on my best-of list for several years as a good value buy. And while that recommendation holds true, two products that have come onto my radar more recently have made this brand stand out.to it. Thanks to her, it’s become a recent player in my kitchen, too, and I’m super-impressed with its light weight, ability to heat evenly, and nonstick properties.This is another strong recommendation from Yang. The brand calls this a roasting pan, but it’s really a hybrid baking sheet and roasting pan — with sides whose height falls between the traditional measurements of each, significant handles for easy lifting, and a stainless-steel body that doesn’t get discolored over time like aluminum. I have both sizes on the way to test out myself — but I really do feel like the design is kind of genius.Material Kitchen is another overall favorite of mine. There are — quite noticeably — a lot of items that are currently out of stock, like its high-quality stainless-steel cookware and the wooden spoon I use regularly. But several items that are still available are especially great.Material Kitchen’s knives are generally solid, but in my mind, the one true standout is the six-inch serrated knife. It is shorter than you generally find a serrated knife, but that gives real control. It’s perfect for slicing through tomatoes, stone fruit, and breads with smaller surface areas, like baguettes and bagels, as well as for chopping chocolate and more.I own this set in clear . As someone who has broken pretty much every stemmed wine glass that has ever made its way into my kitchen , I love that this gives me the feel of something elegant without the precariousness.These kitchen scissors are super-sharp and comfortable to hold. The two pieces come apart easily to clean, yet somehow never come undone when I don’t want them to I’ll admit I haven’t tried any products from Golidlocks other than this one — but I do think it’s a really great buy if you’re stocking your kitchen from scratch. For only $80, you get a full suite of kitchen utensils , plus a bunch of essentials that don’t generally come in these types of sets. The standouts are the two lightweight metal mixing bowls that nest, a sturdy colander, and both measuring cups and spoons.is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouttrust me i should know*Sorry, there was a problem signing you up.You'll receive the next newsletter in your inbox.New York
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