I got this knife sharpener recently. Cost €8 / about $9 USD. Absolutely incredible find. Every knife I own is now razor sharp which I love.

If you’re buying it yourself watch the video that they link in the instructions and have patience on first sharpen from dull.

My favorite in terms of just being neat and cheap is my “safety” can opener. https://www.amazon.com/Safe-Cut-Can-Opener-Restaurant/dp/B0761PZC5F

It’s not about it being “safer” to me. It’s just plain better. It completely unseals the tops of cans without puncturing them, meaning the lid comes completely off at the rim. Never failed me. Opening something like some cat foods or refried beans is much better because it leaves no lip for the contents to catch on. I use it for pull tab cans too!

My Benriner mandoline slice. Given how much I use it, and sometimes isn’t careful enough, it’s a surprise I still have all of my fingertips

Highly underrated, but a good thermometer can help a lot with cooking meats. Getting the right temp is much more accurate than cooking by sight or feel, and having one that reads in under a second is super convenient.Typhur makes some quality ones that I like to use

Zojirushi rice cooker

Big cast iron pan & small cast iron pan. They get the most use.

Actual gadgets - 3-stage knife sharpener.

Kenwood Kitchenaid-type thing. Pretty heavy duty, because it’s mostly used for bread dough.

I learned to make breads without it and still occasionally do (well… Mostly when I’m somewhere else, I guess), and there is nothing wrong with kneading by hand.

It’s just so much more convenient and so much less cleanup to let the machine do it. Especially the cleanup part is huge.

Ninja Foodi combination pressure cooker and convection oven. It also incubates yogurt. Fucking love that thing

Immersion blender is great functionality for a small size / cost. But for a more gadgety choice, I’d go for my sous-vide / immersion heater. Got gifted it a few years back, but didn’t get round to using it for ages, partly cause I suspected that it was too much of a hassle and wouldn’t make a huge difference to quality.

In reality, it’s really not a lot of trouble, especially if you vacuum pack meat and stuff for storage anyway. And I’ve made all sorts of different meats and marinade and they’ve been reliably great. For something like a pork chop, that can risk be a little dry, but you don’t want undercooked, being able to precisely control the temperature has given me the best, most tender and flavourful pork chop/monkfish/venison I’ve ever eaten.

Similarly, stuff for the bbq, deepfried chicken or even chunky côte du bœuf, where I really want a crispy sear but still need the middle to hit the right temp have all been made so much easier. Really surprised how much use I’ve got out it!

Not a gadget exactly, but I love my chef knife! It’s a Kan core chef knife. I have had it for several years now and enjoy using it every time. It is very sharp and is easy to keep sharp. It was not cheap, but not terribly expensive when compared to other professional quality knives. I use it almost every day and it has never disappointed me.

For actual devices in the kitchen, I would say my Kitchenaid stand mixer is my favorite.

Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef’s Knife, 8-Inch That thing is a beast. Only needs sharpening every few years.

My Vitamix 5200 is the only blender that doesnt suck to use

I’d say it’s a toss up between my rice cooker and air fryer/toaster/convection oven.

Food processor.

Dicing things with a knife takes forever. But the processor does it in like 3 seconds.