We take our reviews seriously—and we’re different from other review sites. We write only about products we’ve tested ourselves, which means no product summaries from other websites. We purchase all our own products at retail prices and never accept any free or “loaner” products from manufacturers. Once we name a winner and deem it ATK Recommended, we stock it in our test kitchen, where our team and 60 colleagues use it regularly to monitor its performance and durability. We’re exhaustive but practical, scientific but approachable. And we always put function first. We’ve been doing this for more than 25 years—and we are never done learning.
Our Promise to You
We want to empower you to succeed in the kitchen. We believe the right equipment and ingredients can make your life better. They have for us. Our goal is to give you all the information you need to make the right purchase so that it’s easier, more satisfying, and more fun to cook at home. Whether you’re making a single over-easy egg or a three-layer wedding cake, we’ve got your back.
Who We Are
The “we” here is the ATK Reviews team: a group of full-time editors and testers embedded in the America’s Test Kitchen family. We’re journalists. We’re home cooks. We’re passionate about finding the best products. We spend our days debating the finer points of spatula handling and sponge design and holding tasting panels to evaluate a wide range of foods such as olive oil, cornmeal, dark chocolate, and hot sauce.
- Editorial Director Kate Shannon Levine
- Executive Editor Hannah Crowley
- Executive Editor Lisa McManus
- Associate Editor Valerie Sizhe Li
- Associate Editor Sarah Sandler
- Assistant Editor Crispín López
- Art Director Marissa Kaseman
How We Test
We invest heavily in our tests—with both money and time—from spending $10,000 on blenders to find the best option in every price bracket to spending more than $2,500 to test meat cleavers. On average, it takes 160 hours of work to produce each review we publish. This can translate into 66 hours at the stove to cook 700 eggs to find the best nonstick skillet, 50 hours to make 365 slices of toast to find the best toaster, and 75 hours to make 500 smoothies to ensure that our winning blender doesn’t burn out.
We survey the market to compose our testing lineups, conducting hours of online research. We look for products that are widely available so that our readers will be able to find them. We consider prestige brands and upstart newcomers, but we never test products in the prototype stage, as what eventually makes it to market might be quite different from the initial model. We call on experts—scientists, professors, industry specialists, and our own science research editor—to help us understand our test results. When nutrition labels aren’t enough, we send samples to independent labs for analysis to better understand the products.
We Find Products That Last
We test each product for durability, repeatedly running them through the dishwasher, dropping them on the floor, whacking them against a concrete ledge, or heating them up and plunging them into a bucket of ice water to simulate thermal shock. We don’t like torturing equipment; we just want to make sure that if we’re going to recommend something, it will last—so you don’t waste your money.
We Find the Right Product for Each Person
We also have testers of different sizes, skill levels, and dominant hands try out products and give feedback. We have the resources to make extensive testing like this happen, so we find the best products for you, whoever you are.
How We Conduct Our Taste Tests
We worked with Rutgers University and the University of California, Davis, as well as a statistician to devise our tasting protocols. We use Circana, a Chicago-based market research firm, to determine top sellers within categories. Depending on the story angle, we also consider artisanal products or emerging brands, as long as we’re certain that the products are accessible enough for readers to locate. We always randomize and assigned three-digit codes to our samples to prevent bias. We taste each product in the plainest form possible and then in different recipes chosen to represent the standard ways we use the product. Our tasters are ATK staffers: a mix of professional cooks and regular people.
Where to Find Us
You can find our entire archive of equipment reviews and taste tests on our website.
Each Wednesday, we send The Well-Equipped Cook, an email newsletter packed with information on the equipment we test. It's the best place to hear about our new reviews. On Fridays, we alert people to great deals on our top-rated products in the email newsletter Featured Finds.
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Shop smarter with our ATK Reviews team's expert guides and recommendations.
Like videos? So do we! Check out our YouTube Series Gear Heads for answers to all of your equipment questions and advice on which kitchen equipment to buy—and what you should avoid. We’ve reviewed The Best Immersion Blenders, rounded up the Best Kitchen Gadgets Under $25, and debated the merits of Ceramic and Nonstick Skillets.
Hannah and Lisa find the best and worst gear for 2024!
We’re equally proud of the book Kitchen Gear: The Ultimate Owner’s Manual, by our team’s executive editors Hannah Crowley and Lisa McManus. They share everything they’ve learned during their decades of hands-on equipment testing.
How ATK Maintains Editorial Independence Around Affiliate Revenue
As mentioned above, our Reviews team members operate with complete editorial independence and are focused on providing objective assessments based on hands-on testing and thorough research. After a review is completed by the Reviews team, we will provide suggested sources for recommended products cited in the review as a convenience to our readers. If a subscriber chooses to purchase the products from any links that we provide, America’s Test Kitchen may earn an affiliate commission. The program is managed by our business team, which is the point of contact with any platforms offering commissions. The Reviews team is not informed of affiliate terms or rates. For more information, please see our Editorial and Business Standards Overview.
Get in Touch
We love to hear from readers and want feedback on our recommendations. For any general questions, feedback, or comments, email atkreviews@americastestkitchen.com and one of us will get back to you.
