The Well-Equipped Cook: Essential Equipment for Cooking Comfort Food

Everything you need for cold winter days. [America's Test Kitchen. The Well-Equipped Cook. A weekly newsletter from your favorite unbiased tasters and testers.]( [equipment reviews]( [taste tests]( [Equipment guides]( [gear heads]( Essential Equipment for Cooking Comfort Food [SEE EQUIPMENT GUIDE]( [Carolyn Grillo. Associate Editor, ATK Reviews] On cold winter days I like to make (and eat) comfort food—satisfying soups, stews, roasts, and braises. Braising in particular is hard to beat. It guarantees tender roasts and deeply flavorful sauces—all with very little hands-on cooking. This week I’ve collected all the equipment needed for perfect braises. I purchased our favorite [Dutch oven]( when I started working at America’s Test Kitchen almost five years ago, and it’s never let me down. It has a wide cooking surface, so liquid evaporates and forms thick, glossy sauces. Our winning [braiser]( provides many of the same functions, but it’s lighter and has great visibility due to its low sides. Cheesy as it sounds, cooking comfort food like this is like giving yourself and your loved ones a big hug—something we all could use. Must-Have of the week A Braiser We tested five braisers, priced from about $60 to about $325. Four were made from enameled cast iron, and one was made from ceramic. In each braiser, we cooked chicken thighs, browned meatballs and then simmered them in tomato sauce, braised green beans, roasted a whole chicken, and cooked pappardelle. The best braiser in our lineup has a light interior that makes it easy to monitor browning; a moderately thick bottom for good heat retention; a generous cooking surface; and large, comfortable looped handles. [Read more ›]( OUR WINNER Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 3.5-Quart Round Braiser Cleanup: ★★★   Durability: ★★★   Cooking: ★★★   Ease of Use: ★★★ [BUY NOW]( Related Recipes [Mediterranean Braised Green Beans with Mint and Feta Cheese]( [Braised Chicken with Warm Spices]( [All-Access Membership. 12,000+ Reliable Recipes. Free Shipping in our shop. Mobile App. 8,000+ Product Ratings. Cookbook Collection. Join now and SAVE 33%. TRY IT FREE.]( Explore More Featured Products [Longtime Favorite]( OXO Good Grips 12-Inch Tongs This pair of tongs feels like a natural extension of our hands. Its uncoated pincers feel precise, and the silicone-padded handle makes them comfortable to hold. [Buy It Now ›]( [Accurate and Easy to Use]( Polder Classic Digital Thermometer/Timer Our Best Buy clip-on probe thermometer has three key features: a timer, a programmable temperature alarm, and the ability to work in the oven. [Buy It Now ›]( [Boning Knives, Fine-Mesh Strainers, Soup Ladles, Liquid Measuring Cups]( [SEE ALL THE EQUIPMENT]( Cook’s Country TV Ultimate Comfort Food Looking for more comfort food recipes? In this episode of Cook’s Country, test cook Bryan Roof makes Bridget a Southern specialty, Chicken and Pastry. Julia and Bridget revive a traditional recipe for Wellesley Fudge Cake. [Watch now ›]( More equipment guides [Plant-Powered Eating for Everyone]( [Bread Baking Essentials]( HOW OUR TESTING PROCESS WORKS The mission of ATK Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. Our team of dedicated reviewers write only about products we’ve tested ourselves, which means no product summaries from other websites. We don’t accept advertising. We purchase all our own products at retail prices and never accept any free or “loaner” products from manufacturers. 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