10 Kitchen Tools from Amazon that Make Summer Cooking Easier

Summer is a season of extremes: hiking mountains instead of walking trails, lounging on the beach instead of sitting on the couch, and elevating the simple act of eating from an ordinary dining room dinner to a special summer soiree.

Of course, doing something special requires a bit more planning and a lot more time, but I think the key to a successful backyard barbecue or casual picnic in the park is having a well-stocked kitchen. From a cherry pitter for baking that sunset-colored Rainier you just bought to a glass baking dish with a lid that takes the stress out of transporting food, these 10 gadgets will help you stay cool on those hot summer nights. Prices start at just $8, and they'll be a big help in your kitchen.

Kitchen gadgets that make summer cooking easier

• Odec City Cherry Pitter, $10
• Chef'n Original StemGem Strawberry Huller, $8
• Upalled Outdoor Tabletop Fly Fan Set of 3, $26 (list price $36)
• OXO 3-quart baking dish with lid, $32
• OXO Large Salad Spinner, $25 (originally $30)
• Chef'n Salad Dressing Mixer, $15 (regular price $19)
• Hotec Stainless Steel Kitchen Tongs, Set of 2, $10
• Avant Grub Heavy Duty Grill Cleaning Brick, $13
• Olecrut Corn Cob Stripper, $22
• Vitamix Explorian Blender, $374

Oldec City Cherry Pitter

Cherry season is precious, but fleeting. At Food & Wine, we want to make the most of it by adding cherries to every sweet treat and savory salad you can think of, but we also know that removing the pits isn't always fun. Enter the Cherry Pitter. One shopper was so thrilled with how this small, inexpensive, dishwasher-safe gadget helped them eat through fresh cherries in no time, calling it “summer's unexpected MVP.”

Chef'n Original Stem Gem Strawberry Haller

If we become what we eat, I'm strawberries. In the summer, I add strawberries to tarts, roast them for homemade ice cream, or drizzle them with balsamic vinegar. But just like cherry seeds, removing the stems from strawberries can be a pain. Luckily, over 10,000 shoppers with the same problem recommend this peeler, which streamlines the task with a simple push and pull motion. Work smarter, not harder, folks.

Upalled Outdoor Table Top Fly Fan Set of 3

Dining outdoors on a patio or sprawled out on a picnic blanket is fun until the bugs arrive. To distract their flying little friends, shoppers are turning to portable battery-powered fans with soft blades. Designed to circulate air around food, the fans are height adjustable and easy to carry. Customers love how easy the fans are to use, finding them “very effective.”

OXO 3 Quart Baking Dish with Lid

This 3-quart glass baking dish with lid is my kitchen hero when transporting food around town. It has deep handles for easy grip and a form-fitting top that keeps the contents from falling apart, even for someone as clumsy as me. I love this dish so much that after purchasing my first dish in 2021, I quickly purchased several more. Now I'm like an absolute champion at stacking and storing food.

OXO Large Salad Spinner

This salad spinner is a must-have when you come home from the farmer's market with a tote bag full of dirt-covered lettuce. Over 30,000 shoppers love it because it makes it easy to wash and keep veggies crisp with just the push of a pump. Its slippery base keeps it from sliding around on the counter, dishwasher-safe basket that doubles as a colander, and brake button to stop it from spinning all add up to a great product.

Chef'n Salad Dressing Mixer

If you're making a salad with all that freshly washed lettuce, you're probably going to add some kind of dressing to it, but we always recommend making your dressing from scratch. In fact, the only thing that could make the job of mixing a few ingredients any easier is this gadget that measures, mixes, emulsifies, and stores your homemade dressing.

Hotec Stainless Steel Kitchen Tongs, Set of 2

They say more is more, and they're right. These kitchen tongs come in two lengths, 12″ and 9″. Use the long tongs to keep your hands away from the flames when grilling, and the short tongs when mixing a salad or stirring boiled spaghetti into a simmering sauce. The scalloped edges make it easy to grab food, and they're stainless steel, so you won't get chemicals or melted silicone on what you're eating if you accidentally put them too close to the fire.

Avant Grub Heavy Duty Grill Cleaning Brick

Made from pumice, this chemical-free brick is perfect for cleaning your grill without leaving behind dangerous bristles or wires like brushes. It's easy to use: just pour water or club soda over your grill, scrub lightly with the brick to remove any residue, rinse again, and you're done! One shopper reports that after using the stone, their grill “looks like new and food doesn't stick anymore.”

Olecrut Corn Cob Stripper

This corn cob peeler is the perfect tool for shucking that summer corn that's packed away with lettuce in your tote bag. Shoppers love how this gadget quickly strips the kernels from the cob, leaving them whole and intact in a bowl beneath the blade. One reviewer said he was “wowed by how well it worked,” while another was impressed with how quickly it could shuck 60 ears of corn.

Vitamix Explorean Blender

Though it's a few hundred dollars more expensive on this list, I've included it because I'm a firm believer in a good blender. It's one of those worthy investments that will perform equally well whether you're making soup in the winter or sipping smoothies, frozen margaritas, or sour cherry sorbet in the summer. This model is known for the reliability, power, and large capacity that are hallmarks of the Vitamix brand. Buy one now and enjoy it for years to come.