Serious Eats / Alli Waataja
When I started reviewing gear professionally more than five years ago, I thought: A career that combines my cooking experience, love of shopping, and enjoyment of repetitive tasks? Sign me up! It takes a special person to fry 50 eggs back-to-back to test a pan’s nonstick properties. And that’s me!
Over the past five years, I’ve tested hundreds and hundreds of kitchen items. And I’m now a notoriously picky person. This means even if something’s deeply discounted if it’s not good, I don’t want it (and you shouldn’t either).
In this spirit, I went through the early Prime Big Deal Days (also called October Prime Day) sales to find the discounted items I thought were worth the cash.
The Best Kitchen Towels: Zeppoli Classic Dish Towels
Amazon
Kitchen towels may not be the most exciting purchase, but they’re undeniably useful. These ones are cheap (about $1 a pop) and have an extremely high absorption rate (141%!). Just make sure to clip the 20% off coupon.
Serious Eats / Grace Kelly
The Easiest-to-Use Espresso Machine: Breville Barista Express Impress Espresso Machine
Amazon
As soon as we reviewed the Breville Barista Express Impress, I knew I had to have it. It streamlines the parts I found trickier about making espresso, including the grinding and tamping. I also love the green smiley face that illuminates when you reach the correct amount of grounds. (See? Easy!) Right now, it’s 20% off.
Serious Eats / Jesse Raub
The Best Dish Rack: KitchenAid Stainless Steel Compact Dish Rack
Amazon
There are so-so dish racks, and there are great ones. The great ones not only hold a ton of dishes without wobbling but look good doing it. (Stainless steel!) Right now this one from KitchenAid is 43% off.
Serious Eats / Madeline Muzzi
The Best Sheet Pans: Nordic Ware Half-Sheet Pans
Amazon
You may think you have enough half-sheet pans, but you don’t. In every test kitchen I’ve worked in, there are literal stacks upon stacks of them—and for good reason. They’re infinitely useful for roasting, baking, toasting, and food prep. The best ones are undoubtedly from Nordic Ware.
Serious Eats / Irvin Lin
The Most Powerful Immersion Blender: Vitamix Immersion Blender
Amazon
The most powerful immersion blender award goes to this model from Vitamix. It blitzes! It purees! It pulverizes! It also has a non-slip grip and multiple speeds, which you can toggle between using just your thumb.
Serious Eats / Jesse Raub
The Best Sous Vide Machine with an On-Board Display: Anova Precision Cooker
Amazon
Sous vide is one of the easiest ways to avoid overcooking meat and seafood—and it’s really as simple as setting up a water bath with an immersion circulator. This one from Anova has an onboard display and is app-compatible, so you monitor it from afar or just forgo the smart stuff for fear of your WiFi connection cutting out and ruining dinner.
Serious Eats / Russell Kilgore
The Best Cast Iron Skillet: Lodge Cast Iron Skillet
Amazon
A cast iron skillet is one of my favorite things to give someone. It’s literally the gift that keeps on giving and only gets better with time. You can sear a steak, bake a pan of cornbread, and even shallow-fry in one. Our favorite cast iron skillet from Lodge is a steal, too, at just $25.
Serious Eats/ / Vicky Wasik
The Best Bread Knife: Tojiro Bread Knife
Amazon
The most agile, sharpest bread knife is 13% off right now. It easily slices tomatoes, cuts through the crustiest and softest bread with ease, and can even peel butternut squash (that’s nimbleness for you!).
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
The Best Vaccum Sealer: Anova Precision Vaccum Sealer Pro
Amazon
For sous vide or food storage, a vacuum sealer is the kind of purchase you might not use all of the time, but you’ll be mighty grateful when you do need it. I own this model from Anova. It features built-in bag and cord storage, wet and dry settings, and no refractory period (that’s the time between sealings).
Serious Eats / Taylor Murray
An Excellent Drip Coffee Maker: Breville Precision Brewer with Thermal Carafe
Amazon
With a thermal carafe and tons of adjustable settings, this Breville brewer has been a Serious Eats staffer favorite for a long time. Plus, it’s programmable, for those who like their coffee maker to wake up before them.
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
FAQs
When are Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days?
According to Amazon, the sale will be on October 10 and 11, 2023.