My Top Picks from the Milk Street Store in 2024

To Find a New Knife, I Went Back 5,000 years
On a visit to New England Knives, a small-batch cutlery producer, I found our new handmade ulu, a rocker knife with ties to Arctic cultures dating back 5,000 years. Originally, ulu blades were made from slate and shale and fitted with handles carved from antler, ivory or bone. They were perfect for repetitive tasks like breaking down the day’s catch (especially marine mammals with blubber), filleting fish, making boots and even shaping snow and ice into blocks for igloos. Now, our uses are a little more run-of-the-mill, but there’s nothing better than a rocker to mince woody herbs, chop nuts or chocolate or slice veggies like cucumbers and carrots. New England Knives sources all of their materials from within the United States, before transforming them into knives in the Springfield workshop.

Warm, “Tamarind” Glasses Handblown in Mexico
These glasses—available in a short, straight-sided design and a highball—are crafted by a team of glassblowers in Tonala, Mexico, led by Javier Gutierrez Esponsa. He’s been mastering the art of glassblowing for decades—ever since he saved a glass factory from being demolished at age 22. While clearly a set, each glass is made by hand from recycled glass, so slight variations make them one of a kind. I love their smoky, warm color (the shade of glass is called “tamarind”) for everything from cocktails to a glass of holiday coquito.

A Japanese Pickling Jar
Japanese chefs use glass pickling jars, like this one from Kinto, to pickle vegetables. Here’s how it works: Add your vegetables of choice to the jar and pour pickling liquid over them so it just covers the ingredients. The vegetables will release moisture as they brine, so you won’t want to overfill. Place the included knobbed weight on the vegetables to keep them fully submerged, which ensures they soak up that potent pickling liquid. This method also helps expel water content (to quicken pickling times) and remove oxygen exposure, which helps the veggies stay fresher for longer.

I like to have a jar of pickled onions, radishes or chilies around at all times, and these little crocks are so much prettier on the table than salt-crusted Mason jars.

The Enamel Roasting Pan That Saved Thanksgiving
I could never choose which roasting pan to invest in until this year, and I’m glad I waited to the Milk Street Enamel Roasting Pan. Made from enameled steel, it can withstand up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit and consistently distributes heat, with the long-lasting, nonstick technology of enamel. In short: no more burning, sticking, staining and rusting. After Thanksgiving, this pan cleaned up fastest with just a little soap and water, and the roomy, comfortable handles meant I could haul the heavy bird out of the oven even with a burned finger out of commission. 10/10.

Now, I use the pan to roast chickens, make sheet-pan dinners (so much easier with higher sides!), cook a lasagna, bake dinner rolls and even the occasional slab pie.

Jordan’s “Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil”
There are few things that change the way you cook more than high-quality staples, and I love this one for everyday use. Named Jordan’s best EVOO, Onsuri’s Signature Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil is rich and buttery with soft grassy notes and a slight finish of pepper at the back of the throat.

Owner Ziad Bilbeisi designed this oil for everyday use, growing prestigious European varietals—Greek Koroneiki, and Spanish Arbequina and Arbosana—next to local Nabali olive trees on his solar-powered family farm. Once ripe, the olives are picked and pressed within hours (you don’t want olives to sit after they’re picked, otherwise they oxidize rapidly, leading to rancid tasting oil).

It’s mild enough to use for everyday cooking but contains sweet buttery notes that make it work as a finishing oil. And at a comparable price point to other extra virgin olive oils in the supermarket, you’ll get award-winning quality and flavor without sacrificing your wallet.