Everyone has their own Thanksgiving traditions and we didn’t want to pretend like we knew how to cook better stuffing than your grandma, but we can give you a few tips to make your future chef-self thankful. Here are five things that you might not think of, that you can probably get on Black Friday, that will make your life in the kitchen that much better. Some have been recommended by chefs, others are just my own opinion, but honestly, if it’s 50% off, why not?

Mandolin 

Have you ever wanted to try to make the perfectly composed ratatouille from the Pixar film Ratatouille? Unless you’ve put in your 10,000 hours of knife training, a mandolin is really the only way you can accomplish it. It turns piles of produce into neat little piles and different blade attachments will let you slice, julienne, and shred. You honestly eat more vegetables when it’s so easy to add a bit of shaved radish to the salad. Try out a Benriner* for a cheap, high-utility mandolin, just be sure to use it carefully. The blade is just as sharp as your chef knife. 

https://www.amazon.com/Benriner-BN1-Version-Green-Mandolin/dp/B0000VZ57C/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&tag=saveur-20&linkId=5c3b6decd54dacd1349a638b0571fa47*

Cooling Rack 

A cooling rack is one of those things that doesn’t seem very helpful until you actually have one. Aside from actually using it to rest steaks, fried food (prevents sogginess), and cookies (prevents burnt bottoms from sitting on the tray too long), use it to drip batter off things before frying, or even dice ripe avocados. 

Bamboo Steamer

Steaming is underrated. It’s a gentle and healthy way to cook vegetables, fish, dumplings… honestly anything you don’t need a hard sear on. Bamboo steamers won’t overheat or stick, and they stack for multiple levels of steaming and storage. 

Microplane

Zest may seem like an unnecessary embellishment, but it really can transform a dish. A spoonful of gremolata can brighten a heavy stew with ease and cut through the fat. A microplane will easily zest fruit and nutmeg and just requires a rinse under the sink to clean. Why not give it a try? 

Candy thermometer

This is one of those things that you don’t think of until you need it, and when you need it, you really need it. While it’s called a candy thermometer because it’s specially designed to handle the hot temperatures required for making sugar glass and caramels, it serves an even better purpose as a way to measure oil temperature. If you’re ever going to fry something, you’re either guessing the temperature or using one of these. And you might be able to make some cool desserts too. 

*We don’t get paid to promote brands. This is just a general consensus pick.