Wirecutter supports readers. When you make a purchase through a link on our website, we may receive an affiliate commission. learn more.

Nothing can destroy a home with precious air-conditioning like a kitchen running at full speed. Although it may be a bit extreme to completely disable your stove or oven in the summer, there are ways to change your habits without the need for an ice cream and salad diet. When the weather gets hot, in addition to making sure your gas grill has a full propane tank or your Weber has coal, you also need to take stock of small appliances that may be lurking in your pantry before putting them into use. These multi-tasking processors are not only convenient, but also emit almost no heat when doing the basic work of preparing for the next meal.

A workhorse like this might remind people of a comfortable winter meal, but they can also easily make a summer feast. Think of baked beans, clam chowder, seasonal fruit jams, taco stews or pulled pork sandwiches, or even cornbread. These appliances emit very little heat when cooking.

Although some of their functions overlap, the electric pressure cooker is the more convenient and versatile of the two. Our choice Instant Pot Duo 6-Quart can cook chicken breasts from a frozen state to a fork-like tender state in about 40 minutes. It can also be used as a slow cooker, rice cooker, and yogurt maker to make a variety of surprising recipes without turning on the stove or oven. Some devotees pride themselves on being able to make all meals in the Instant Pot.

It may take longer to prepare dinner in a slow cooker-think about hours or minutes-but it is done in a separate container, and when you do other things, it will quietly penetrate into your On the counter. It only requires a little planning. Our first choice, the Hamilton Beach Set & Forget 6-quart programmable slow cooker, cooks slowly at a slow, steady speed, and can even switch to the keep warm setting automatically when the food is ready. You can throw in the ingredients before going to the beach in the morning, and when you get home at the end of the day, you will have a jar of ribs that fell off your bones waiting for you. If you prefer, you can also run the slow cooker overnight when the temperature is low.

At any time of the year, the convenience of having perfect rice at the touch of a button feels like a miracle. In summer, this is an act of kindness. We recommend Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy NS-ZCC10 for delicate cooking of various kinds of rice. The rice cooker not only saves you from leaving your stove on for too long (we are looking at you, brown rice), but it can actually handle more than just rice. You can make oatmeal at breakfast, regularly when you wake up, or you can make a full meal. Or, you can use the rice cooker for its original purpose and try to make dishes suitable for summer, such as poke, seaweed rice and sushi, which require little cooking except the rice itself.

This may sound complicated, but sous-vide cooking is almost equivalent to cooking food in a water bath. In French, it translates as "under vacuum", which makes sense: this tool, also called an immersion circulator, heats water to a precise temperature, at which you can gently cook all kinds of Vacuum or Ziploc sealed food. The relatively low cooking temperature makes this method an ideal choice for summer, and it is particularly effective for protein: the sous-vide method prepares tender steaks, silky chicken breasts and creamy eggs.

Slowness and stability are the key here. Using sous-vide cooking requires a lot of manual cooking time. According to the recipe developed for our preferred model, Anova Precision Cooker Nano, it takes 45 minutes to cook an egg, one hour to cook a chicken breast, and at least two hours for a steak, so plan accordingly. But will the result be sublime? Yes.

One thing that sousvide does not provide is caramelization. If you are looking for a charcoal fire in a steakhouse, we recommend that you grill the meat with a hot torch.

Microwave ovens — or, as Nigella Lawson puts it, “meecrowahvay” — can do the heavy lifting without turning your kitchen into hell. However, it is very likely that you have used it to reheat leftovers and popcorn. A microwave can cook a whole meal, far beyond a frozen dinner, and in some cases, this meal may actually be more suitable for you. According to food scientist Harold McGee, cooking food in the microwave retains its nutrients better than when it is boiled, steamed or roasted. How about an exquisite dinner with steamed fish with green onion and ginger and tender boiled vegetables? You can also use the microwave to perform other clever operations, such as frying herbs or garlic, so you don’t need to stand on a splashing frying pan. It is also very suitable for scrambled eggs and cooking corn ears. And, of course, there are always cupcakes.

Although blenders and food processors do not cook food themselves, they are still invaluable tools when preparing hot meals in the summer. Think of gazpacho or chilled cucumber soup, and the spreads and dips used for crudité, such as hummus, chilled tofu sauce, or macaroni sauce. Most of them can be successfully made on any machine, so the machine you choose depends on the recipe recommendations, your own preferences, or just what you have at home. The blender can also be used to make smoothies and iced drinks, which may be exactly what you want on the hottest summer days.

If you have to cook on the stove, but can't stand the idea of ​​standing on a hot stove, a portable induction cooker may be the right choice. Electric stoves and gas stoves heat the stove itself, but induction stoves use electromagnetic current to directly generate heat in the pot. Your cookware will still get very hot, so don't let your guard down completely. But this technology creates a significantly cooler cooking surface, as well as faster and more efficient cooking, all of which translates into a more comfortable kitchen temperature. In order to let you know this, in Wirecutter's test, the time for an induction cooker to boil water is about half that of a gas or electric cooker.

Waffles are a treat at any time of the year. Part of the benefit of taking out the waffle maker in the summer is that it can make a container of hot and fluffy ice cream or your favorite summer fruit (and of course maple syrup) in a matter of minutes. Cuisinart WMR-CA Round Classic is one of our budget choices, which can shake these babies in about 50 seconds. But they are not limited to sweets. A delicious waffle is definitely a suitable summer dinner, and the waffle machine can double as a sandwich press or make some grilled cheese.

Gabriella Gershenson is an editor on the Wirecutter kitchen team. Since her early years, she has been reporting on food for publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Saville, and she is a nominee for the James Beard Award. She considers herself an honorary Canadian, but will not stand in the Montreal vs. New York bagel debate.

Tim Barrybo and Nick Gay

After testing dozens of models, we believe that Anova's Precision Cooker Nano, which is fast, accurate and affordable, is the best tool for sous-vide cooking at home.

We have been testing electric pressure cookers since 2016 and believe that the classic Instant Pot Duo 6 quart is still the most cost-effective.

We have been testing vacuum cryogenic equipment for more than four years, and the following is what we think you need to start.

After testing more than 25 mixers since 2012, we found that there is no better mixer than the powerful and durable Vitamix 5200.

You can also send us a note.

© 2021 The New York Times Company Wirecutter, Inc.