Guides
Best Glass Blender: 5 Non-Toxic Picks and What Touches Your Food
A glass or stainless steel jar keeps most plastic away from your smoothie, but the seal and lid touch your food too. We read Hamilton Beach, Oster, Vitamix and KitchenAid’s own manuals and pages, part by part.
Best Glass Air Fryer: What Your Food Actually Touches
A glass air fryer swaps the coated drawer for a glass bowl, but your food still sits on a crisper plate. We read Ninja, Cuisinart and NutriChef’s own documents to show what touches your food in each model.
What Is a Sauté Pan? Sauté Pan vs Frying Pan (Skillet), and 5 Picks Checked Against the Makers' Specs
A sauté pan has straight sides and a lid; a frying pan's sides slope. When each one wins, what size to buy, and 5 sauté pans checked against the makers' own specs.
Water Filter for Microplastics: Certified Picks We Checked by Model Number
Which water filters are actually certified for microplastics? We looked up each model in the NSF, IAPMO and WQA listings: a pitcher, a faucet filter and an under-sink unit, plus their replacement filters.
Best Non-Toxic Popcorn Maker: Stainless Stovetop vs Air Popper vs Microwave Popper
Stainless stovetop, hot air, glass or silicone: what actually touches your popcorn in five best-selling poppers, and what the FDA says about microwave bags.
Best Microwave Safe Dinnerware: 5 Picks Whose Listings Say So, and Which Run Hot
Plates, bowls and sets whose listings say microwave safe in writing, which material comes out hottest, and a 30-second check for dishes you already own.
Best Cookware for Glass Top Stoves (and Can You Use Cast Iron?)
What the stove makers actually allow on glass tops, the cast-iron split between brands, and four pans and pots that fit the rules.
How to Clean and Descale an Electric Kettle (What the Makers Say)
What OXO, Cuisinart, Breville, Smeg, Hamilton Beach, Fellow and KitchenAid say about descaling an electric kettle: citric acid or descaler first, vinegar only where your manual allows it.
Water Filter for Lead and PFAS: Certified Picks We Checked by Model Number
Which water filters are actually certified for lead and PFAS? We looked up each model in the NSF and IAPMO listings: a faucet filter, a pitcher, an under-sink unit and reverse osmosis, plus their replacement filters.
Beyond PFAS: What 40 Cookware Brands List in Their California Chemical Disclosures
We read the California chemical disclosure pages of 40 well-known cookware brands. Here is what each one says about PFAS and the other chemicals it lists, with a link to every source.
How to Descale and Clean a Keurig (Keurig's Steps, Model by Model)
How much descaling solution, how long to rest and how many rinses, model by model, from Keurig's own guides, plus the descale light, vinegar, filters, rinse pods and needles.
How to Clean a Coffee Maker with Vinegar (and What Each Maker Actually Says)
How much vinegar, how many rinses and what the clean light means, from Mr. Coffee, Cuisinart, Hamilton Beach, Ninja, OXO and Moccamaster in their own words, plus the descalers to use instead of vinegar.