My bench scraper is my go-to kitchen tool. It makes all my baking blunders, stuck-on dough, or boiled-over sauces disappear in an instant. But what I didn't realize is that using it before I clean instead of after saves me tons of time and money! More

I can't decide if this little spritzer is smart or silly. Or if it would even function. What do you think? More

Canning jars make great spice containers, soup carriers, everyday glasses and even light fixtures. But the one thing they aren't so good at is carrying hot drinks during a commute; there is no way to leave the top open for drinking without risking spills. Enter the Cuppow, an inexpensive lid adapter that turns a canning jar into a travel mug. See it in action below! More

This square of rubber may not look like much, but in the last few weeks, it has quickly become one of my new favorite kitchen tools. It has single-handedly transformed the task of peeling persnickety cloves of garlic from annoying to easy-breezy. More

Q: I am on the hunt for the perfect flour sifter. There has been something wrong with every sifter I've owned. The traditional rotary/crank ones leave me with clouds of flour everywhere. Trigger style sifters eliminate that problem, but they can be tiring to use and I find that flour gets stuck in the mechanisms. Trying to clean them usually results with that stuck flour combining with water to form an even more frustrating blob of paste. Most recently, I tried a Cuisipro trigger style that eliminates the clean up challenge but still leaves me with a tired arm and this one also creates flour clouds and mess.

I recently saw a photo of a sifter on a baking blog that looked like the perfect sifter. Of course, now I can't remember where I saw it. I found a similar one online, but every site that sells it also offers mixed reviews. Does anyone have a flour sifter they love that also works?

Sent by Heather More

Recipe Sticky Notes from Knock Knock

• $3.75
• Knock Knock

Hoping to get some cookbooks for Christmas? Let's hope you get a pack of these delightful sticky notes in your stocking too. They're great for marking recipes you'd like to try, and then making notes on what was "flavorsome, toothsome, and loathsome."

3 x 3 inches; 100 sheets.
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Q: While watching an episode of Rocco's Dinner Party, my mom and I became enthralled with a device called a turning mandoline. The mandoline rotated to create long, noodle-like strands of potato which the chef wrapped around shrimp and then deep-fried.

I'd love to get my mom a turning mandoline for Christmas, but I have two questions. First, can anyone recommend a particular model? There are quite a few online, but with a wide price range, I'm not sure which models are reasonably priced and of good quality.

Second, do you have any other recipes that make use of this kind of slicer? I'm sure we could do some fun experimenting after we try the aforementioned recipe, but I think Mom would appreciate having some other recipes to try. And while this will surely make beautiful salads, I'm hoping there's a little more out there than that.

Sent by Amanda More

Get deep enough into bread baking and you'll eventually run into one of the biggest home baking X-factors: temperature control. Pro bakers have special proofing cupboards to keep the environmental temperature steady while doughs and starters do their thing. We home bakers make do with warm ovens, radiators, and all other manner of improvised set-ups. This new small-sized, folding proofer from Brød & Taylor helps bridge the gap. More

Deluxe Angled Potato Ricer from Williams-Sonoma

• $32
• Williams-Sonoma

This Daily Find recommendation actually comes from reader Sydni, who says at our Facebook page: "A MUST have! The best mashed potatoes ever (super quick too and I was cooking for 23 people)!" This ricer lets you quickly and easily smush potatoes (even unpeeled ones) into fluffy mashed potatoes worth of Thanksgiving dinner.

Top-rack dishwasher safe. More

When money and storage space are tight, buying a new kitchen gadget like a food mill or a pressure cooker is never an easy decision. Will it take up too much space? Will you use it enough to justify the price? What if you want to try it out first? A neighborhood in Portland is working on a smart solution to this problem: a community kitchen tool library. More