Analysts in the Good Housekeeping Institute's Kitchen Appliances & Innovation Lab test and review products for eating, drinking, and cooking—both indoors and outdoors. Popular categories include countertop appliances (such as air fryers and espresso machines), kitchen tools (like knives and cookware), servingware (such as dinnerware and water filter pitchers), and outdoor cooking gear (like grills and pizza ovens).
Our team brings together people with diverse skill sets, including culinary school–trained cooks, recipe developers, food editors, and product engineers. Each year, we attend major trade shows to discover new products and spot emerging trends, and we meet with brands throughout the year to better understand how products are made and the technology behind them.
Each of us tends to get a little obsessed with the projects we’re working on—and the conversations in the Lab prove it. We can geek out for hours over perfectly crispy air fryer chicken wings or the ideal espresso shot.
How we test
We test kitchen gear using standardized methodologies, which we update as products evolve over time. Our evaluations focus on how the average person would use these products at home, assessing both performance and ease of use through a series of controlled tests. To ensure consistency, we use foods from popular brands—and only ones we’d actually eat—so nothing goes to waste.
If a claim falls outside our in-Lab testing capabilities, we ask brands to share independent third-party data. We never endorse a claim we can’t verify, and we never recommend a product we don’t stand behind as both a brand and as individuals.
We also collaborate with in-house experts to gain deeper insights into how products work—from the mechanical engineering perspective to the chemical and materials side via the GH Beauty Lab and Textiles Lab. Our Cleaning Lab team is also on hand to advise on the best ways to clean each product.
After Lab testing, we use the products in our own daily lives and send extra samples home with colleagues in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen as well as with consumer testers to gather long-term feedback. Testers complete surveys that deliver both quantitative ratings and qualitative comments, and we follow up over time to track ongoing performance.
Here are some examples of our lab equipment:
Food Scale
Our scale measures in grams, ounces, and pounds. It's regularly calibrated to ensure accuracy in our testing environment.
Infrared Thermometer
This measures the surface temperature of cookware so all tests start from the same point. It's also used to track how hot appliances get during use.
Thermocouple Thermometer
A highly sensitive thermometer primarily used for measuring the temperature of liquids.
Pico Logger
This device connects to a computer to record temperatures over an extended period of time.
BSI Shade Chart
We use this chart to evaluate how evenly pans heat and how consistently bread toasts across different appliances.
Meet our experts
From testing products and writing articles to evaluating items for the Good Housekeeping Seal, starring in social media videos, and keeping up with industry news, this team does it all. Our Kitchen Appliances Lab regularly collaborates with contributors Raena Loper and Jamie Ueda to test and write about kitchen gear, and is also supported by GH Institute Deputy Editor Sarah Gregory. Each of us brings a unique cooking background and perspective to testing, whether shaped by our diets or simply the way we like our coffee.
Nicole Papantoniou
Kitchen Appliances Lab Director
Nicole (she/her) has led the Kitchen Appliances Lab at Good Housekeeping since she started in 2019. She oversees all of the testing and content related to cooking, eating, and drinking gear. She previously worked in the test kitchen at two kitchen appliance brands, where she helped develop new products and create recipes, as well as a food editor and recipe developer at Ladies' Home Journal and Family Circle. She majored in journalism, has a Grand Diplome in Culinary Arts from The French Culinary Institute, and a certificate in Culinary Nutrition from the Natural Gourmet Institute (now both part of the Institute of Culinary Education). She loves to eat and cook, and knows way too much about every type of kitchen appliance.
Eva Bleyer
Kitchen Appliances Lab Reviews Analyst
Eva (she/her) has tested and written about kitchen gear, home appliances, and culinary innovations for Good Housekeeping since 2021. She holds a B.S. in Food Studies, Nutrition, and Public Health from New York University and completed the Chef’s Training Program at the Natural Gourmet Institute in 2017. With more than a decade in the food industry—including roles as a television and print food stylist, catering cook and personal chef, and marketing manager for a wine distributor, meal delivery service, and restaurant group—she brings a holistic perspective to product testing. At GH, her work spans from testing and writing about water bottles and blenders to ranges and breadmakers. She loves getting creative in the kitchen and will travel far and wide for great food.
Did You Know?
- We test and assess products at every price point, from budget-friendly picks to high-end and luxury models.
- Our team has tested hundreds of coffee makers, more than 150 cookware sets, and more than 50 air fryers—starting even before air fryers were available in the U.S. market.
- The Lab is equipped with five full-sized refrigerators and five ranges at a time. (Plus, we have three additional kitchen spaces to use on our GH Institute floor!)
- After testing, we often stock our Test Kitchen with top-tested appliances to see how they hold up with long-term use.
- We collaborate with our building's property management team and engineers to install large and built-in appliances, cooktops (both gas and induction), faucets, and water filters.
- We partner with our Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab to set up large and built-in appliances in people's homes.
- We have a large storage room in our building's basement where we keep some of our top-tested products for future benchmark testing. Managing inventory can sometimes feel like a full-time job!