The Most Anticipated Kitchen Gadgets Debuting At TIHS 2024

Who's excited about new gadgets? The Inspired Home Show – one of North America's largest annual housewares trade shows — is days away, and the promise of discovering all-new gadgets and gizmos truly excites us. Mashed will be there to scout out what's hot and happening and what we should make room for in our drawers, on our countertops, and in our lives. 

The 2024 event in Chicago will have over 1,700 exhibitors spanning from well-known brands to smaller businesses, all of whom will showcase thousands of new and exciting products. Members of the Mashed team snuck a peek at some of the items debuting at this year's show and picked out a few we think will become absolute must-haves for any home chef. From knife sharpeners to pepper corers, drainers to ice molds, zesters to lunch boxes, and everything in between, here are the most anticipated new gadgets set to debut at TIHS in 2024.

Grating and gathering citrus zest for any recipe can be pretty time-consuming, not to mention cleaning your zester once your work is done. Enter Dreamfarm's Ozest. It sports a game-changing curved blade for zesting ingredients of any shape or texture (think: round fruits, ginger, chocolate, and more).

The Ozest allows the blades to do their job rather than your arm muscles, and features a release button for easily getting rid of leftover gunk. Even better? The Ozest includes a blade protector that doubles as a zest catcher for up to two tablespoons.

Swap your brown-paper lunch bag for the Salton Portable Electric Lunch Box. The 1.5-liter box contains a removable and washable stainless steel container that holds your heatable lunch; all you need to do is plug in the lunchbox and voila! — minutes later, your meal is warm and ready to eat. It also includes a separate plastic insert for sides and a small compartment for utensils. And if you're really on the go, the Salton portable lunchbox also features a second cord you can plug into your car. 

The Brainstream dri.cube doesn't just look cool while taking up minimal space on your kitchen counter — it's also the versatile drainer your hand-washables need. The square drainer has six sides, each offering a variety of openings designed for vases, bottles, utensils, and more so you can air-dry your kitchen tools without worrying about them tipping over.

In addition to this, you can customize your dri.cube by flipping it for the optimal air-drying arrangement you need and setting it back in its platinum silicone base. The dri.cube is available in both brushed steel and black.

Visual Measuring Spoons from Welcome Industries offer a new way to quickly locate the measuring spoon size you need with just a glance. Each of the four spoons in the set is a different shape. The tablespoon is a diamond, the teaspoon is a full circle, the 1/2 teaspoon is a half circle, and the 1/4 teaspoon is a quarter circle. The spoons are shatterproof, and dishwasher-safe, and come with a handy loop to ensure you can keep them together in one place.

Waffle bowls aren't just for ice cream, and the Salton Waffle Bowl Maker offers the versatility home chefs need to get creative in the kitchen. This device is perfect for making tasty edible bowls out of more than just waffle batter. (For instance, taco bowls, anyone?) Once your batter is ready, simply plug in the maker, pour in your batter, close the lid, and let the Salton work its magic. Your edible bowl will be ready in less than two minutes and slips easily from the Salton's non-stick surface.

Chopping ingredients with dull knives is one of the most dangerous cooking mistakes, not to mention inefficient. Between taking your knives for a professional sharpening twice a year, it's a good idea to do some quick honing at home. The DMT DoubleFlip Sharpener is a handy tool that tucks neatly inside a drawer. The two-sided sharpener's blade is made of diamond sharpening stones, one coarse and one fine. It also stores inside the handle, with marked angles to help you correctly guide the blade. The rounded top also serves as a bottle opener. 

The Chef'n QuickCore Pepper Corer Set has two tools that provide a simpler way to remove the seeds and stems from different kinds of peppers. A larger tool with angled edges pushes through the center of a green, yellow, or red bell pepper easily and quickly, while a smaller plastic piece helps hollow out the center of a jalapeño pepper, just in case you want to make tasty jalapeño poppers.

The Cutlery Pro Plate Decorating & Saucing Spoon can help the average home chef achieve an artistic finish on any dinner plate or dessert. The tip of this stainless steel spoon is tapered to a thin spout to ensure sauces and glazes can be drizzled onto whatever culinary creation you come up with next, all with more control and precision than your average utensil. So yes, use the Cutlery Pro Plate Decorating & Saucing spoon to drop dots, draw lines, and (more importantly) achieve gastronomic greatness.

Zoku Ice Molds can help elevate the look of your cold drinks, whether an Old Fashioned cocktail or a classic lemonade. Available in a variety of shapes, each silicone mold makes a decorative mini ice sculpture — like a "Shark" mold in the shape of a "Jaws"-like shark head, or a "Crown" mold that lets you get regal with one of two different crown models. Also available are double molds that create two designs at once: the rounded floral motif "Deco" mold and the square "Lux" mold with geometric etchings.

No plugs or batteries are needed for the Fino Single-Serving Stovetop Espresso Coffee Maker– all you need to make that perfect cup of Italian joe is a gas or electric stove. The Fino's stainless steel mini pot can be heated upon glass, ceramic, or metal burners. Just place the pot on top of one and your cup on the built-in platform, and you're ready to go. 

The Fino's dishwasher-safe stainless steel base and nylon tube sleeve offer both function and form, utilizing a sleek design perfect for filtering coffee grinds into your waiting cup.