Consumer Confidence: Gifts for foodies and chefs under 20 dollars

(ABC 6 News) – The perfect gift is always out there, you just have to look.

You don’t need to spend lots of money to make a great meal. Same goes for prepping that meal, says Consumer Reports’ resident chef, Paul Hope.

Paul says you can’t go wrong with a digital meat thermometer. Even if they already have one, CR recommends this AcuRite.

Another way to make your chef happy this season is by keeping their knives happy!

“A sharp knife is not only safer it just works better. It makes meal prep easier and you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a great knife sharpener,” Hope said.

For around 10-bucks, this manual KitchenIQ sharpens knives fast.

A mandolin slicer is another great gift; especially when consistency and presentation are key and there’s lots of food to slice.

CR’s testers like the simplicity of this handheld Kyocera. It evenly slices hard and medium foods and costs 20-dollars.

For under ten-dollars, you can throw in this set of four plastic cutting board mats and you’ve got a kitchen gift basket! They are flexible which makes them especially useful for chopping herbs, garlic and other produce and folding it right into your dish or pan.

Got a baker on your list? This Greater Goods Digital Kitchen Scale is the perfect gift and costs about ten dollars!

“Measuring cups aren’t always as accurate as you might think. A kitchen scale is really the best way to measure ingredients like flour and sugar so you know exactly what’s going into your recipe,” Hope said.

And if you’re on their cookie list you just might reap the benefits of a kitchen scale, too.