6 On Your Side: Consumer Confidence, Accessories for your go-to kitchen gadget

(ABC 6 NEWS) – Are you stuck in a rut with your go-to kitchen appliances? Turning the same meals week after week? In your 6 On Your Side Consumer Confidence Report, we look at some items that can help with your grilling, multi cooking and air frying skills.

Consumer Reports tests thousands of products in its labs. From appliances, to paint and decking materials, robotic vacuums and of course brand new cars and trucks.

But sometimes CR’s experts take products to their actual homes where they use them just like you would. That’s exactly what Tanya Christian and some other CR Editors did with accessories for air fryers, multi cookers and grills.

"I checked out ten popular accessories for my air fryer and a couple were duds – like this too-shallow waffle mold, and this paper liner that can come loose and fly up into the heating element. But I had a few favorites," Tanya Christian from Consumer Reports said.

Like a steel skewer rack for kebabs! The rack suspends marinated meats so they crisp on all sides.

And if your least favorite part of air frying is cleaning drippings out of the bin, this silicone cooking pot is a great solution. It allows air to circulate around the food, then pops into the dishwasher to clean.

Your multi cooker can pressure cook, slow cook, simmer and sear. CR’s pro called this silicone steam rack a "game changer." Lock a steamer basket onto it and your food steams beautifully. You can safely lift meals in and out using the handles.

"If you love cheesecake like I do, this 7 and a half inch spring form cake pan is a must. It makes cheesecake so much better and easier in the multi cooker than in the oven," Perry Santanachote from Consumer Reports said.

And for grilling, CR’s Paul Hope checked out a multitude of accessories, and there were standouts.

"When I cook for a crowd I usually smoke large cuts of meat. Silicone barbeque gloves make it easy for me to move the meat around the surface of the grill or even take it right off the heat onto a serving tray," Hope said.

A Traegar rib rack is also a favorite. It holds eight racks of ribs on their edge so they can cook without scorching, and saves space on the grates for other foods.