Best cooking tools of 2012

If your kids get on the school bus when it's barely light out, it’s a l-o-n-g time until lunch. And unless their lunch bags or boxes are going to be refrigerated, it's way too much time for just about anything but peanut butter and jelly to stay at a safe temperature. (In fact, the last time the GHRI tested thermal lunchboxes, not one kept food at safe temperatures until lunchtime.) Enter the new Packit lunch bag ($15-$28, amazon.com), you can make sure a tuna salad or turkey sandwich remains cold for about 5 hours. The fabric bag has a gel lining that freezes after about 12 hours in the freezer. To minimize the space it takes up in your icebox, it folds up. Available in a variety of patterns and sizes, this lunch bag is fabulous for kids and adults.

Many tortes, cheesecakes, quiches and the like call for a deep pan and often the only one you have with sides more than an inch or two high is a springform pan. For a more flexible baking pan, consider the new Kuhn Rikon PushPan ($24.95-$34.95, amazon.com). To remove your masterpiece, you just push down rather than release a spring.

Plus it has a gasket around the base that’s watertight so you can use it if the recipe calls for a water bath. Choose from 8-, 9-, and 10-inch sizes.

We've all seen those elegant slabs of natural slate holding a variety of cheeses with their names chalked next to them. But you've probably wondered where to get them (and are tiles meant for a walkway safe for serving food — not to mention, how do you wash them?). Now you can jump on the trend without the hassle. Revol's Basalt board ($14.99-$89.99, amazon.com) looks like slate but is made of black porcelain that’s non-porous, dishwasher safe, and chalkable. A selection of squares and rectangles are available.

Grilled asparagus are delicious, but they're not so easy to keep on the grates. With the 6-inch long Sur La Table Stainless Grill Clips ($14.95 for four, surlatable.com), you can clamp several together so they're easy to flip over and don't slip beneath the grill surface.

The clips are also perfect for grilling green onions, carrots, and strips of zucchini.

Use the Takeya Flash Chill Iced Tea Maker ($39.99, amazon.com) to brew tea and then almost instantly transform it into its refreshingly icy counterpart. After the tea is brewed, add water and ice then zip on the included insulated jacket, and shake for 30 seconds to get a refreshing chilled treat. Along with a 12-quart hard clear plastic pitcher you get a removable infuser for steeping loose-leaf teas or Takeya's pre-portioned iced tea packets — which come in combinations such as Coconut Lime Rooibos, Green Mint, and Hibiscus Pomegranate ($8, amazon.com) and make about 12 quarts each.

When the recipe calls for just a tablespoon of lemon juice, it’s not so easy to measure it into a spoon and pour it into the bowl . . . little sticky dribbles always wind up on the countertop. To the rescue: OXO Good Grips 4 Piece Mini Measuring Beaker Set ($9.99, amazon.com). The colorful beakers are perfect for measuring and pouring liquids like vanilla, juice, vinegar, or oil. They measure 1- and 2-ounces and 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon and, when not in use, they nest for storage.

Whether you're a veteran canner or just starting out, one of the challenges of jam making is standing by the stove and stirring constantly. Turn away for just a minute and you can wind up with a super-hard-to-clean boilover. With the Ball FreshTECH Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker ($99.99, amazon.com) you're free to attend to other things; the machine does the stirring for you, and whips up 8 ounces of homemade jam or jelly in just 30 minutes. Plus, the FreshTECH comes with recipes optimized just for the appliance.

Whether you’re using it for breakfast in bed or bringing dessert to the table, the Ginsey Home Solutions Freeform Tray ($19.99-$29.99, ginsey.com) has a lovely architectural look — plus, it's storage friendly. It lies flat when you're not using it, which makes it easy to stow in a drawer, closet, or cabinet. How does it work? Just lift it by the cutout handles and it’s a tray; put it down and it lies flat and can even double as a placemat. Three sizes and a variety of color combinations are offered.

The Bar10der ($49.99. amazon.com) is the Swiss Army knife of bartending tools. Ten essential implements swing out from one compact unit, including a muddler, reamer, jigger, zester, and more. Most parts are stainless steel with accents in your choice of purple, green, blue, or orange. To get you started on mixology, a cocktail guide and helpful tips are included.