Fresh, fluffy waffles may seem like a treat reserved for brunches out, but a good waffle maker can easily produce restaurant-quality waffles at home.

After putting in more than 100 hours of research, talking to six experts, and testing 36 models since 2014, we recommend the Cuisinart Round Flip Belgian Waffle Maker WAF-F30NAS. In our tests, it consistently delivered lofty, golden waffles that were crispy on the outside and tender within, in about two minutes.

Frothed milk is one of those little luxuries that can make your day feel special. When a barista hands you a steaming cappuccino or a fragrant London fog, everything gets a little bit brighter.

Good milk frothers bring this indulgence home, giving you a foolproof way to prepare velvety milk foam whenever you want (or need) it. They’re also handy for mixing up a protein shake, a matcha latte, or a rich cup of hot chocolate.

After testing 14 milk frothers in a range of styles, we recommend the Instant MagicFroth 9-in-1, the MatchaBar Electric Matcha Whisk, and the Golde Superwhisk. They’re simple to use and easy to clean, and they churn out thick, consistent foam.

A smartwatch is an excellent companion for anyone who wants to stay connected without fully relying on their smartphone. You can answer calls and texts, track your workouts, check your notifications, and control your music — all from your wrist.

While the Apple Watch continues to dominate the smartwatch market, Android smartwatches are just as capable, with robust sensors and features that allow for in-depth health tracking on a daily basis. You also have a lot more options to pick from, which makes it easier for you to find a wearable that suits both your style and your needs.

We’ve tested dozens of smartwatches for Android phones, including all of the latest models, and we’ve found that the Google Pixel Watch 5 is the best option for most people with Android phones. It has a slim case that makes it comfortable to wear for long periods, advanced health and fitness tracking, and some actually useful AI features, and it runs the latest Wear OS software.

Hurricanes have terrifying power, and because of their sheer scope and unpredictability, each one presents variables that are totally out of your control.

How destructive will it be?

Will it shift direction and come right at you?

Will you have to evacuate?

As unsettling as these questions are, there’s a lot you can do to get ready for one of these megastorms, from staying informed and making sure you have the right gear to completing a few relatively simple home improvements.

With climate change causing hurricanes to intensify in strength and speed, and affect even wider swaths of the country than ever before, the reliability of your gear is more important than ever. And for Wirecutter staffers from Florida to New York, many of the picks in this guide have proved themselves during hurricanes time and again.

If your area is under evacuation orders, you should follow that guidance. If you are able to remain at home, the most crucial items to have on hand are the things that will help you communicate with the outside world, find your way in the dark, and protect your belongings. And once the storm has passed, you may have some cleanup to contend with, so we’ve included helpful items for those tasks too.

“Be prepared for some primitive living without power for a while,” said Claudette Reichel, a building science specialist at Louisiana State University who trains housing professionals on disaster resilience as well as on hurricane and flood recovery.

That alluring aroma. The distinctive sizzle. The crackle of that first salty bite.

No one forgets the experience of bacon, not even vegans (which explains the increasing availability of plant-based versions).

My mouth is watering as I write this. I bet yours is, too.

Bacon’s sensory thrills are no doubt a big part of why it’s embraced the world over, from Italian pancetta to the thick, hammy rounds adored by Canadians. The US is particularly known for “streaky bacon” — thin, smoky strips marked by ribbons of meat and fat. Bacon is such a part of American life, it’s even worked its way into the lexicon, whether we’re bringing it home, saving it, or asking what’s shakin’.

And yes, bacon does indeed make everything better, especially when tucked in a BLT, rendered as a smoky soup base, or crumbled atop a cool Cobb salad.

Is it any wonder the average American eats 18 pounds of bacon a year, 57% of it at breakfast?

So we set out to determine some of the country’s best. After many hours of research, my colleagues and I gleefully tested 22 brands of salty, smoky, chewy, crispy pork, including supermarket staples and easily accessible artisanal varieties. The following picks, ranging from wallet-friendly to splurge-worthy, will each give you a scrumptious reason to get out of bed in the morning.

Is there any food as versatile or varied as seafood in a can? Depending on what’s in it, a tin of fish could be equally at home on a camping trip, at a cocktail party, in a lunch box, or served at a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Maybe that explains the recent surge in popularity in the US (elsewhere, it never went out of style). Maybe the pretty packaging has something to do with it too. Maybe it’s all that plus the simple truth, already well-known to many, that good tinned fish can be a treat on the level of expertly crafted charcuterie or finely aged cheese.

That’s the kind of tinned fish that this guide covers. It does not include plain tuna and plain sardines, for instance — though you can find truly special versions of these, too. They are staples in their own right, and have their own dedicated guides. For now, we’re focused on tinned fish that feels special or doesn’t fit neatly in a category.

In all I, along with several other members of Wirecutter’s kitchen team, tasted 109 promising-looking tins and jars of fish from Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Denmark, Japan, China, and the US, and landed on 24 favorites.

The following picks are all things we’d happily serve at a party or give as a gift, though many would also make a nice meal for one.

You know the expression “save one’s bacon”? Complete hogwash. Don’t save your bacon. Eat it. Always eat the bacon.

It’s the bacon grease that you should be saving.

Its culinary uses are endless. Just ask savvy cooks like Justin Coleman of the bacon-themed restaurant Bake’n Bacon in Philadelphia: He uses bacon grease as a flavor enhancer in everything from cornbread to barbecue sauce to a sweet-and-savory caramel.

Bacon grease can come in handy in plenty of other, non-culinary or otherwise surprising ways, too — but there are also some dubious assertions about using bacon grease that you should be wary of. I consulted eight experts to separate porcine fact from piggish fiction.

I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a morning person.

I suspect (hope?) I’m not alone in this. Perhaps you’re a college student who signed up for that 8 a.m. French class believing you could brave the early hour only to find out vous ne pouvez pas. Or maybe you’re a sleep-deprived parent who’s scrambling to get three kids in the car right now before they’re all late for school (again).

Or maybe, like me, your circadian rhythm is just so out of sync with the Earth’s rotation that you find yourself rolling out of bed at the last possible second, breakfast and coffee forgone for a few precious minutes of extra sleep.

I see you. I understand you. I am you.

But as stressed and behind schedule as you may be (or as much as you plain don’t feel like it), your brain needs calories in the morning to function. Thank goodness for the scientific marvel that is the microwavable frozen breakfast sandwich.

You might be thinking: No frozen breakfast sandwich could compete with its freshly prepared counterpart. And you’d be right. But I found five that can get you pretty dang close, all ready in the amount of time it takes to get dressed.

Even if you commute to an office, it’s still helpful to have a writing desk in your home. Whether you’re paying bills or starting that novel you know you’ve got in you, dedicating a spot for focused work can help guarantee that you’ll actually get tasks done.

Any old table with drawers will do the trick, but why not have fun with it? Freed from the task of accommodating multi-screen spreadsheets or heavy-duty filing cabinets, a desk can be design-forward and enhance your existing decor. Or it can effortlessly blend in with what you’ve already got. Either way, a pretty desk can spark creativity, and it can make tapping a pencil against your chin — while you’re staring wistfully off into the distance — hit just right.

I was mesmerized by diner cooks as a kid.

I’d sit on a vinyl stool and drink chocolate milk from a carton, hunger gnawing as smells of bacon, coffee, and melted butter wafted across the counter.

Through a thin haze of smoke, these cooks danced back and forth before a flat-top griddle, their spatulas singing against the steel as they deftly flipped piles of pancakes, fried eggs, and hash browns faster than seemed possible.

This was breakfast to me: a ceremony, presided over by sweaty, apron-clad attendants standing before a searing-hot altar.

My attempts to re-create this experience at home were always disheartening, if not sacrilegious. With my 10-inch pan, I had none of the speed, precision, or ease of a short-order cook.

Everything changed when I discovered electric griddles.

In my pursuit of the best version, I flipped more than 100 pancakes and logged countless temperature readings, and the Presto 22-inch Electric Slimline Griddle came out on top. With its large, quick-heating cooking surface and sturdy build, it’s the closest you’ll get to the short-order-cook experience at home. (And for an even more authentic experience, get a friend to bark their breakfast order at you.)