My kitchen is missing something: a set of scales both functional and pretty enough to earn a space on my worktop full-time. That’s why Salter’s new retro-look mechanical scales, both the more affordable £19.99 Timeless version via Amazon and the £27.99 version are high on my current kitchen wish list.
Both available in a number of pastel colours, its the green and pink shades that really catch my eye with these scales. As well as being design-forward, it’s fair to say that Salter (who have been manufacturing scales since founder Richard Salter began the business in the late 1760s as well as other kitchen appliances including the best air fryers) definitely has the history needed to produce these kitchen essentials. Here’s how these new vintage inspired scales shape up.
Greens are still so on trend for 2025 and this scale would be a lovely way to add a pop of this colour to your kitchen worktop.
Salter has two different retro-style collections on offer when it comes to their mechanical scales. While the more affordable Timeless collection features scales that are slimmer and lighter (at just 0.8kg), the rounded Retro version is more scaled back and simple.
Both feature easy to read displays, with maximum readings of five kilograms and share one huge plus – you’ll never have to change their batteries thanks to their mechanical designs.
(Image credit: Salter)
If you are willing to spend more on the Retro style version, you’ll enjoy a larger capacity bowl to weigh your baking ingredients, as well as the chance to snap the scales up in pink.
(Image credit: Salter)
As I said, I’ve had a reliable set of scales on my kitchen wish list for a long time, and while Smeg’s gorgeous 50’s style version is the ultimate dream, the price tag of £169 via Amazon feels a lot to part with. I think I’ll be adding this Salter version to my basket come this Black Friday in November, in the hopes there’ll be even more off the price tag.
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Ninja‘s stone air fryer is finally back and available to buy after the popularity of this air fryer skyrocketed earlier in October. Currently in stock on Amazon for £228.99, I’d recommend checking out on this one in double quick time if you’ve had it on your wish list.
Released as part of Ninja’s array of new air fryer colours earlier in the year, this stone shade proved by far to be the most popular, especially with Ideal Home readers. The best Ninja air fryers are renowned for their excellent quality, but these limited-edition colour runs are really adding to the design appeal of these appliances too.
This particular version is an Amazon exclusive, but Ninja also has its own limited edition colours available right now, including the navy cyber space (£229.99 at Ninja). For the neutral lovers, here’s a closer look at the particular stone shade.
Stone Gold has proved a very popular version of this Ninja. It features gilded accents on the handles and interface.
If you have a neutral kitchen colour scheme, appliances that match your design vision is essential. That’s why this stone Ninja air fryer has proved so popular, ranking as Amazon’s bestselling air fryer this month.
Specs-wise, this is the standard Ninja Foodi Dual Zone air fryer that caused so many sellouts way back in 2022 and which we’ve reviewed to great acclaim, but repackaged in colours far more suiting to most kitchens than black.
(Image credit: Ninja)
With two drawers that you can control separately to different temperatures and times, this Ninja is seen by many as an ultimate kitchen upgrade – though it’s not quite as versatile as our favourite air fryer ever, the Ninja FlexDrawer, which impressed our reviewer and has the edge on space and design.
Seeing as this stone gold version is an Amazon exclusive, it’ll be especially enticing to Prime members, as you could have this air fryer in your kitchen as soon as tomorrow.
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We’re certainly hoping that this stone gold Ninja air fryer can stay in stock long enough to feature in Amazon’s upcoming Black Friday sale. After all, there’s nothing better than scoring a bargain on something you’ve had your eye on for a while!
We’re well and truly into autumn now, which means embracing all things cosy to get us through the longer evenings. And if you’ve got a sweet tooth, one of those essentials for a snug night in will be hot chocolate.
I’ve previously tried Salter’s first hot chocolate maker, the original Chocolatier and found it to be great value for its price. The only real kicker with it was that the capacity wasn’t great compared to leading rival hot chocolate makers, which is the one big change with this new ‘to Share’ version. Here’s a first look at this decadent new product.
With half the capacity (240ml), the cheaper original Chocolatier is still a great buy for those on a budget.
Both of these hot chocolate makers have 4 different settings to make use of: hot froth with added foam (for cappuccinos, for example), hot froth with less foam (for lattes), hot chocolate mode and cold froth mode (for iced coffes, say).
When I tried out the original Chocolatier I found that it did a great job at whisking and heating up hot chocs, even when using vegan hot chocolate as opposed to milk.
Testing the original Chocolatier hot chocolate maker.
(Image credit: Future/Molly Cleary)
The big USP of both of the Chocolatiers by Salter is the considerably lower price tags compared to competitors, like the recently released all-new Velvetiser from Hotel Chocolat (£149.95) which we recently tried out.
(Image credit: Salter)
For under £40, the LED screen on the new Chocolatier to Share is a big draw, as well as the sleeker new look. As well as fulfilling all your hot chocolate needs, this product has appeal if you’re simply looking for a standalone milk frother with a jug design, especially with the hot and cold settings on offer. It’s the perfect companion to the one of the best coffee machines without a built in milk frother.
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So if you’re looking for a hot chocolate maker for hosting season or if you’re already on the hunt for Christmas gifts, the Chocolatier to Share certainly looks like it’ll be a crowd pleaser, especially for its price tag.
Pact Coffee has unveiled a new coffee advent calendar for 2025, with 25 portions of ground or whole bean coffee to unwrap every day in December for the price of £39.95 (via Pact Coffee).
I know what you’re thinking, it’s far too soo to be discussing advent calendars. But at the rate that these products sell out, it’s worth highlighting the ones that are actually worth your time.
And with an eye-catching, intricate gilded design and a focus on quality (with a range of origins, roasts and flavours on offer), this wouldn’t just make a fabulous countdown for yourself, but would also put you in good stead with whoever you gift it to, especially those with one of the best coffee machines. Here’s a full look at it.
You can choose between ground or wholebean coffee if you do pick up this calendar – it’s also available on Amazon if you’d rather make use of your Prime membership.
I’m an advent calendar skeptic – most of the time it feels like brands take spare stock and shove them into a product with a much higher RRP for Christmastime, which doesn’t feel very festive to me.
That’s not the case with this, which has beans to last you throughout December with each parcel working out as about £1.60 in value. For that price, you don’t just get run of the mill coffee. You’re treated to exclusive limited edition coffees from the speciality coffee brand (I’m praying Pact’s Bourbon Cream Espresso blend is going to be in there), customer favourites and ‘rare micro-lots’ too.
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(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
The thing that initially impressed me most with this calendar is the packaging. I opted for the wholebean version (to use with my beloved Ninja Luxe Café Pro machine) which comes in an emerald green with delicate gold accents, including illustrations of all of your standard coffee apparatus including a gilded mokka pot. I reckon it would make a very impressive gift.
This isn’t a traditional calendar design with pull-out drawers or doors, but it does mark each day with a pouch of coffee (of course) and a profile card which describes what you’re drinking and where it’s from, as well as giving tasting notes.
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(Image credit: Pact)
So if you’re more of an edible and drinkable advent calendar person or if you have a caffeine addict in your life that you need to tick off a Christmas gift for, I’m all in for this version from Pact. Now I just need to wait for December to roll around!
Soup season has arrived and along with it the launch of a new do-it-all soup maker. This launch, from Panasonic (for £169.99), promises to whizz up fast, healthy soups for you in as little as 22 minutes and has ten other functions to keep your kitchen running smoothly. It blends and heats soup but also has cold settings for smoothies or frozen drinks, too.
Seeing as it’s the ideal time of the year for a bit of leek and potato, I’ve been trying this soup maker out in my kitchen to see how it fares. Here’s how I’ve gotten along with it so far, as well as how it compares to its fellow best soup makers. Hey, I’ll even make an argument for why you might buy it over one of the best blenders.
So far, I’ve only made soup with this gadget as I’ve been using it a little over a week, but I’ll be sure to try out its full suite of settings before I give my final verdict.
My first recipe was a carrot and coriander soup for a speedy midweek dinner. The only prep I needed to do beforehand was to roughly chop an onion, my carrots and a small potato and to boil a kettle for some vegetable stock. Your chopping doesn’t need to be neat or uniform here, though it is important you don’t overfill the maker with hot liquid (there’s a very clear max fill line).
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(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
In under five minutes I had chucked the ingredients into the jug and filled it with stock. All that was left to do was use the control panel, which is very intuitive, and set it to Smooth Soup mode. The unit then flashed to let me know that it was warming the device, before a timer showed for 22 minutes.
That left me with plenty of free time (in which I could unload and refill the dishwasher), as well as a window to make accompanying cheese and ham toasties in. When the cycle was complete, the consistency of the soup was as smooth as anything you’d get from a can and the automatic keep warm function worked a treat for serving up portions later in the day too.
Next up was leek and potato, which was just as easy to prep for – all you need to do is chuck everything in to get mixed up.
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(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
As with the first recipe, it took under 30 minutes from getting my chopping board out to having hot soup ready to go.
I’ve been impressed with how intuitive this soup maker has been to use so far, though I’ve still got some doubts about how much I’ll use it long-term and the viability for most people of having something quite so big in their kitchen. But, as promised, it is fairly quiet and very capable. The cold blending modes mean that I can totally see why you’d buy it over a standard blender too for the price, as you can pack so much more functionality into one appliance.
I’ve still got plenty of broths to make before I come to my final verdict on this gadget but so far, I can totally see why a soup lover would want it.
