Everyone ends up in the kitchen, they say. Invite a few or 100 friends over and more often than not — no matter what you’ve done to make other areas of your home more inviting — that room full of food and appliances is the one where people want to be. The same goes for celebrities’ homes, of course. The difference is they’ve got more money than most of us, which means their kitchens end up looking absolutely amazing, filled with everything from professional-grade stoves to crystal chandeliers to custom-made floors. The March issue of Architectural Digest gives readers a peek inside a few of these impressive kitchens, including those belonging to Sting, Ellen DeGeneres, Gerard Butler, Elton John, and Diane Keaton. Check ‘em out …

Read more: Go Inside Celebrity Kitchens

Lining the oven with foil
Placing aluminum foil directly on the bottom of your oven can trap heat and throw off oven performance, and might even void the manufacturer’s warranty. The foil can also melt, which can damage the oven or even cause a fire.

Instead
Use a sheet of heavy-duty foil (a few inches bigger than the cooking pan) on the rack below the one you’re using. It will catch drips and allow heat to circulate.

Read more: Time-worn household habits to break

Last summer I had the privilege of hosting one of the First Lady’s Let’s Move South Lawn series. The focus was on educating and engaging children on the importance of physical activity and proper nutrition. Around 60 kids from the DC area were able to run, skip and hop in the backyard of one of the most famous homes in the world. After an hour of participating in physical activity stations, we were all ready for a good snack. And this is when I tried the fruit and oat bars.

Here’s our review of the top-performing products for your home’s exterior and interior, for your kitchen, and for laundry and cleaning from more than a thousand tested over the last year. In the Best & Worst sections we’ve included many of our best-value everyday products, such as lightbulbs and laundry detergents, so you’ll know what to buy and what to avoid. And don’t miss our look back at some of the biggest busts from 75 years of product testing, which you’ll find in The Way We Were. (Click on each product category below to access the Ratings chart.)

Kitchen
Whether you’re interested in everyday products, need some new small appliances, or are planning a kitchen remodel and need new major appliance, our review of the top kitchen products will come in handy. And take a trip back through time with our 75th-anniversary looks at coffeemakers and French-door refrigerators. (All links below are available to subscribers.)

Read more: The Best and Worst Kitchen Appliances

Whether you have a stubborn countertop stain or stainless steel appliances that have lost their luster, we asked experts to reveal their top cleaning techniques for a polished, professionally-cleaned kitchen.

1. How to Clean Stainless Steel
To keep your stainless steel bright and clean, Adam Kamens of Amuneal Manufacturing Corp. suggests using a light mist of wax-based aerosol spray once or twice a week. Don’t put on too much — you don’t want to soak the surface and make it greasy. Wipe the mist with a clean, lint-free cloth, and never use oils to keep away fingerprints — lint will stick to the oil.

Read more: 5 Ways a Pro Would Clean Your Kitchen

A typical toaster costs $15, and does a fine job of crisping your crusts. But for just $285 more dollars, you can watch your bread burn from behind a double-paned glass window. Unnecessary? Definitely. But boy is it fun watching the bread brown. Here’s the toaster of the future—and three other expensive, over-the-top, but still awesome kitchen gadgets.

Read more here: 4 Amazing But Completely Unnecessary Kitchen Gadgets

Real Simple picked 37 of the best-tasting grocery store items that can be prepared in a flash.

Read more here: Time-Saving Foods to Keep in Your Kitchen

Sticking to a nutritious diet can be a whole lot easier when you stock your kitchen with the handiest, healthiest cooking tools and the right pantry staples.