The Most Popular Kitchen Gadget of 2021 in Every State

We all know what it’s like to take that full inventory of all the different gadgets, tools, and general items you have in your kitchen: Maybe it’s because you’re moving out, or maybe it’s just time for that annual decluttering. While old standbys like the spatula or can opener are basically considered kitchen must-haves at this point, newer food tech like the air fryer is still putting in the work to earn its place on countertops. But where do each of the kitchen items stand now? We here at Surety First conducted a study across the US to find out.

Methodology

We used Google Trends data from the last year to evaluate the relative popularity of kitchen gadgets by finding the most searched for qualifying item within each individual state. Qualifying items included the common, like peelers and ice cube trays, to the more obscure, like hot dog toasters (looking at you, Missouri!). So without further ado, here are…

The Results

While plenty of states have standalone winners, like North Dakota’s popcorn maker or Michigan’s strawberry huller, several states overlap in their love of kitchen gadgets. In New Hampshire and New Mexico, it’s the waffle maker; in Maryland and Wisconsin, the splatter guard. Fans of toast would be right at home in Massachusetts and New Jersey, where the toaster oven ranks as the most popular kitchen gadget in 2021. What connects these states in their shared interest in kitchen tools remains to be seen. 

Some other interesting winners include Alaska’s ice cream maker (seriously, we cannot for the life of us figure this one out) and Missouri’s previously mentioned hot dog toaster, which as it turns out is different from a hot dog roller like you might see in a gas station or at a sporting event, and is literally just a toaster specifically designed for hot dog buns and the hot dogs themselves. Florida’s universal lid, which is really only universal if you’re living in a universe where the only lids in existence are found on differing pots and pans, was also an odd winner and unique to Florida alone.

Regional Analysis

Some of these most searched kitchen gadgets may be connected to regions as well, like southern states Alabama and Kentucky sharing the deep fryer and western states Washington, Oregon, and Colorado each having some version of a coffee maker. Mississippi’s butter churner also rings true to the state’s history, and Hawaii’s rice cooker fits in perfectly with its distinct cuisine. The winner of Texas, the meat tenderizer tool, also makes sense given the state’s reputation for barbeque.

Perhaps the widest spanning connection, however, comes in the form of rural states and their slow cookers. South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming — three states all known for their vast amounts of wide-open space and lack of metros — each has the crockpot as their top pick. Similarly, in Idaho and Tennessee, the Instant Pot and the generic multicooker take number one, respectively, and are also states well known for their extensive farmland and natural destinations.

And The Winner Is…

As the last section might have already keyed you in to, the crockpot takes home the gold for the most popular kitchen gadget across the US. It has three total state wins, or five if you lump it in with other multicookers since they all share a similar size, shape, and slow cooking function (multicookers are just able to do even more than the older crockpot). To contextualize the margin of slow cookers’ victory, none of the other kitchen tools have won in more than two states. 

Perhaps supporting the argument for fundamentals over fads, the crockpot’s patent dates all the way back to 1940, and first hit markets in the 1950s as the “Naxon Beanery.” Now, about 70 years and millions of dollars later, it’s still sitting atop the kitchen gadget throne in more states than any other. 

Final Thoughts

No matter if you already own a Crockpot or are running off to the store to buy one now, the country’s most popular kitchen tool isn’t the only source of reliability you should have in your life. Surety First has spent years providing safety insurance services for contractors and homeowners across California alike. Always play it safe when it comes to your money and be sure to work with bonded contractors like those who partner with Surety First.