Cooking is messy business. When it is not food scraps littering the workspace, it’s spills and splashes finding a way to get on and in to everything. One way to keep grease from raining down on the stovetop is with the High Domed Stainless-Steel Mesh Splatter Cover. Like any splatter screen, it features a fine mesh construction, but with its high-domed nature and its convenient opening for utensils, this particular model offers expanded usability. Fits 10-inch to 12-inch diameter pans. Oh, and it’s dishwasher-safe, meaning that no matter what you throw at it this cover has you, well, covered.

If you have been to any state fair in the recent past, you have seen it: the tornado potato. The spiral-cut deep-fried treat can be found wrapped around a hot dog or just served on its own. For those that find themselves unable to resist the lure of the barkers, and hence try to stay away from the midway, there is another option. Now, with the Ven-Tec Spiral Potato Cutter From Twisted Chips you can have the flavor of the carnival in your very own home.

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Fat may equal flavor, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t another option. Rather than suffer through bland food or questionable fat-free products, take a dip in a little bit of oil. But how to get the most flavor out of the fat without adverse heath effects? With air, of course.

The Phillips AirFryer, introduced at IFA 2010, is an upcoming product designed to minimize fat while maximizing flavor. Able to create “delicious meals with up to 80% less fat”, the new kitchen appliance uses circulating air around an enclosed heating element to get the job done. When considered along with the T-fal Actifry, it’s beginning to look like low-fat fried food isn’t just a lot of hot air.

Curly fries may have been the last great excuse to rationalize a trip to a fast food restaurant. After all, they aren’t exactly easy to make at home; at least not with a kitchen knife. With the Curly Fry Cutter by Progressive International on hand, the dastardly delights can always be just a potato away.

With stainless-steel blades and a unique threaded rod, the 3-cup capacity cutting tool makes quick work of a pile of potatoes. Capable of making slices or a continuous spiral of potatoes or yams, the kitchen gadget makes it easy to prep distinctive creations ready to drop in the deep fryer. And as the cutter is top-rack dishwasher-safe, even the old excuse of not wanting to do the dishes can’t be used to promote a trip to the drive-thru.

Some things just go together. Fish and chips. Chicken and fries. Deep-fried Twinkie and battered zucchini. (Okay, I made up that last one, but it probably should be mandatory to have at least some sort of vegetable when eating one of those monstrosities.) Short of having two deep-fryers handling this double-duty frying, this has always meant working in batches to accommodate for different cooking times.

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Every kitchen needs a fan, some more than others. If you fry a lot of foods, the smell that lingers on in the kitchen can reveal your dining habits for far too long. Nobody likes to be thought of as a junk food master, so luckily those damning smells can be whisked away on an air current. Cutting a hole in the ceiling for a range hood vent is not always an option, but a fan sure is.

The Vornado Foldaway Under Cabinet Fan installs easily and swivels in any direction, offering a simple solution to chasing away unwelcome smells. An attractive alternative to a bulky standard fan, the under cabinet installation has the added benefit of folding away out of sight when not in use. Those pounds put on from all that fried food however, well, those might be harder to hide.