Press release

Which? experts reveal top everyday kitchen and household insights from the consumer champion’s 2024 product tests

Which?’s product testing experts have revealed the most invaluable secrets they have learned from testing thousands of products this year, including whether ‘craft’ gin is a superior product, misleading information on air fryers and dishwasher fast-wash cycles coming at a price
4 min read
Press Team

The consumer champion tested more than 3,000 products across 200+ categories in 2024 and made more than 1,000 Best Buy, Great Value and Eco Buy recommendations and highlighted more than 70 Don’t Buys to avoid. Along the way, the experts uncovered easy hacks for food and drink, everyday items and in the household and kitchen categories.

For food and drink:

  • Don’t assume ‘craft’ gin is a superior product. As with ‘bespoke’ and ‘master distiller’, the experts said these terms aren’t protected so don’t guarantee quality. Test the waters with a mini bottle so you can try before you splash out.
  • Don’t let olive oil sit around – Which? experts say it can go past its best before date quicker than you think. Dark bottles and tins will preserve it longer compared to clear glass or plastic. Also, store it in a cool, dry place that isn’t next to your hob or oven.
  • You don’t always need to spend more on branded food and drink to get the tastiest products. Which?’s blind taste tests have uncovered plenty of brilliant budget own-label products that have beaten big brands. They triumphed across a range of categories and include Aldi Bramwells Baked Beans, Asda Everyday Tea Bags and Tesco Finest Sweet Chilli Crisps.

Kitchen hacks:

  • The consumer champion’s reviews give a realistic representation of air fryer capacity. Most models advertise their capacity in litres, which can sometimes be misleading as not all the internal space is usable. Which?’s lab test measures the capacity of food in grams and has found that the true capacity is usually between 60% and 80% of what’s claimed by brands. 
  • Handheld manual knife sharpeners will struggle to save a fully dulled knife. They should be used after every few hours of chopping to maintain the blade’s sharpness. An electric knife sharpener or whetstone would be your best bet for a very dull knife.
  • The best blenders are strong enough to make smooth peanut butter. It took the best under two minutes to blend smooth peanut butter, whereas at the five-minute mark some still had just a pile of unblended nuts.
  • Soup makers are a cheap appliance to run. If you were to make soup once a week using a soup maker, it would cost between £1.51 and £5.13 of electricity a year under current energy prices (24.86p per kWh)*.

General household insights: 

  • The time saved from using the fast-wash cycle on your dishwasher comes at a price. In the tests, fast-wash cycles cleaned and dried worse, used more energy and water, and cost more than main or eco washes. 
  • Quick-dry cycles on tumble dryers have drawbacks too. They can often use more energy per kilo of fabrics compared to the standard programs. They don’t get clothes completely dry either, so if your dryer has humidity sensors you’re better off using a standard program.

Everyday items:

  • Bicarbonate of soda and vinegar, or a dishwasher tablet, do a decent job of cleaning an oven. However they required a lot more effort to apply and clean up compared to shop-bought oven cleaner. 
  • ‘All-purpose’ sprays often don’t live up to their name. Many of those tested only excelled in either Which?’s kitchen or bathroom tests, so it’s worth checking the reviews before you buy to avoid having to buy a second cleaning spray.
  • Tests reveal a big difference in the effectiveness of washing-up liquid. The highest-scoring washing-up liquid can clean more than three times as many plates as the lowest scoring one before you need to change the water.
  • Ahead of the January sales, Which? wants consumers to be armed with the wealth of knowledge accumulated by its product testing experts so they can make high-quality purchases and ensure they get value for money when they are using items. 

Harry Rose, Editor of Which? magazine, said:

“Every year, Which?’s rigorous and independent tests uncover secrets and bust myths to help people make the right buying decision and get value for money. 

“By keeping our testing insights in mind, consumers can cut through dubious marketing claims and spend their hard-earned cash on items that will serve them well in the long run.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

*Figure reflects the new energy price cap in January.

The full list of product insights are available upon request.

About Which?

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.

The information in this press release is for editorial use by journalists and media outlets only. Any business seeking to reproduce information in this release should contact the Which? Endorsement Scheme team at endorsementscheme@which.co.uk.