Food used to be about filling up your stomach.

To get the most out of your recipes and your efforts, it definitely helps to have a few handy kitchen gadgets at your disposal. This isn't your grandmother's cramped kitchen! Many people have invested heavily in kitchen upgrades to make room for professional style appliances and better facilities so why not upgrade your small kitchen tools and make that dinner experience really special. Some of the best advances have been made in the measuring department. You don't have to guess any longer when it comes to measurements. To get the perfect amounts for your dry goods, you can use a digital measuring spoon. These handy devices will give accurate and accumulating readings on an LCD panel. For liquids, add a digital measuring cup for accurate volume and weight measurements of different kitchen liquids; perfect for baking. Since we are talking quality accurate LCD measurements, you might as well get your temperature right and cook that roast or turkey to perfection with a digital food probe. Even inexpensive digital probes are more accurate than a mechanical dial probe that has been rolling around in your kitchen drawer for years. Round out your array of accurate portion control with a digital kitchen scale that will provide the exact weight of any meat or vegetable. For the wine connoisseur, add a few tools to your trusty wine key. Slip on a wine temperature bracelet to make sure that the bottle you open is at the perfect drinking temp. These stainless bracelets will slip onto the bottom of the wine bottle and show a temperature reading that you can see in an instant. Once that bottle is open use a combination pourer and stopple to keep the wine fresh. If you don't make it all the way through the bottle, make sure that you have a wine vacuum sealer on hand. This will draw the air out of the bottle, seal it, and ensure that the remaining wine has the same freshness and bouquet as when it was first open. Finally, another indispensable tool to have on hand is a quality pair of kitchen shears. These tough and sharp specially designed scissors are perfect to open packages, and cut through meat, bone, and vegetable. Get a pair with a serrated edge for greater performance and make sure that they are stainless steel for long lasting wear and sanitation. Having these handy kitchen gadgets around won't automatically make you a better cook, but at least you know that you have all the tools to do your best.