COOKSTUFF

Get a grip

You can have the best grill, but if you have the worst tongs, your grilling experience will be far from perfect. These luxury barbecue tongs have extra-long blades (12 inches from your fingers to the tip) and extra-long (3-inch) gripping surfaces. The stainless blades are sturdier than most, and the handles are thoroughly insulated. They go in the dishwasher with no problems.

KitchenAid BBQ Tongs, about $20, from Barbecues Galore and Amazon.com.

-- Charles Perry

For nice clean lines

These wipes, made from biodegradable cellulose, are designed for cleaning a grill grate while it’s heating up. You put one on a wire grill brush and scrape, and it cleans and oils in one step. The oil is designed to give nice grill marks as well as prevent sticking. How’s that for handy?

Grate Chef disposable grill wipes, $2.99 for a package of six, at kitchen and outdoor stores.

-- Charles Perry

One basket, two uses

If you grill a lot, you need one basket to properly hold fish and another to hold vegetables -- if not even more gadgets to keep fragile foods from slipping through the grate. This basket can multitask. Its flexible wires adjust to hold something thick, such as fish, or something small and thin, such as bell pepper pieces. And the steel basket has a nonstick coating for easy cleaning.

Flexible grill basket, $24, at Williams-Sonoma or www. williams-sonoma.com.

-- Jennifer Lowe