Chinese or Thai: A rice cooker will come in handy for making a big pot of perfectly fluffy rice. And for making sensational stir-fry dishes, invest in either a stovetop or an electric wok. You can find woks online from the San Francisco-based Wok Shop.
French: The French are known for their baked goods. decadent croissants, brioche and baguettes can be made with the help of a bread machine, while delicate crepes are best when made in a shallow crepe pan.
German: Sausages of all varieties are a mainstay in most Germans' diets. A meat grinder and sausage stuffer can help you make your own versions at home. Sausage-making attachments can also be purchased for some types of stand mixers or food processors.
Indian: Curries, dal and other sauce-based dishes in Indian cuisine can benefit from a long cooking time, which allows their flavors to blend. A slow cooker is ideal for this. Meanwhile, a spice grinder or even a coffee grinder can help pulverize spices to make your own spice blends.
Italian: Any Italian cook worth her salt makes pasta by hand. You can get hand-crank or electric pasta makers, or even a pasta maker attachment for your KitchenAid stand mixer. Most Italians will tell you their favorite snack is a panino, or a hot pressed sandwich. Make these sandwiches like a pro with a panini press or even a contact grill.
Japanese: Want to try making sushi by hand? An automatic rice cooker can help you prepare the traditional sticky rice to the perfect consistency. A woven sushi rolling mat will help you make perfectly formed maki, or sushi rolls.
Mexican: While it's romantic to think of Mexican abuelitas forming tortillas by hand, most Mexican home cooks speed things up with a tortilla press. You can find electric versions that also do the cooking for you, or hand-press versions that merely flatten out the dough.
Swiss: There is nothing more Swiss than swirling chunks of crusty bread into fondue, made of melted cheese, typically seasoned with a splash of liqueur. A fondue pot, electric or flame-heated, will keep your fondue warm.
