I'm looking for an opinion on which kitchen towel is best. I read something about this in cooks illustrated or cooks country but can't fund i

Amazon.com is the best option of course. I purchased several from this brand Cottoncloudco , it's all natural eco-friendly Turkish cotton. It's super soft and great colors. Received tons of compliments from all my friends. I would recommend them..
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K2ZRGP4

Hi Antonia, I actually manufacture kitchen towels so I hope I can help. a good size is about 16 x 28 .which is the size preferred by most retailers give or take an inch. Terry towels are good for absorbing spills, drying etc.. flat woven towels are good for drying greens and glassware because they will not leave lint like a terry will. Only use 100% cotton, stay away from microfiber towels, they are better for general cleaning.

My mom loves old 100% cotton body towel. Very soft, very absorbent (better than the new ones), and free. She just sew the border to make them not frayed.

I conducted an absorbency, durability and saturation test on 9 kitchen towels (http://goo.gl/B4dNKW) and concluded that poli-dri is the best overall. It's been around for 40 years and is widely renowned in the UK. It's available for sale in the US online and in some local kitchen shops. I gave my 87 year old mother one of these towels and after a few uses and washes she said it's the best towel she's had in years!

Flour sack towels hands down. They're super cheap, and you don't feel bad about soaking up nasty spills with them or wiping down the kitchen after cooking. They also have other uses--I've used them for lining bannetons when I make bread, straining fruit for jelly (or really, straining a lot of things), and wrapping up aromatics for stock or infusing preserves. The low price point means you can cut them into smaller pieces and use them in kitchen projects without feeling guilty. Are the "the best" at soaking up things? Not sure. But when it comes to versatility and price, I would choose these hands down. And considering how affordable they are, they last a surprisingly long time. Believe me, we put our kitchen towels through a lot!

Buy cheap, wherever you can find them, so you can throw them out without feeling badly about it. Because no one makes decent quality anymore. Cotton loop is good for drying pots and pans. Linen for drying glassware (no lint or threads).

Here's another vote for ikea towels. I have 4 different kinds of towels and this is the one I always reach for first for cleaning, hot-holding, and zucchini-squeezing.

I have sworn by flour sack towels since my grandmother left me all of hers. Unbelievable absorbent, usually not decorated so no fear of staining and wash and dry in minutes. They are thin and wear easily but cheap and still my goto.

For drying pots, glasses, I find the absolute best are the blend of cotton and linen. Preferably 50/50. No lint and not too rough. For hand drying near the sink, 100% cotton. For messes, etc, the inexpensive IKEA ones mentioned (cream with 2 red stripes) are ideal.

For straining yogurt and covering dough while it rises, I prefer flour sack towels. For everyday use I received some good network brand kitchen towels for my wedding several years ago and I love them - good size, soft, absorbent, and they wash well. I know kohls sells them because my mom liked them so much she asked for them for Christmas. I do also like the Ikea towels others have mentioned.

The best one are sold in bulk packs from restaurant supply stores.

Loooove the ikea towels!

I love my Martha Stewart brand flour sack towels. I paid $10 for 4, and own 12 now. I use then for everything, but love them most for straining yogurt or ricotta.

I like the flour sack ones from sur la tabl they usually have some on sale as the seasons change and colors rotate.

My favorites are a flat weave that say 'now designs' on the tag. Mostly my favorite because they are HUGE! 20x30 inches, easily. They might be more of a 'hand towel' than a 'dish towel' but I use them interchangeably.

Trader Joe's makes a Sham Wow type of dish towel that, although less visually appealing, holds up well and soaks up messes very well! I use these in place of paper towels and this helps my dish towels last longer too. Works well for drying any surface or dishes.

Just my opinion and experience...The best kitchen towels are the basketweave striped ones from William-Sonoma. I have like 30 of them, seriously. They're large, sturdy (100% cotton) and longlasting. And a great value, I always got mine on clearance because they were such a bargain at $8 for a packet of 4. Normally, they run about $20 for 4. Not cheap, but they last almost forever.

Do not get the ones with the WS logo. These totally suck because they shrink and become mishapened. After washing, they don't flatten out again. And I refuse to iron kitchen towels. If you're going to spend $4-$6 per towel, it should last and behave itself :)

I also like the cheap cotton kitchen towels from IKEA. They currently cost about $0.69 per towel. They're not as thick as the WS towels, but they soft, durable, and easy to clean. They also do not shrink much if at all.

My experience has been that kitchen towels that do NOT have little loops like bath towels are best. I prefer all cotton; plain weave or twill weave are good. The waffle weave is good, but shrinks like mad when you wash them. When you wash the towels, try not to use fabric softener because that keeps the towels from absorbing as well. Buy a lot of them, because you can use them to dry hands, dry dishes, keep your tortillas warm and soft after you have heated them up, dry green beans after blanching but before saucing, wipe up spills, wring out shredded potatoes before making latkes, wrap around your tea pot to keep your tea warm, etc.! The more you wash them, the softer they get and they do not leave lint on your glasses like terry cloth does.