As of earlier this week, one in four people had not begun their holiday shopping, according to the most recent Consumer Reports holiday poll. Those same procrastinators told us that as desperation sets in they’re less inclined to look for bargains. With shoppers in grab-and-go mode, products branded by celebrities may be tempting but from our testing we’ve discovered that some make good gifts and some don’t.

Cookware
Emeril Lagasse's uncoated 10-piece Emerilware Stainless set, $200, scored 67 out of 100 in Consumer Reports cookware tests and excelled at cooking food evenly. The Culinary Institute of America's 10-piece Master Collection uncoated cookware, $550, however, was unimpressive and uncomfortable to use and scored a 43.

At 73 of 100, Emeril’s 10-piece non-stick Emerilware set, $200, cooked evenly and was a breeze to clean although handle comfort and sturdiness was only good in our tests.

Kitchen knives
In our tests of kitchen knives, we slice, pare and chop to measure cutting performance, handle comfort and balance. Rachael Ray’s Furi Gusto-Grip scored very good in all aspects, chalking up a 73 in our Ratings. Paula Deen’s 14-piece set (model #51484) was only good at cutting performance although they were comfortable to use. It scored a 52 and typically sells for $80.

Blenders
Our best blender, the VitaMix 5200, scored a 76 in our tests but typically costs $450. For that you can buy five Wolfgang Puck WPBLFP50 blenders on the Home Shopping Network. But you probably wouldn’t want to. The blender scored 16, was only fair at icy drinks and poor at such tasks as grating cheese and pureeing soups. Worst of all, it failed our durability tests.

Food processors
The Wolfgang Puck BBLFP050 food processor was a bit better than his blender, scoring a 54 in our Ratings. It was very good at shredding and pureeing but only good at chopping and fair at grating. Emeril’s 3-in-1 Emerilware FP4121002A blender, however, scored 34 because it was noisy and poor at pureeing. It did better, actually very good, at shredding and slicing.

Juicers
One of the top juicers in our tests, the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Pro 67650, $80, extracted up to a quarter cup more juice than most other models we tested. Jack LaLanne’s Power Juicer Pro E-1189, $150, was so-so in performance, jammed if we fed the produce too quickly, and was a pain to clear and clean. Dr. Weil’s Healthy Kitchen by Spring 9816 scored better, a 63, was good at juice production and was easy to use and clean.