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If you’re serious about becoming a respectable man, you need to have your home in order. This includes your kitchen.
Having the right tools in your kitchen will also help step up your dating game. Women like men with depth and experience, and believe it or not, knowing your way around a kitchen goes a long way. Why wouldn’t you want such a powerful weapon in your arsenal?
Sure – going out to dinner is great, but there’s something much more intimate about a private dinner cooked at home. It’s an expression of effort and value, and if you nail the meal, you increase the chances that your date will want to come back for more.
Not to mention, if you want to be taken seriously as a long-term partner, you should be capable of cooking.
I suggest you add these tools to improve your future home-cooked meals.
Read: 5 Delicious Meals Every Man Should Know How to Cook (step by step)
Digital Meat Thermometer
If you grew up like me, your pops taught you how to grill a medium rare steak by look and touch, but that method is imperfect.
Depending on your cut of steak, the method used to cook it, and the level of heat applied, the old-school approach can be inconsistent. If you undercook the steak, you have to throw it back on and let the juices sizzle away.
If you overcook a steak, it ruins the meal.
The worst-case scenario is undercooked poultry, which can lead to foodborne illness. Save yourself some pain and get a digital meat thermometer. You can find them cheap online, and I’ve even seen them at the grocery store for $20-$30.
Read: Top 10 Essential Tools for Your Modern Home Bar (and how to use them)
Air Fryer
Right out of the gate, I’m going to recommend the Ninja brand air fryers.
I’ve seen family and friends that use other brands, and Ninja is the best for cooking meat, but it also works great for veggies too.
Don’t underestimate the awesomeness of the air fryer.
Do you want some chicken thighs with a juicy center and crispy outer skin? Look no further. How about some perfectly crispy Brussels sprouts? Air fryer.
The one place where the air fryer is truly unrivaled is heating up leftovers like meats, pizza, and potatoes. It brings food back to life, unlike anything else.
They’re also non-stick and effortless to clean. A quick spray of soap and water and everything wipes out super easy.
The other major plus is that it cooks things faster and more consistently because of the convection heat. As for the cons, they take up a decent amount of space, but other than that, I have zero complaints.
Cast Iron Skillet
You can get a quality cast iron skillet at the store for $30-$40, and it will last you a lifetime.
Why are these so important? They are incredible for cooking steak and chicken, they are indestructible, and they build flavor the more you cook in them.
They can also be used to bake certain dishes in the oven or for meals cooked over a campfire.
I used to live in an apartment complex that didn’t allow grills, so I perfected the cooking of steaks using cast iron. After a while, it became my preferred method for cooking steaks. And don’t get me started on the chicken. Cast iron gives the meat an unrivaled crust, and it’s a game changer.
A regular non-stick pan cannot compare.
Toaster Oven
If you’re a sandwich guy, get yourself a toaster oven stat!
Not only can it be used to toast everyday stuff like bread and bagels, but it also works incredibly well for toasting sandwiches. If you want the bread nice and toasty and the cheese perfectly melted, you need to get a toaster oven.
The biggest downside is that they aren’t the easiest to clean. I recommend putting some foil down on the bottom to catch crumbs and food that falls through the grate. This makes cleanup much more manageable.
Electric Kettle
This is one of those things I didn’t realize I needed until I owned one.
I enjoy tea a fair amount, but this is also great for heating up water for anything else. Hot cocoa, French press coffee, etc.
You can find some affordable options online, and they typically heat 2 cups of water or more. They’re also super low maintenance and need minimal cleaning since they’re used for only heating water.
Blender
Having a blender unlocks so many food options.
Smoothies, sauces, salsas, chimichurri, and many more options become available and are easy to prepare.
This is something you will use multiple times a week. Nothing beats making a tasty protein smoothie in the morning before a walk with the dog. And don’t even get me started on the different salsa and sauce recipes I’ve conjured in our blender.
Crock Pot
Some of my favorite meals are done in the crockpot. And the best part? All you have to do is drop the ingredients in and walk away.
It makes cooking bulk meals so easy, and cleanup is a breeze. I love when I can cook something and get 4-5 meals out of it, and that’s done best with a crockpot. There are also a million crockpot recipes online, so exploring new dishes you wouldn’t usually make is fun.
Brita Water Filter
Before you say anything, I was also one of those kids that grew up drinking out of the hose, so no, this isn’t because I’m above tap water.
I drank tap water all the way into my late 20s. Plenty of info is out there about the nasty stuff that comes with tap water, but that’s not really why I love my Brita.
Brita’s are great because the water is always cold. I no longer need ice because the water is kept in the fridge.
I’m sure some of you have a nice fridge with a water filter, but it still doesn’t taste as good as the Brita.
Knife Set
Having a proper set of knives makes cooking a joy!
It’s also embarrassing when you have guests over, and the knives are gross and mix-match. Getting excellent knives gives you the confidence to wine and dine your date, host a dinner, and cook dinner with ease.
When it comes to knives, you really get what you pay for. I bought a cheap knife set, and it lasted for about a year before the blades started rusting, losing their edge, and getting grime in places I couldn’t clean.
In my experience, German knives and Japanese knives are the best quality. I have a WUSTHOF chef’s knife that totally kicks ass. That’s what I would recommend.
Large Cutting Board
Cooking sucks when you’re cutting a bunch of vegetables on a dinky little cutting board. It also takes ways longer.
Get yourself a large wooden cutting board or a butcher block if you can afford it. It’s a small convenience, but if you cook at home often, you’ll get a lot of use out of it. After a while, you’ll wonder how you got by without one.
Measuring Cups
This is something that many men go through adult life without owning.
We’ve all looked up recipes and winged the measurements, but why? Measuring cups are so cheap, and using the proper amount of ingredients makes a big difference in the flavor of your meals.
If you like to track macros, these are essential.
1,200 Calorie Meal Plan (track your macros and get shredded)
Don’t be a scrub. Hit the kitchen aisle the next time you go shopping and grab a set of measuring cups for $5.
Strainer
Maybe it’s just my friends, but I knew multiple guys over the years who would cook pasta and strain the water out by using a spatula to stop the noodles from spilling out of the pan. This is ridiculous.
Plastic strainers are super cheap at the store and essential when preparing many popular dishes. They’re also great for rinsing fruits and vegetables.
Matching Cutlery/Glassware
This is one of the top kitchen items every adult should own.
When guests come over, don’t serve them water in the bud light pint glass you got from the local bar. Go online or to Target and get a set of good glassware, then get some decent silverware.
In my 20’s, I was rocking the cheapest Walmart-brand silverware. It wasn’t until I cooked for a date that I realized how cheap I looked. The nice thing is that silverware will usually last a long time, so bite the bullet and get a decent set!
