In my experience, men are real gadget-lovers – give them a tool and they will illuminate like Christmas tree lights, and voila, the job is done.

Also in my experience, kitchens might be the exception, but I have discovered some gadgets that might well entice some non-cooking man into the kitchen. I suppose the very first item might be the microwave, pop a ready-meal or leftovers in, and he’s ‘cooked’ a meal.

I thought I might do some research and came up with a few other things that might make gifts for reluctant chefs – my husband reacted with some enthusiasm to them anyway when I showed them to him!

Egg cooker

An egg cooker - cook up to 6 eggs in soft, medium, or hard-boiled firmness, while saving time and water. Eggs come out consistently perfect with shells easy to peel, and cleanup is a doddle.

This is the perfect appliance for men who can’t cook, but do like a gadget - hard boiled eggs, soft boiled eggs, poached eggs, scrambled eggs, individual omelettes, and all within minutes of the push start button - it couldn't be easier.

Pasta timer

I just loved this – a novel pasta timer. It’s a little red plastic old-school mafia gangster who floats inside your pot of pasta while cooking and sings whenever the noodles are cooked to perfection.

He will sing one of four songs for four different kinds of pasta with four different cooking times.

The songs include ‘That’s Amore’ at 3 minutes, ‘The Godfather Theme’ at 7 minutes, ‘Tarantella Napoletana’ at 9 minutes, and ‘The Prisoners Chorus’ at 11 minutes.

No more ‘are these done yet?’ questions.

Electric can opener

An electric can opener is fun to use and takes the hassle out of struggling to get a lid off a can, and they leave the tin with no sharp edge around the top. Also, great for arthritic fingers.

Cool kitchen timer

A cool kitchen timer you can time three things at once was another device I liked, backlit in whatever colour takes his fancy with lots of buttons to press and has a handy lanyard for hanging around the neck, which will help remind him when the spuds are done or the cake is cooked or to get three items co-ordinated for a meal.

And it’s magnetised so it can live on the door of the fridge when not being used.

Sandwich makers

Any sort of sandwich maker is good, but one I found makes two complete sandwich breakfasts.

Ingredients can be customised for each one and in 4 steps, this will make a breakfast for both of you, or the kids, or a brunch – a quick healthy meal on the go.

It comes with a breakfast maker recipe book, with ideas such as making a low carb or high protein breakfast, or even eliminating the bread for Keto and Paleo diets.

Cap gun bottle opener

This one is great for parties and bbqs – a cap gun bottle opener. After the bottle top has been removed he can shoot the cap up to 5 metres to the bin!

Automatic stirrer

This next device I found is an automatic stirrer – for the man who perhaps already loves crafting culinary delights in the kitchen, but gets in a tizz having to waste time stirring something to stop it burning?

It looks like a whisk with a handle, and you just pop it into the saucepan, and it automatically stirs.

The parts that come into contact with food are made of food-grade heat-resistant nylon, and it’s powered by four AA batteries and has three speed options.

He might get mesmerised just watching it work.

Lightsaber chopsticks

Is he a Star Wars fan? A set of lightsaber chopsticks was another item that caught my eye, not so much for cooking I don’t think, but for eating with, but I don’t think The Force will teach him how to use them!

Author

Marilyn writes regularly for The Portugal News, and has lived in the Algarve for some years. A dog-lover, she has lived in Ireland, UK, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. 

Marilyn Sheridan