You may have a killer chef’s knife and a stockpile of pots and pans, but a few inexpensive, multipurpose tools will bring your culinary capabilities to the next level. Three basics to buy:

Microplane This long, narrow file is lined with little razor blades that make quick work of a block of Parmesan or the rind on citrus fruit. A few flicks of the wrist release a flavor flurry over pasta dishes and risottos. $16. us.microplane.com

Granite mortar and pestle Pivotal in the world’s most flavorful cuisines—Mexican, Thai, Italian—this bowl-and-bat combo can be used to crush spices, muddle herbs for drinks, and make the definitive bowl of guacamole. $30. crateandbarrel.com

Oxo Silicone flexible tongs The most important all-purpose, space-saving tool you can own. These are heat-resistant up to 600°F and safe for nonstick pans, allowing you to stir, mix, toss, scrape, and flip your way through a bevy of kitchen tasks without pausing to swap utensils. $10. oxo.com

Upgrade Your Kitchen

137 Ways your home can make you a better man

From the editors of Men’s Health Living

Make the ultimate steak
Pan searing is a fast, healthy way to cook steak in the winter, when the grill is out of commission. Start with a solid pan. We like Le Creuset’s porcelain-enameled cast-iron grill pan, which has deep ridges to give your food beautiful grill marks. Once the pan’s seasoned, you won’t need any cooking oil, so you’ll reap the low-cal benefits of open-flame grilling without those pesky carcinogens ($100; broadwaypanhandler.com).

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed sauté pan or cast-iron skillet over high heat. When the oil smokes lightly, add your protein and sear, untouched, for 4 to 5 minutes, until a crust forms. Flip the meat and place the pan in a 400°F oven to finish cooking. The meat’s done when it feels firm but yielding to the touch.

Skimp on the salt, live longer
A 20-year study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that overweight men with the highest sodium intakes were 61 percent more likely to die of heart disease than those who consumed less of the mineral. Instead of dumping on crystals from a shaker, place kosher salt in a ramekin or small bowl and season each dish by hand. Sprinkling the coarser kosher crystals with your fingers gives you more control than indiscriminate shaking.

Learn to salsa
Every man should have his own homemade-salsa recipe. Start with a base of 2 cups of chopped tomatoes, mangos, papaya, pineapple, roasted tomatillos, or sautéed mushrooms. Then add a handful of chopped cilantro, a chopped red onion, a finely diced jalapeño pepper, fresh lime juice, and salt and pepper. Change it up depending on your protein; fruit salsas go best with fish and white meat, while tomato and mushroom salsas work well with steak and lamb.

Add flavor, not fat
Dry rubs impart instant flavor to grilled steak, chicken, and pork tenderloin. Mix paprika, cayenne pepper (containing cancer-fighter capsaicin), cumin, dry mustard, salt, pepper, and oregano (rich in antioxidants). Once you find a balance you like, play with other flavors, like ancho chili powder, cinnamon, and ground espresso. Store in an airtight container and dust it on your meat of choice before cooking. Bonus: This rub doubles as a blackening spice for fish.

Feel fuller, faster
Fifteen to 20 minutes before dinner, soak up 2 teaspoons of olive oil with half a slice of bread and eat it to control your appetite. Olive oil stimulates the release of cholecystokinin, a gut hormone that signals the brain to stop eating.

Beat cancer
Blueberries pack a mother lode of antioxidants, besting 39 other fruits and vegetables. Take in a pint a week and you’ll battle the cellular damage that contributes to cancer. Eat your bread crust, too. It has eight times more cancer-fighting pronyl-lysine than what’s in the center.

Lose weight as you chew
Chatting between mouthfuls slows down your eating, aiding digestion and weight loss. If you’re a father, here’s even better news: Children who routinely eat with their parents and siblings are less likely to experiment with drugs, smoke tobacco, and drink alcohol, according to a study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

Look around, temper your appetite
“The colors red, orange, and yellow stimulate our appetites,” says Kenneth R. Fehrman, Ed.D., coauthor of Color: The Secret Influence. “Banish them from your kitchen and dining room.” Go with tans, browns, and beiges instead.