Best Valentine's Day Kitchen Gifts for a Home Cook

If your Valentine loves sparkle, then this Runamok Sparkle Syrup is a no-brainer. It's delicious and glittery -- who could resist? Better yet, in addition to maple, it comes in plenty of other flavors, including cocoa, coffee, cinnamon vanilla and maple chocolate. Though the most straightforward use is on pancakes and waffles, we suggest it on desserts and in cocktails as well. 

If your Valentine likes the occasional steak or burger but hasn't tapped into the wonder of cast iron yet, this is a perfect chance to alter the course of their cooking forever. Cast iron is the optimal indoor cooking material for most meats, as it gets screaming hot and holds heat for magazine-cover-worthy sear marks.

This salty-sweet treat also happens to be a cheeky way to let them know you think they're the best. They can drizzle this honey on everything from fried chicken to cake, but if they're more of a spicy little number, there's also a Bees Knees hot honey with habanero peppers.

A relaxing blend of herbal teas including chamomile, rosehips, raspberry leaf, lemongrass and clove. I don't drink tea all that often but when I do, it's Evening in Missoula or bust.

This spicy, citrusy salt is excellent around the rim of a margarita but it'll liven up chicken and fish, too. Pair it with a special bottle of tequila and offer to mix your Valentine the classic cocktail. 

Rosé is already an easy Valentine's Day win, but this Cote des Roses with a rose-shaped bottle bottom takes things a step further. The wine itself is from Languedoc in the South of France with "notes of raspberry and peony." Best of all, the bottle takes on the appearance of a rose. Sneak one upside down nestled into a dozen roses for a charming presentation.

This set of boutique lollipops (flavors include lavender lemongrass, vanilla hibiscus, Champagne and roses and strawberry basil) is already sweet enough, but don't toss those sticks in the trash. Pot them in soil and they'll sprout into various plants, from herbs to baby blue eyes blooms. Does this count as buying flowers?

If there is one chef whose cookbooks we can't stop thumbing through these past few years, it's Yotam Ottolenghi. The Israeli-born British chef and restaurateur is a master of flavor with a focus on plant-based cooking. 

In Flavor, Ottolenghi and author Ixta Belfrage hone in on the process and technique for unimaginably flavorful recipes like coconut dal, eggplant dumplings and chickpea pancakes with mango-pickle yogurt. Exotic flavors made accessible, this book makes for one of the most perfect Valentine's Day gift options out there. 

Parsley and mint aren't usually what first comes to mind when you think about aesthetically pleasing indoor plants, but this herb station made of ceramic and olive wood is here to elevate herbs. The three pots are secured on a gorgeous piece of olive wood, making it pretty and also easy to transport. If your special someone loves having fresh herbs at their disposal, they'll certainly appreciate the features of this set. 

Bakers can often go on forever about their favorite brands of baking sheets -- these things matter when you're churning out tasty cookies. We're big fans of the Caraway baking sheets, which Caraway notes are nonstick and nontoxic. Plus, they come in fun colors like navy and marigold (pictured). There's also a large baking sheet option for $55 that can fit even more veggies or baked goods.

For a recipe hawk, having a dedicated tablet stand for the kitchen is key. This sleek unit doubles as a cookbook stand for any analog compendiums they have lying around from previous years.

Stirring a sauce doesn't take much skill but it does require time and attention. This automatic stirrer will free a home cook up to do more important things and ensure a sauce or slow scrambled eggs stay moving.

When a chocolate maker as good as Compartes pairs up with a scotch producer as good as Macallan, we pay attention. Secure a box of ten decadent truffles made with premium Scotch for $40. 

I don't know who Melinda is but she makes some mighty fine sauces. Many of these dippers and condiments have good heat, although not tear-inducing, they are also built with complex flavors that make them hot sauces fit for a true chef or food fan. I've been crushing hard on the mango and garlic all year. This is a perfect food gift for Valentine's Day, you can haul in a gift box sampling of six sauces for $33, and spice up your relationship. 

I'm fortunate enough to have an Italian market one block away that sells fresh pasta. My snobby self just can't go back to the dried boxed stuff. You can send any pasta-loving Valentine 4 pounds of freshly made pasta from Raffetto's in New York (via Goldbelly) for $30.

Choose from five different cuts including linguini and pappardelle and seven different recipes like classic egg or add more adventurous varieties such as lemon red pepper or rosemary. Whatever they don't use in the first few days can be frozen and thawed for later.

This is a smaller board perfect for serving cheese and charcuterie on date night at home. The olivewood's natural grain patterns are undeniably beautiful and so is the price; just $17 for the Italian-made statement cheese board. Add it to a gift box or basket with fine cheese and a bottle of wine for a wow factor your valentine is sure to love. 

There's olive oil and then there's good olive oil. Brightland olive oil is downright delicious and can be used to elevate plenty of meals -- on its own (like as a dip) or in your Valentine's favorite dishes (like in a sauce). This set comes with two of the brand's signature offerings, Awake (described as "bold and robust") and Alive ("smooth and grassy"). 

Sometimes even the best home bakers want a day off. This DIY cookie decorating kit from Williams Sonoma may be a welcome break from baking for the Valentine who's used to doing everything themselves in the kitchen. The kit comes with six yummy sugar cookies from Cookies by Shar, plus royal icing mix, sparkling sugars and rainbow sprinkles for the ultimate fun and delicious activity.

This isn't your grandma's baking dish. The Hot Dish from Great Jones is oven safe, dishwasher friendly, and will be the talk of any party, especially when it's filled with your Valentine's delicious lasagna or cobbler. You can buy the dish in pink, blue or yellow and opt for a lid for $35 more.

You may not use a petty knife every time you crack a recipe, but having a good precise utility blade for small and intricate cuts is huge, especially when slicing fish, tomatoes and other soft foods exactly how you want them. Shun is a world-class purveyor of Japanese steel, and its elegant 6-inch Sora utility blade would be a welcome addition to any chef's block.

KitchenAid might make the most well-known stand mixer on the market but Bodum makes the cutest. This compact baking buddy features a dough hook, beater and whisk attachment and seven speeds to make the perfect batch of bread dough or cake batter  

There are plenty of quality Dutch ovens to choose from -- Le Creuset, Staub, Vermicular -- but Milo's enameled pot has a very distinct minimalist look. It also clocks in at a palatable $125 for the 3.5-quart size. Compare that with those French and Japanese luxury brands that'll likely cost you nearly three times as much. 

The Milo comes in 10 great colors and makes the perfect Valentine's Day gift for a chef who is short an enameled cast-iron pot.

My dad actually bought me and my three siblings cast-iron skillets for the holidays last year. While I'm grateful, I wish it was this one, which is lighter than the average cast-iron skillet (ours were quite the addition to our suitcases coming back home). This one is nonstick and makes for an excellent serving dish for something like a large chocolate chip cookie. Plus, it's just so darn lovely to look at.

If you want something even lighter but equally equipped to handle high heat for cooking steak and other meats, try our favorite Made In blue carbon steel frying pan ($89).

Step 1 is to make sure they like truffles before you go buying them -- because they ain't cheap. Most of us normal folk don't cook with or eat truffles on a regular basis, so scoring a few ounces for your valentine to shave over pasta or risotto will be a major treat. 

Bonus: You might get to enjoy them too.

These stemmed wine glasses are the perfect Valentine's Day gift -- they're beautiful, colorful and will make for a romantic, wine-filled holiday. If these colors aren't your special someone's jam, the brand also offers sets of pastel and fall hues. There's bound to be a set to tickle their fancy.

Whether it's beef or bibimbap, you'll be ready with this set of steak knives and chopsticks from Schmidt Brothers and Cote Korean Steakhouse.

If your special person cooks, they probably produce a lot of kitchen scraps. Those can be turned into compost and Lomi's countertop food processor will give the organic waste a big head start.

For beef eaters, Wagyu is worth the hype. Swirled with rich marbling for dynamic flavor, this beef can cost some serious coin, which is why a bundle is the most economical way to buy it. 

Snake River Farms specializes in the stuff, and you can secure this pack of best sellers, which has four Wagyu filets, 2 ribeye filets, 2 Frenched pork chops, a pack of hot dogs and a pound of beef for $260. That may sound like a lot, but wait until you try it.