Kitchen essentials that earn their keep

A lot of things have made their way through our kitchen over the years.

Some seemed like a good idea at the time and were forgotten a few weeks later. Others I reach for almost every day without giving them much thought.

If I had to set up my kitchen again from scratch, these are the things I’d buy again.

None of them are particularly new or exciting. There are no clever gadgets here, and certainly nothing that deserves cupboard space just because the internet told me I needed it.

They’re simply things that work — and have made cooking and running our kitchen a little easier over the years.

1. A really good knife

Many, many years ago, back when my husband was still my boyfriend, he decided he wanted to own a proper kitchen knife. He was going through a homemade sushi phase at the time, so naturally, it had to be Japanese. After countless hours of research and a fair bit of trial and error, we ended up with a Damascus steel Santoku knife.

More than ten years later, it’s still the knife I use most.

I cut pretty much everything with it: vegetables, meat, herbs and even the apple I’m slicing into wedges for Daisy.

The fact that it has been used almost every day for more than a decade probably says more about its quality than any product description could.

Every now and then, I have it sharpened. If you’re not entirely sure what you’re doing, I’d leave that job to a professional. Every few months, I rub a little linseed oil into the wooden handle, and it never goes anywhere near the dishwasher.

2. A solid wood cutting board

When I think about the cutting boards I used to own, I’m almost embarrassed. For years, I was convinced I needed at least three plastic ones. Preferably in different colors, so there would be absolutely no confusion about what should be cut where.

This system worked perfectly until my husband entered the kitchen. He would grab whichever board happened to be closest and cut whatever happened to be in his hand.

Cross-contamination aside, what bothers me much more now is thinking about how much plastic those heavily scratched boards must have shed over the years. The cheap bamboo boards that split after a handful of uses weren't exactly a great alternative either.

So for my 33rd birthday, I asked for a really good end-grain cutting board.

To my great delight, I got something even better: a beautiful one-of-a-kind board handmade by my father-in-law.

I love that board.

It lives permanently on my counter, ready for whatever needs chopping. Three years of daily use later, it still looks remarkably good. No deep scratches, no strange smells, no warping.

I do try to cut meat last when I’m preparing a meal and wash the board immediately afterward. As long as it can dry properly, that has never been an issue.

For stubborn onion or garlic smells, I rub it with coarse salt and half a lemon before washing it.

Since mine was handmade, I can’t point you toward the exact same board. But if I were buying one today, this is what I’d look for:

• One large board around 40 × 30 cm rather than several small ones.
• Rubber feet are useful to keep it firmly in place.
• A juice groove is entirely personal preference. Mine doesn’t have one, and I don’t miss it. If anything, a flat surface is easier to clean.

Buy a good one, take care of it, and there’s a fair chance you won’t need another cutting board for a very long time.

3. A countertop compost bin

If you cook from scratch regularly, you also produce a surprising amount of food scraps.

My Mama taught me that a bowl on the counter and a bucket on the balcony are perfectly adequate solutions. And she was right.

I just discovered fairly quickly, once I had my own household, that I had absolutely no desire to walk outside several times a day to empty the thing. Especially if the alternative was an ongoing battle with fruit flies.

So I bought a small compost bin for the kitchen.

It needed to be leakproof, keep smells contained and be small enough to sit unobtrusively on the counter.

Is it beautiful? Not particularly. But it quietly does its job, which is exactly what I need from a compost bin.

I ended up with a 4-liter model from Joseph Joseph. It was a good size when there were two of us and still works now that there are four. Back then, I emptied it once or twice a week. These days, it’s more like every day or two.

Either way, I’ve never had an issue with smells or soggy food scraps sitting around on the counter.

The bags it came with were great, but once those ran out, I switched to a less expensive version. Regular 5-liter compostable bags fit just fine.

Not glamorous. Very useful. I’ll take it.

4. Stainless steel cookware

After throwing away my third nonstick pan because the coating had started to peel, I decided I was done. So I switched to stainless steel.

Before we had children, we bought a 24 cm skillet. If I were choosing again for our family now, I’d go straight for the larger 28 cm version.

I cook almost everything in it: fried eggs in the morning, vegetables, salmon, meat and whatever else happens to be for dinner.

These days, I don't think about the “right” way to cook with stainless steel anymore. I preheat the pan, turn the heat down, add a little clarified butter and get on with it. There was a learning curve, but a very short one and well worth it.

I do still own one ceramic-coated skillet, mostly because it’s larger and convenient for certain meals. But stainless steel is what I reach for day after day.

My pots have an even longer history.

I bought my first stainless steel cookware set in 2014 when I moved into my first apartment. I wouldn't necessarily choose the skillets from that set today, but I’d happily buy the pots again. The steamer insert alone has earned its place many times over.

5. An enameled Dutch oven

If you start baking bread at home, there’s a good chance a Dutch oven will eventually find its way into your kitchen.

That’s how it happened for me.

I originally bought mine for sourdough. Then I discovered just how good it is for slow-cooked meat, stews and all the other things that benefit from being left alone for a few hours.

We currently own two cast-iron pots, but if I could keep only one, I’d choose the enameled one.

It’s bigger, easier to clean and requires less maintenance. Ours can just about handle 3 kg of pork when I’m really testing its limits.

Mine is cream. If I were buying one for each of my daughters when they eventually move out, though, I think I’d choose orange or brick red.

Some things deserve a little color.

6. Glass containers with lids

Back when my husband and I both worked outside the home, we regularly took lunch to the office. That’s when I bought our glass containers with lids.

They hold about two or three portions, stack neatly and, most importantly, keep liquids and smells where they belong.

Our lives look different now, but the containers never left the kitchen. These days, I use them mostly for ingredient prep and leftovers.

Good kitchen things should be able to outlive the particular reason you bought them.

7. Salt and pepper for the table

I’ve lost count of the times I sat down to a steaming plate of food, took a bite and got straight back up for salt or pepper.

A few years ago, we were eating at our favorite steakhouse when I noticed two small, simple mills sitting on the table. Of course. Sometimes the best ideas are embarrassingly obvious.

We bought a pair, and they’ve lived on our dining table ever since.

One tiny annoyance permanently removed from dinner. I consider that a win.

What earns its place in your kitchen?

Most of these things have been with us for years.

They’ve seen countless family dinners, birthday cakes, loaves of bread and Sunday breakfasts. They belong to a kitchen where things are chopped, baked, spilled, tasted and eaten together.

A kitchen that gets used.

And that, more than anything, is why I recommend them.

Not because they’re new. Not because they’re particularly clever. And not because everyone on the internet suddenly owns one.

They’ve simply earned their place.

What has earned a permanent place in your kitchen? And what am I missing that you’d buy again in a heartbeat?