For me I would say the industrial type kitchen tap with two separate outlets one aerated and high pressure spray on a flexy spring. I would not be without it.

An interesting question. We cook all our meals from scratch every day, and I find it impossible to choose just one. Hard pushed, I’d say my chefs knife (I think that’s what’s called). We cut an obscene amount of veg every day. It’s something I use every day without fail, so a good quality knife is for me.

agree, a good knife is essential 🙂 Our set of 3ply pans reduce cooking time considerably.

Since it’s pretty much impossible to cook with just one tool, rather than picking a single thing I’d prefer to look at core essentials. It’s something I dace fairly regularly when we go on holiday anyway, so I already know what I can make do with and what’s essential.

I only need one knife but it does need to be sharp so I always take a sharpening steel on holiday.

Whilst I love my cast iron pans, I can make do with almost anything so no essentials there. I do detest non-stick, though, so there’s a “least treasured” award winner early on.

I find it very rare to come across a wooden or bamboo spatula that’s thin enough to scrape properly without being so thin it breaks under the pressure of normal use, and wide enough to turn food in a pan. I have two and am constantly on the lookout for more.

I hate thin, small plastic chopping boards. Gimme a big solid lump of wood any day; at least an inch thick, preferably two. Last time I put in a worksurface for my kitchen I saved the piece I chopped out for the sink and made a chopping board from that.

For pure versatility and dependability I would find it difficult to do without my InstantPot. Pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker all in one. With aforementioned spatula, chopping board and knife I could probably do without the rest of the kitchen.

Fore pure indulgence, so not essential at all but highly prized, I find my pasta machine deeply satisfying. Ditto the bread maker and double ditto the Kenwood Chef (older than my marriage and just as solid).

@majordennisbloodnok I now think I was being very mean in just asking for the one item and must say, I very much agree with most of your list! On the matter of non-stick, I will admit to having found that ‘Green Pan’ pots and pans please me and they are definitely better quality than many of those endorsed by TV chefs ranges of cr@p products. I must admit to having a large range of sharp knives and the means to keep them so - I was very mean to a company a few years back (10-15 years I suppose!) as they advertised a set of kitchen knives totally free, I took them up on the offer and still use them daily but have never bought anything from them. I too have a Kenwood Chef but this one is only about 40 years old (Number 2) and our marriage is 48 years and still strong.

By the way, Have I mentioned that I banned my wife from the culinary arts when I retired? I have been cooking for my mother and the family since the early 1950’s, then in later years, for my wife and family and when I retired took over the cooking completely. Sometimes I feel a little mean as I get a lot of enjoyment from cooking; however, my wife is happy with this arrangement!!! Like Mars I cook from scratch each day - and I even grow some of my own scratch too! Rewards, Toodles.

@toodles, you weren't mean; I just rearranged the problem so I could answer it my way 😆 

I'm going to stand firm on the non-stick bit, though. I have never found a non-stick pan that has been able to keep its coating in full working order indefinitely, that can withstand metal kitchen utensils (including knives) and that isn't chock full of forever chemicals. On the other hand, my set of three cast iron frying pans (bought, as it happens, in New Zealand about 25 years ago for NZ$40 then) are still in just as good shape as when I first seasoned them, there's not a scratch on them and the more abuse I give them the better their non-stick qualities seem to get. Similarly, my enamel saucepans (wedding present of slightly older vintage) might be in need of some new wooden handles and certainly look darker on the inside than when we first got them but otherwise they're still absolutely perfect. I won't knock anyone else's preference for non-stick but it absolutely doesn't work for me since I can't get around the fact, for instance, that a tortilla will need a metal spatula to run round the side to loosen for flipping and will get cut in situ later on with a kitchen knife.

As for knives, I'm still on the lookout. The ones I have are both functional and properly sharpened, but I'd love a set of really good knives even if I don't love the likely price tag. Secondhand may be the way to go.

Like you, I can lay claim that it's "my" kitchen. When my wife and I first met we discovered she didn't like cooking and I didn't like washing up - a match, if ever there was one. Then, when we had our first child, I took on the washing up too, and when little Bloodnok was old enough that I could relinquish said duties my wife bought a dishwasher. Hmm. Nonetheless, I do actively enjoy cooking and the kitchen is the social hub of the house. Also, like you and @editor, I prefer cooking from first principles and my wife is a dab hand with the growing of veg; nothing quite as satisfying as serving up a dinner with a sauce made from your own onions and garlic, your own tomatoes, your own various green veg and served on pasta made with eggs from your own chickens. Not food miles so much as food yards.

Actually, I take that back; there is something more satisfying for me and that's the knowledge that what I've put into my family's mouths is the best I could have done with the resources available to me. I've seen others perform miracles with far fewer opportunities than I've had so it would have been criminal not to make the most of said good fortune.