While much of cooking is about practice and instinct (I know, for instance, that 40g flour is roughly a heaped tablespoon) there are times when scales are essential. It’s not the precision of digital scales that I value, but the way you can zero them after each addition of ingredients, meaning no more tricky mental arithmetic. Don’t be tempted to upgrade to more gimmicks than you need. Do you really want to connect your scales to a phone app
Salter Arc Pro stainless-steel platform digital kitchen scale, £24.99, johnlewis.com
Is a knife a gadget? I’m not sure, but if you have a decent set you can dispense with most other tools. I like Wusthof’s Ikon range, which is a western-style blade (slightly heavier, less brittle)
