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Ah, cooking! For some, it is a necessity, for others an obsession. One way that you know food and cooking are taking over your life is when you find your kitchen chocked full of awesome items like the ones below. So keep reading to see if your cooking has reached obsessional status yet.

A true cook's kitchen will always contain a bread making machine. That is because those of us that love our food know that bread is one of the most sublime things you can eat, and fresh breath is literally heavenly. So having a machine that makes proving, and baking your own bread super easy, is a must.

If you haven't already got a breadmaker, then there are quite a few you can choose from. You can get ones that are cool to the touch on the outside even when they are baking away you next loaf on the inside. Or you can get ones that have room for two loaves. Meaning you get to double your productivity instantly. You can even get makers that have gluten free settings so you can cater to all of you friends and families dietary requirements.

The hit of the kitchen this year has most definitely been the spiralizer. That means you won't find too many serious cooks that have not given this gadget a little go.

They are designed to slice vegetables in long string-like pieces. Which lets you make pasta and noodle type shapes out of things like carrots and zucchini. These are great for replacing carb heavy pasta with healthier nutrient dense options. They even work well for making shoestring fries for the occasional deep fried treat! Yum! 

You know that you are a ‘proper cook’ if you have the best knives you can get your hands on in your kitchen. Not just any old knives from the supermarket, or Ikea. But fantastic ones, specially designed and crafted for specific jobs.

But buying knives can be a bit of a minefield, as there are so many out there to choose from. Happily, you can get some extra help in choosing the tools that are best suited to you, by reading articles like the one here at Cut it Fine.

No proper cook would be able to work in the kitchen without a decent pair of scales. Some cooks stick to traditional, retro scales in cast iron, with weights and measure that you add to one side.

Others, however, have embraced the 21st century and enjoy the ease and convenience of the digital scale. One of the best things about a digital scale is that you can reset the weight to zero after adding each ingredient. So you can measure everything out in the same bowl. Easy!

Ok, so everyone knows that ‘proper cooks’ make their own pastry right? If you have ever done this, then you will know that separating that wet sticky mess from the kitchen work surface is one of the most frustrating things! 

That is where the wonderful item that is a dough scraper comes in! It's a super simple piece of plastic, or metal with a thin end that acts like a blade, separating your dough and worktop perfectly. Use it for lifting bread once it's kneaded, collecting up wet scone mix, and other pastry and dough related delights.

‘Proper cooks’ uses fresh ingredients, and that means real lemon juice! So it's time to throw away those little plastic lemons, full of concentrate, no matter how convenient they are! 

However, if you are using real lemons you will need to invest in a proper juicer. You can get the old school glass dishes. Or you can move with the times and get a spray head one instead. 

Don't forget to combine them with the great lemon juicing tip below either.  

Tip: Microwave half of lemon for a few seconds before you juice it. It makes it so much easy to get the juice out and stops unnecessary wastage.

Wow, it is almost impossible to list all the used and of the great quality frying pan. That is why they are an essential item in any ‘proper cooks’ kitchen. Whether you are using them to prepare eggs, fry off griddle cakes or even making a Tarte Tatin, you will want to look for one that is built to last. 

Stoneware pans are a good choice, as they are sturdy and need very little oil to cook with. Although you can't beat a cast iron pan, in some traditional cook opinions. Other prefer ones with colors changing spots to show when the oil is up to temperature. This can help you avoid any soggy deep frying.

No proper cook could do without a massive selection of baking tins. Baking tins come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and some are very specific to the job that they are designed for. For example, if you fancy whipping up a Swiss roll you will have to get a low thin baking tray to cook the Genoese sponge in. Otherwise, it won't be malleable enough to roll, once it has cooled a little. 

You can also get baking tins that will help you create a showstopper in the kitchen like clever checkerboard cake tins. Or, how about mini tiers for when you simply must have tiny wedding cakes for all your guests? 

Lastly, you now that you're cooking is an obsession, if every time you open a drawer in your kitchen, a roll of greaseproof paper jumps out at you.

Greaseproof paper is gold to cooking enthusiasts. This is because it saves their baking trays from damage and stops things sticking while they are cooking. It can even be used to wrap finished products for storage. So it really is a ‘proper cooks’ essential.

So if this post is ringing a few bells with you and you find that you have most or all of these items in your kitchen, it may just be that you are cooking for the love of it, and not just out of necessity.  That marks you as a 'proper cook'! Congratulations, and long may you stay that way!