During an age where air fryers, pressure cookers, and new-fangled gadgets have taken the home cooking world by storm, simple, handcrafted (and potentially half of a century old) tools still have a very important place in the kitchen.

I like a shiny new nonstick frying pan and satisfyingly efficient mandoline as much as the next home cook or chef, but am fully aware that they’re not essential when it comes to the traditional Italian kitchen.