I wasted hundreds of pounds on cheap baking trays until I learned these 3 things – here's how you can shop for a better oven dish too

A two-tone kitchen with a sink.

Baking trays are a true kitchen essential. There's rarely a recipe that I come across that doesn't involve using one at some stage to roast, brown or grill.

Despite that, I spent years neglecting to spend serious money on baking trays. In my student and house share years, I spent £5 or £10 every six months on cheap supermarket trays which inevitably turned greasy, scratched, and irretrievably damaged after not long at all. Then the cycle would begin again as I picked up another cheap tray to replace that one.