What kind of kit you need for your student kitchen

How much kitchen equipment you need obviously depends on how well equipped your kitchen is and how much cooking you think you’re going to do. A lot of halls of residence now simply have a kettle, toaster and a microwave in their kitchens so there isn’t much point in taking along a gleaming set of saucepans or a roasting tin in the hope of making a Sunday roast. On the other hand if you’re moving into a shared house with a decent sized kitchen it may be worth kitting out at a time of year when the shops are promoting deals for students.

Personally I’d take advantage of the fact that your parents are feeling stressed out about your departure to persuade them to part with equipment that you may need like a toaster or kettle (you can generously point out they can buy themselves a new one) or buy you things you won’t be able to afford yourself (a slow cooker or a hand-held blender, for example)

Once you get to uni you can easily stock up on the basics as and when you spot a bargain or discover something you need. Good places to shop for cheap kit include large branches of Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, Woolworths and Ikea - if you can face the queues. See some great deals I've recently spotted here.

MUST-HAVES

A large (preferably non-stick) frying pan - not just for fry-ups but for quick meat and fish cooking too. It should be deep enough to be able to do a stir-fry unless you’re also going to buy a wok (worth considering given how cheap they are)

A large lidded saucepan or steamer
The main purpose of which will probably be cooking pasta and making large batches of soup. The advantage of steamers - which are not too expensive these days - is that they have an inbuilt colander which means you can strain the pasta when you’ve finished cooking it. And also steam veggies and fish

A small/medium non-stick pan
for scrambling eggs, heating up soup, making sauces, boiling eggs . . .

A chopping board
Plastic is easier to clean - and cheaper - so I’d go for that.

A set of knives (say, 3 or 4 different kinds including a small knife for preparing veg, a larger one for cutting up or carving meat and a bread knife)

A couple of wooden spoons

A fish slice or spatula
For lifting fish, fried eggs or anything else flat and floppy out of frying pans.

A can opener
Not all cans have ring pulls

A corkscrew/bottle opener
Obviously

A large mixing bowl
Which can double as a salad bowl

A small mixing bowl
For mixing up salad dressings, beating eggs etc

Far more teaspoons than you think you could possibly need. They’ll disappear at a frightening rate.


USEFUL BUT NOT ESSENTIAL
Many of these gadgets are quite cheap

A wok
Better than a frying pan for stir-fries. You can also use it as a large saucepan.

A hand-held blender
Great for whizzing up soups, dips or spreads

A vegetable peeler
Not essential but it does make the job easier

A potato masher
Ditto. Worth getting if you’re heavily into mash

Kitchen scissors
For opening packs of bacon and anything else sealed in plastic

A grater
For cheese (cheddar on the large holes, parmesan on the small ones), carrots, fresh ginger. The square box-style type is easier to use.

A garlic crusher
You can of course chop it by hand but a crusher is quicker and less smelly

A lemon squeezer
You can stick a fork in the cut side of half a lemon and wiggle it while you squeeze but you’ll get more juice out of a squeezer

Metal tongs
Very useful for turning sausages, bits of chicken etc

A colander and/or a sieve
If you don’t have a steamer you’ll need a colander to strain your pasta. A sieve is useful for rice or for straining sauces that have lumps in them (not that I’m sure yours will)

A measuring jug
Graded with solid measurements as well as liquid ones

Measuring spoons
Not vital but they’re not expensive and do make following recipes easier

A pepper mill
Freshly ground pepper makes the world of difference to the taste of your food. It doesn’t have to be one of those flashy wooden jobs - a plastic one will do fine.

A biscuit tin
To stop your biscuits going soft and soggy