Student Kitchen Essentials

Left to their own devices, students would probably quite happily live on takeaways and toast.

However, even the most takeaway-and-toast-obsessed student needs to venture into their kitchen to cook now and then.

But even the most well-equipped student accommodation won’t provide everything a student kitchen needs though, so here are some student kitchen essentials.

Stackable mixing bowls

Mixing bowls have far more uses than mixing salads or cake-making ingredients. Made from plastic, stackable mixing bowls are compact, lightweight, sturdy and can withstand being dropped by drunk or clumsy students.

Plastic mixing bowls are perfect for snacks while watching movies or pulling all-nighters and can even be used for eating main meals from when all the other dishes are dirty and still in the washing-up bowl.

As an added bonus, stackable mixing bowls usually contain a colander too and, as we all know, aside from takeaways, students live on pasta, rice and noodles.

Garlic press

Garlic makes all food taste better. Fact. Garlic is of course available conveniently dried and powdered in jars but it’s just not the same. Freshly pressed garlic needs to be put into everything and, as we all know, if a recipe says to add one clove of garlic, it’s a typo and actually means two (or three).

Toaster

When I was at university as a mature student, a fellow, younger, student told me a tale of how he almost set fire to the kitchen in his student accommodation by making cheese on toast in the toaster. He attempted this culinary feat by laying the toaster on its side and inserting a cheese-topped slice of bread into it horizontally.

Luckily the toaster fused before any real damage was done but the moral of the story here is – do not make cheese on toast this way.

If you want cheese on toast, you can buy toaster bags which will save you explaining to your student accommodation officer why you no longer have a kitchen.

Cheese grater

Speaking of cheese, a cheese grater is a must for any student kitchen. Like garlic, cheese improves any dish and is a permanent fixture of any student fridge.

Blender

Blenders are handy for so many things. If budget allows, a high-speed blender is the best thing ever. A high-speed blender can make soup, hummus, smoothies and pasta sauce – all student-friendly fare.

For the vegan student, a high-speed blender is a must for vegan sauces and cheesecakes made from cashews.

Wok

Woks aren’t small but you won’t need a whole saucepan set when you’ve got a wok. They’re so versatile and can be used for stir-fries, curries, chillies, pasta sauces and general frying.

They’re also usually non-stick and a decent one will practically clean itself.

Can opener

Although the world has thankfully advanced to ring-pulls on tins, unfortunately, cheaper tinned products still require a tin opener.

A sharp tin opener is a must if you want to save yourself a whole load of frustration. As an added bonus though, tin openers usually have bottle openers on them, which will save students trying to open beer bottles with their teeth.

Digital scales

If watching Noel Fielding on The Great British Bake Off inspires you to get baking, digital scales are a must. While some recipes can be successfully made by winging it, baking requires accuracy.

Without scales, you’ll be adding a bit of flour here and a bit of butter there and it really won’t come out well. Do yourself a favour and measure everything out properly.