Let’s face it – you’re never going to win a student edition of ‘Come Dine with Me’ by serving up instant noodles and Kit-Kats.
Students have long had the reputation of living solely on ready meals and take outs, but how true is it? Most students are at least proficient enough to whip up a decent bolognese to line the stomach before hitting the Student Union bar and some are more adventurous still.
Raw ingredients inevitably work out far cheaper than any take away and programmes like Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals have also proven you don’t have to spend hours slaving over a hot stove for good quality grub.
Tools of the trade
Of course, you won’t get far without kitchen utensils. These might seem like an expensive bother, but they really aren’t – especially when you count out the pounds that are being saved from the coffers of your local Dominos.
Here are some essentials for your student kitchen.
Your basic utensils
All you need to flip, chop, whisk and peel can be found at easily affordable prices, without skimping on quality. Durable, stainless steel versions of mashers, peelers, pizza cutters and the like can be found at around £4 each, and will likely last long beyond your student days.
Value knives can even be found around the £2 mark, which is quite a steal. If they go blunt, then you can always invest in a sharpener (though as they can be found for only £2, you may as well replace them).
Wooden spoons and spatulas can be found at around £2 a set also. Items like wooden tongs can be useful in a number of situations, including turning meat and fishing toast safely from the toaster. These shouldn’t cost you more than £1.50.
You’ll also need a chopping board. No landlord or landlady is going to be happy about knife grooves on kitchen surfaces, so investing in a good chopping board is a must. Decent polyester boards can be found for around £10.
Gadgets
These are essential tools that are going to make your job a hell of a lot easier. First essential is obviously the tin opener. Trying to prise the lid off a tin can with a knife is a momentous mission and relatively dangerous. A good quality tin opener can be found at for around £6.
Being able to grate cheese is essential, saving you from the arduous task of cutting it up into micro-fine slices for cheese sauce or a cottage pie topping. It’s always good to get one with a parmesan grater attached also, for any Italian delights you may concoct. A two-sided grater can be found at a very reasonable price of £10.
For the adventurous
Those of you with a flair for the culinary can try grabbing some of the more obscure utensils. Perhaps you’d benefit from a pestle and mortar, grinding the delicate flavour out of herbs and spices to create authentic sauces and drizzles. Or if you are more baking inclined, there is a whole array of baking tins and accessories out there, as well as good quality, affordable scales so you don’t need to leave it all to guess work.