How to set up your first kitchen

by Sarah J. Gim, Posted May 27th 2007 @ 7:05PM

May turning into June means many things, one of which is graduation. Whether the graduate in your life is graduating from high school and will be off in the fall to start college somwhere far away from home, or graduating from college and about to embark on "real life," no doubt he or she will setting up a "first kitchen."

Heidi Swanson received a letter from a reader of her food blog, 101 Cookbooks, that asked her how to set up a first kitchen, and rather than answering it herself, Heidi opened it up to her other readers. Some of the commenters pointed to other resources, like Mark Bittman's recent NY Times article about a No-frills Kitchen, and a Consumerist post about outfitting a kitchen with a budget. Most of the 150+ commenters have good tips, ranging from a basic pot and pan, cook's knife, and even what types of spices to have in the pantry.

If you're putting together a graduation gift, kitchen stuff might be great idea.

Filed Under: Raves & Reviews, On the Blogs, Stores & Shopping, Lists, Food Gadgets, Real Kitchens, How To, New Products
Tags: america, Gadgets, real kitchens, stores-and-shopping

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-29-2007 @5:35AM Dan said... For college I'd recommend from personal experience:
-a nice sharp large knife, not the cheapest kind
-a good nonstick teflon pan, large enough to cook crepes in it. Get a teflon pan because it is easy to use and easy to clean.
-a medium-sized pot with lid for cooking pasta, veggies, and so on
-a plastic cutting board, maybe two
-a whisk
-a plastic or wooden spatula
-a wooden spoon
-a large mixing bowl with cover
-a couple of plastic food containers
-a bottle and can opener and a corkscrew. Alternatively, use a good Swiss Army Knife.
-kitchen towels
-cutlery, crockery, and so on
I assume that the kitchen has a fridge, stove, freezer, oven, microwave and a toaster. A sandwich maker would also be nice to have in the kitchen.

$100 will probably buy almost everything on the list.

Of course, this list is a rather basic one. This should be sufficient to cook lots of meals, but it should also be adjusted for personal preferences.
If you like freshly grated cheese, add a parmesan grater. If you don't like cakes and pancakes, you probably won't need the whisk and the bowl. Do you like soup? Buy a second pot.
In most kitchens, you'll find lots of tools that are only used infrequently. With a bit of ingenuity you'll discover that you don't need some of the stuff that you'd use regularly if you had a well-equipped kitchen, for example a pot with a lid can replace a strainer.
Keep in mind that students usually don't have the time to cook fancy meals and if they do, they often cook with their friends.
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