Laura Ross Russell
In this practical guide, Laura Ross Russell reflects on the chaos of an overstocked second-year house, the lessons learned by graduation, and the cupboard staples that have seen her through three years at university. Whether you’re a future Ottolenghi or a toastie-machine loyalist, this is your no-nonsense list for kitting out next years kitchen without wasting money or valuable cupboard space.
When I moved into my second-year house, we made absolutely no effort to coordinate who brought what. With eight girls, we ended up with eight frying pans, about fifteen saucepans, two kettles, three toastie machines, countless plates and bowls and thirty-two sets of cutlery.
It was a saving grace when the first kettle broke, and handy when we had loads of people round for Christmas dinner, but it also meant our cupboards were overflowing, and most of the saucepans gathered dust.
In my third year, we’re just three in a house and far more organised, although admittedly there is still a box of unused pots and pans on top of the fridge, because they just don’t fit in the cupboard.
All this to say that it’s a good idea to start thinking now about who’s bringing what to your house next year. If someone has an older sibling about to graduate, chances are they’ll be moving home and won’t need all their kitchen bits anymore, which will save you money and a stressful IKEA trip.
In my opinion, all you need is: two sharp knives (one big, one small), two chopping boards, a set of proper kitchen scissors, a large frying pan (with a lid), a small and a large saucepan (both with lids), tongs, a spatula, a fish slice, a wooden spoon, a big plastic spoon, a slotted spoon, a grater, a peeler, a tin opener, a corkscrew, measuring spoons, a measuring jug (and maybe scales), a shallow baking tray and a deep roasting tin, a sieve, which doubles as a colander to drain pasta, and a large mixing bowl (ideally one which fits on top of one of your saucepans, to make a bain-marie. Sounds fancy but I don’t know a single uni student who hasn’t made brownies at least once).
That sounds like a lot, but lots of these you’ll share with housemates. And if your family is into cooking, you may well already have spares of lots of these things. My mum has five identical peelers. If you’ve got a spare wok, a stick blender, a whisk, a microplane, more frying pans, or anything else like that at home, feel free to bring it to uni, but you probably don’t need to buy one just yet.
That first shop can hit your student budget like a tonne of bricks: buying olive oil is still the most painful use of my loan.
Another thing to think about when you move into a new house is the basics: condiments, spices and pantry essentials. If your parents are dropping you at uni in September, I highly recommend you ask them to take you supermarket shopping at the same time. That first shop can hit your student budget like a tonne of bricks: buying olive oil is still the most painful use of my loan.
Before I moved into my second-year house, I went through some of my mum’s most-used recipe books, picked about twenty meals I could actually see myself cooking, took photos and made a list of the annoyingly expensive but long-lasting cupboard staples they used. Most of these bottles and jars have lasted me into third year, and now that I’m graduating, I figured I’d share that list with you.
The recipes I picked were as follows:
From Jamie Oliver’s 30-minute meals – Pregnant Jools’ Pasta, Harissa Squash Salad, Aubergine Penne Arrabbiata, Harissa Chicken Traybake, Ginger Shakin’ Beef
From Bill Granger’s Easy – Pan Fried Salmon with Cucumber and Lemon Salsa, Hoisin Marinated Salmon with Chilli Soy Tenderstem Broccoli, Light Butter Chicken Curry, Chilli Chicken & Garlic Mash, Beef, Mushroom and Mangetout Stir Fry,
From Ottolenghi’s Simple – Pappardelle with rose harissa, black olives and capers, Orzo with prawns, tomato and marinated feta
From Mob Kitchen’s Speedy Mob – Kimchi Fried Rice, ‘Nduja Courgettes, Miso grilled salmon
You may well be thinking “what uni student is regularly buying salmon?” or “why would I spend my student loan on capers? – and that’s completely fair enough. I really like cooking, and I know plenty of people would rather spend their money on Crisis tickets than a Sainsbury’s shop.
Lots of these are things you might never use, so don’t rush out to buy them until you know what kind of a cook you are.
This list is meant to be adaptable. I’m not expecting anyone to buy a jar of harissa just to forget about it in the back of the fridge. Lots of these are things you might never use, so don’t rush out to buy them until you know what kind of a cook you are.
That said, these are the things I genuinely reach for most weeks, and I’m very glad my parents helped cover the cost of them last year. Stocking your cupboards with these in September means you’ll only need to pick up fresh veg, meat or fish every week, and you’re all set.
Oils/vinegars/pastes/sauces
Olive oil, sesame oil, white wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, harissa paste, ‘nduja paste, tandoori curry paste, ginger paste, garlic purée, tomato purée, miso paste, fish sauce, sweet chilli sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise, hot sauce e.g. tabasco, mustard (I like Dijon), honey, mango chutney, pesto, stock cubes – chicken, beef and veg.
Spices
Salt, black pepper, chilli flakes, paprika, sesame seeds, fennel seeds, oregano, thyme chinese five spice, cinnamon
Carbs
Pasta (I’d buy one long and one short), basmati rice, orzo pasta or risotto rice, rice or egg noodles, couscous
Tins
Chopped tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, coconut milk, tinned sweetcorn
Other
Sugar, plain flour, breadcrumbs, tea bags, coffee, oats or cereal for breakfast, peanut butter/marmite/jam – whatever you like on toast!
Not food, but also useful
Freezer bags, tupperware, foil, clingfilm, baking paper, a decent washing up sponge/brush, washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets (if you’re lucky enough to have a dishwasher)
It’s also a good idea to have a recipe book or two – either steal one from your kitchen at home, or have a look on websites like abebooks or worldofbooks for cheap second hand ones!
Start with what you have, build up what you need, and don’t panic if you’ve forgotten a tin opener. There’ll probably be three in your house already.
Laura Ross Russell
Featured image courtesy of author.
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