<p>All right parents, I need your help. For the life of me, I cannot figure out what i need to outfit a college apartment kitchen (it already comes with a microwave, so i won’t have to bring that). I have some pans i can use, but i need to pick up a new skillet. I also plan on picking up a good rice cooker.</p>
<p>I’ve asked both my grandma and mom and we’re kinda stumped (if possible, i’m going to try to find some stuff around the house).</p>
<p>Any ideas?</p>
<p>(I will be in a single apartment, so this is all on me)</p>
<p>it depends what you are going to do - will you bake? if so you’ll want a baking pan. i had glasses in my college apartment and my roommates/friends broke half of them so looking back i wish i had used hard plastic cups instead (rewashable). then again, maybe my friends were just klutzy. you have some pans, but do you need a pot or several pots? it all depends what you plan to make.</p>
<p>if you plan to use the microwave i suggest one of those plastic splatter covers. they save you so much time and energy.</p>
<p>don’t over think it either - for example we had a blender that never once got touched, we had a toaster oven that never got used, etc. just pay attention to what items are used at your house over the next few weeks and make a list from that.</p>
<p>It really depends on how you cook and what you cook. This is what I considered the bare minimum:</p>
<p>**
Things I use almost everyday**
Some kind of coffee maker (currently we have a French press)
A kettle
A double boiler (which can be a saucepan)
A cast iron skillet
A small teflon frying pan for my morning egg
A bread knife
A big sharp knife
A small sharp knife
A knife sharpener
A carrot peeler
A whisk
A toaster
A wooden spoon
A good silicon spatula
Wooden chop stick (I like them for stirring)
A cutting board
Some plastic containers for leftovers
Glasses, plates and silverware for 4-6 (if you have larger parties you can use plastic)</p>
<p>Things I use often and it would be hard to substitute with other stuff
A pot large enough for spaghetti
A pie plate
A cookie sheet
A 9x12 baking pan</p>
<p>Things that aren’t really necessary, but I use at least once a week
Food processor
Juicer
Waffle iron
Salad spinner (use every day actually)</p>
<p>Things I use at least once a month
Mixer
Blender
Rolling pin</p>
<p>Start looking in any beginner or basic cookbooks you have, many have a basic list of how to outfit a kitchen and a pantry in the first chapter. You could also go to your library and look for this beginner cookbooks and they will list out everything and give you some easy recipes. Also there are several books out about cooking at college.</p>
<p>I am not one to use lots of specialized equipment. I would say to what you already have,
a good mid-sized knife, cutting board, colander/strainer, a couple of wooden spoons, one mixing/salad bowl, one baking dish/cookie sheet. From this basic set up you will learn what else you need over time. I am a big one for using what’s handy, if the tongs are dirty just use a fork to turn the bacon, etc. over.</p>
<p>My older son’s apartment comes furnished - so I am going to just supplement it. My younger son’s apartment is unfurnished - so I have to start from scratch.</p>
<p>With both - I’m going to get them what we think is needed - and then about a month later, send them a nice GC for Target or BBB for whatever else they realize they need!</p>
<p>Also - having been in a temp apt all summer, my younger son has really liked having a toaster oven. For some reason, DH HATES toaster ovens, so we never had one, but it’s great for my son to reheat pizza, toast bread or waffles, do Pizza Rolls - whatever. So - might add that to my list of things to get.</p>
<p>Don’t forget dishes and silverware. You can often get a good deal at thrift shop or garage sales. Start small, with mimimum of stuff. You can expand as needed. </p>
<p>A skillet is a good idea. I like non-stick. A large one will work well for hamburger helper, skillet meals, omeletes. If you are just doing fried eggs, a small one may be enough.</p>
<p>Just be sure if you’re buying nonstick cookware to be sure to include some nice wooden or hard plastic (the softer kind that’s not silicone will melt) utensils to do your stirring with. If you use metal it’ll scrape up bits of teflon, and, in addition to making the pan die really fast, it also means you’ll be eating all that junk that comes off.</p>
<p>I would add a casserole dish of some sort, maybe an 8 x 8 baking dish? They are great for brownies or cooking a small meal in. For bigger dishes, (depending on your plans) a 9 X 13 dish is also very useful. Some sort of tupperware type containers to hold flour, sugar and leftovers. A can opener- the plain hand operated metal ones work great.</p>
<p>A good can opener. Don’t bother with an electric one. Get a good heavy duty manual one. I like the Kitchen Aid one and the XOXO one. Both work great and are hefty enough to open any can.</p>
<p>We are in the process of buying things for D’s first apartment, although she will be sharing with three other girls. We have new pots and pans because the grocery store had a promotion a few years ago - we got them for free. D bought a coffee maker - that is her one indulgance.</p>
<p>Will you have transportation to a WalMart or Target while at school? If so, I would not stress too much.</p>
<p>I am looking for a set of glass mixing bowls with lids (like my old ones) that can also be popped in the microwave.</p>
<p>Salt & pepper shaker
ziplock bags
something to hold leftovers (although I use ziplock bags to hold leftovers like meat and pancakes) - I heard someone say on the subject to kitchen storage to choose round or square and stick with it</p>
<p>I have seen “kitchen in a box” deals at Target and the like with most of the necessary things for a small college student kitchen. The quality isn’t wonderful – but it’s around $30 and you can toss it without guilt.</p>
<p>Can’t believe I forgot the mixing bowls and measuring cups! Luckily I did remember to send my son off to college with them. (He has everything you need to bake a pie.) </p>
<p>For pasta a strainer might be more useful as it can do double duty as a sifter and strainer.</p>
<p>I helped my son outfit his first solo apartment. Here is what he took for kitchen “stuff”.</p>
<p>He LOVES to cook.</p>
<p>1 small frying pan, non stick
1 large deep frying pan (that could be used for stir fry), non stick
electric kettle for boiling water with auto OFF (after he forgot to turn off the stove a couple of times.
toaster oven
measuring spoons and cups
one large mixing bowl and one smaller mixing bowl (could be used for serving too)
service for 4 of inexpensive used dishes. His happened to be Pier One rejects bought at Good Will…4 bowls, 4 dinner plates, 4 smaller plates, 4 mugs
Service for 4 of flatwear
8 plastic water glasses
8 cheap wine glasses (he was a grad student)
Toaster oven
SMALL countertop microwave
Small rice cooker (he likes rice)
2 wire wisks
2 wooden spoons
2 spatulas
1 very good paring knife
1 very good chef’s knife
plastic cutting boards
4 dish towels
pitcher to mix juice in (his was Pampered Chef…also from Goodwill)
1 cookie sheet
1 9x9 pan
1 13x9 pan
pot big enough to cook corn on the cob (or pasta sauce) in.</p>
<p>The things I use frequently were not on his radar screen. I need an electric hand mixer but son doesn’t bake…no need. He didn’t need a food processor either, or the cast iron pans (one frying pan of each size was plenty). I use my crockpot too…but he didn’t want that either.</p>
<p>Icedragon, you haven’t told us anything about your cooking/baking/eating habits. Maybe you won’t need much more than sewhappy’s son or a saucepan to heat canned soup and a frying pan to scramble eggs. I wouldn’t spend a lot of money equipping a kitchen with items you may never/rarely use. My son started out with not much more than a decent knife, cutting board, and cast iron frying pan. My daughter cooks dry beans, shops at a farmers’ market regularly, makes lots of soups and stews from scratch, and bakes bread. Her kitchen looks very different from his.</p>