Living away from home for the first time as a university student can result in a mix of excitement, nerves and anticipation as students find themselves responsible for taking care of themselves day to day without a parent or guardian’s help.
One of the most difficult transitions into adulthood can be learning how to cook and how to use a kitchen properly to prepare your own meals as a break from Domino’s or cafeteria cuisine.
Here are the top five tips in no particular order for home cooking in your Wallace dorm, LLC or off-campus apartment.
Tip #1
Clean as you go
One of the biggest mistakes and one of the hardest habits to break when learning how to use a kitchen is not cleaning up your dishes, ingredients and utensils during the cooking process. It can be easy to forget about those extra pots on the sink, cutting boards or leftover ingredients on the counter until you’ve completed your meal and you are left with an hour-long cleanup process. If you put away foods you’re no longer using back in the refrigerator, wipe down a counter or two and move dishes to the sink as you finish your tasks, you’ll be left with a much more manageable workspace to clean.
Tip #2
Buy in bulk
Although it may be tempting to buy single-use ingredients with the discounted price of your pantry-stuffers and to-go snacks, it is worth it to buy groceries in bulk whenever you can. Through buying multiple items of useful, everyday ingredients to have over the week, you can encourage yourself to prepare your own meals from home and spend money less often. As well, it is often cheaper in the long-run to buy multiple items at a group price rather than several singles of that same item over time.
Tip #3
Invest in quality utensils
One of the most frustrating things that can happen when preparing your own meals is being knee-deep in a recipe and realizing that you do not have the proper utensil or tool to yield the best results. To avoid this, and have a great repertoire of tools that will last for years, make a point to acquire a variety of spatulas, spoons, tongs, can and bottle openers, bowls, plates, cups, silverware, knives and pots/pans. You will open yourself up to a bigger world of recipes by having a reliable and varied supply of tools for all different kinds of dishes. Plus, if you invest in reliable, high-quality brands, you will have these tools for years without worrying about replacement or damage.
Tip #4
Buy fresh produce when possible
I know, I know, the last thing you want to do as you start to cook for yourself is to have someone tell you to eat your vegetables. However, it is very likely that the food you may buy from on-campus stops or fast food/sit-down restaurants is not the healthiest or most balanced. To have a variety of nutrients in your dishes and diet, taste-test what produce you enjoy eating (your taste buds can always change!), and make sure they are stocked within your fridge for everything from a quick snack to adding them into a more complex dish. Having a tomato or two, a cucumber, salad greens or fruit medleys on hand will inspire you to have a more balanced, fresh diet and find ways to incorporate these foods into your home-cooked dishes. You can experiment with making fresh salads, roasting vegetables, blending smoothies or finding new creative ways to sauté, steam or bake to your liking.
Tip #5
Seasonings, seasonings, seasonings
One of my starting experiences cooking during my first night alone in college resulted in me preparing a bowl of ramen only to realize that I had no garlic powder, onion powder or paprika on hand. Spices and seasonings are essential to creating a delicious dish and we often take them for granted in our home kitchens. As a start, I recommend having salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Italian seasoning, sesame seeds and chili powder on hand at all times. You can adjust these to your own flavor pallet and keep adding depending on what you end up cooking most often. Other flavors and ingredients that can add some flair to your dishes include ginger, soy sauce, tabasco and sriracha, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, butter, milk, cream, and a variety of cooking oils. These ingredients can function as a base for a dish, or add some pizzazz to a finished product. Keep these on hand and never be bland!
These are just five cooking tips that have come in handy as I have transitioned from living in a Wallace dorm to a four-person LLC to my own off-campus apartment with a full kitchen. No matter how much space or how many appliances you have available, these tips are helpful to keep in mind as you enter the world of home cooking.
The featured image on this story has been updated to abide by copyright laws and ethics.
Katarina Hockema can be reached at [email protected]