Written by Kayi Yeung, MSc Business Analytics
Feeling thrilled to gain your independence and start your University life? Whether you’re staying in halls or private accommodation, with friends or with total strangers, it may be daunting to get used to taking care of your own diet. However, eating healthy doesn’t have to break the bank or involve hours of cooking – it can be cost-effective and easy if you stock up the right essential ingredients.
In your first few weeks, you’ll likely have a very busy schedule and may easily get into the habit of ordering delivery or take-aways, especially if you don’t have any cooking experience. Cooking your own food is much healthier and cheaper, because a few ingredients can already make you a delicious meal. Read on to discover the essential ingredients you should always have in your University kitchen.
Cooking Oil
The every-recipe ingredient that you must have. There are various types of oil for different cooking purposes - sunflower oil is useful for frying thanks to its high smoke point, regular olive oil is mildly flavoured so it’s the best for general cooking while extra virgin olive oil is perfect for dressings and pesto. Get a big bottle of your choice based on your cooking habits.
Pasta
One of the best and most essential ingredients in your kitchen: healthy, easy to cook, affordable, versatile, long shelf life… you name it!
Whether you like Western or Asian style, no-oil bake or fan-fried pasta, you can easily find a great variety of recipes online and make your own pasta in 15-20 minutes. Try out different combinations of sauces and ingredients, and you will never get tired of this amazing ingredient.
Rice
If you are looking for another filling and dried ingredient that goes well with everything to alternate with pasta and noodles, that is rice!
To have interesting weekly meals, you can opt for Basmati rice with your curry on Monday, delicious egg fried rice on Wednesday and refreshing tomato risottos on Saturday. Add this multipurpose item to your shopping list now.
Onion and Garlic
The two items last long and well, so grab and keep them in your cupboard. You can throw them into all sorts of dishes, from roasted chicken to pasta and garlic bread. Simply chop them into small pieces and it gives heaps of flavour to meals, or if you prefer to skip the chopping process, you can buy puree to save food preparation time.
Mixed Dried Herbs
Looking to boost the flavour of your meals on a budget? Mixed dried herbs are a great choice, whether it is pasta, stews or salad. It is a good start to get Italian or Mediterranean mixed herbs if you are not sure which herbs you like the most, as it matches with almost all dishes. Grab it on your next shopping trip!
Stock Cubes
A must-have item in your kitchen due to its wide range of usage. Many flavours are available: chicken, vegetables, pork, lamb and fish. Simply put a little into your soups, stews or any dishes, it ramps up the flavour.
Tea & Coffee
Refreshing yourself early in the morning, chilling in a shiny and windy afternoon, or resting after an all-nighter in the library, you can enjoy a cup of comforting tea or coffee at home easily. Select from a great selection of flavour and stock up in your cupboard.
Noodles
Matching with your mood and weather, make dried noodles or instant noodles in soup or stir-fried for lunch or dinner. There are many varieties to choose from - egg, rice, soba, udon and buckwheat and you can always add other ingredients to it, such as vegetables, meat or seafood.
Spices
Get a few of your favourite jars: star anise, ground cumin, chilli powder, cinnamon or ground coriander. They are useful to add unique flavour to every cooking, for example Chinese, Indian, Mexican or Spanish and make you the perfect dish.
Canned Food
Great for its long shelf life, affordable price and wide variety of selections ranging from vegetables to fish.
Having a stock of tinned fish, such as salmon and mackerel, you can add them into pastas or salads easily or stir with tinned sweetcorn and mayonnaise sauce for sandwiches. For vegetables, canned tomatoes can be the base of many dishes and canned beans is the perfect ingredient for your British all-day breakfast.
This basic list of student essential food items will help you get started in your University kitchen. As you have more cooking experience, you can extend it to a great collection and share with your family and friends.
Wondering where you can pick these items up around the main campus? Check out our summary of the best supermarkets near UCL.