The store cupboard

No kitchen can function without an array of simple yet essential ingredients. You need to take these with you when you head off to university (having got a parent to pay for them ) or buy them as soon as you arrive at your accommodation.

Below is the list that I would suggest but your personal list will vary from this and grow as your confidence in feeding yourself grows.

First let's talk about "dry goods" - these are the things which can sit in your cupboard for a long period of time.

Salt - buy according to your budget but the high quality salts can make a huge difference.

Oil - make sure you have simple sunflower oil as it will do for most things - if you want some luxury get yourself an olive oil and if you're really flush and extra virgin one.

Pasta - a bag of dried pasta is perfectly good for most dishes (and most Italians would agree). There is a vast array of dried pastas on the market and the quality does go up with the price. However, as you will probably be smothering it in a rich and hearty sauce, buy cheap. Even the supermarket's value/economy/smartprice/etc pastas are perfectly usable. I cannot stress how important it is to ALWAYS have a bag of Pasta in the kitchen.

Rice - An ordinary bag of long grain rice will make a perfect friend to a chilli con carne, a curry and a nice stir-fry. For special luxury its sometimes worth having a bag of Arborio or Carneroli for an oozing, heart warming risotto.

Cous Cous - One of the great time saving starches. All you have to do is add a stockcube and boiling water (maybe a few spices if you fancy) and you have an accompaniment for almost anything with a sauce!

Tinned Tomatoes - As with pasta the price of these can vary from pennies to serious money. Buy cheap and spend the money you saved on a nice bit of cheese. Tinned tomatoes can be (with the addition of an onion and pasta) a simple, filling meal for under £1.

Stock - Most "chefy" cook books will tell you that you simply must have homemade stock in the fridge and then give you a recipe for chicken stock which involves four hundred ingredients! A word to the wise - "buy powder or cubes" just be careful about the saltiness. Later there will be a recipe for a real chicken stock but lets not panic till then.

Herbs and Spices - You simply must have a small pepper grinder and these can be purchased for a couple of pounds and refilled for pennies. Collect other dried herbs and spices as the recipes you're are cooking demand. Never leave your herbs and spices behind when you move accommodation, over time you will find that you have spent a great deal on them and the replacement value is very high.

Sauces - There are a few sauces which are irreplaceable. Soy sauce will make nearly any dish taste better. (Buy dark soy and use it as directed in cooking or over a cooked dish). There is really only one tomato ketchup and you must have a bottle on your shelves; not only is it useful to squirt into the odd dish, but a sausage sandwich would be lost without it. I am a huge fan of brown sauce but I do understand that there are those who haven't yet joined us right thinking people and for them there is plenty of space at the back of the queue. Worcestershire sauce is an icon of the kitchen - buy a small bottle and keep it - don't worry about sell by dates it just gets better and better with age. Tabasco must be there too.

And finally whatever you fancy to sharpen up your sandwiches (Mustard, Horseradish, Mayo, Marmite, etc)

Vegetables - There are only really three veg that you simply must have in a kitchen: Onions, potatoes and frozen peas. Onions are the start of so many good things that it would be lunacy to try and cook without them, buy the best value ones, they may be smaller but it doesn't take a mathematician to work out that a small onion has more flavour. You simply must have a bag of potatoes in your kitchen make sure you have a couple in the bag that are large enough to be baked in their jackets. Frozen peas are a life saver either served as a veg or blitzed up into a soup and, what's more, you can tell the parents that you are eating some greens too!

The Fridge - When you first arrive at your new accommodation, clean your fridge with some suitable fluid. It is likely that the fridge has had nothing in it but microbes for a few months. Now a full fridge is nearly always a wasteful fridge so don't just buy stuff in order to fill the space.
Nigel Slater once wrote that there is no light as pure as the light of a fridge in the early hours of the morning, and this is true there should always be a snack of some sort ready to make on your return from that big night out.

Eggs - a half dozen eggs are a must, it is really important that you buy the best you can afford and personally I wouldn't touch anything that is not free range - this is not only a animal welfare issue its also a quality issue. Treat your eggs like gold, they are the most incredibly versatile ingredient you could ask for. Add salt, pepper, little cheese and some heat and you have an
omlette - it really is a simple as that.

Milk - Buy the type of milk you want to drink in your tea and coffee. Your sauces will be a little richer if you use full fat milk but its not worth drinking oily tea over.
Cheese - Buy a mature cheddar, it is a false economy to buy mild cooking cheese. The mature cheddar will go much further and your food will be less oily. Maybe a little lump of Parmesan might be nice (buy it when you're feeling flush).

Butter - or whatever you want to spread on your toast. Butter is also a superb cooking medium. There a many low fat spreads go with your purse and your waistline.


So there you have it a basic list of "must haves" The next blog will give you a insight into how a chicken could deliver fantastic value meals all week.