How to Learn Cooking Basics Before College

One of the number one things we need to learn as adults is how to feed ourselves. Cooking is a skill that is increasingly falling to the wayside. Because of our busy schedules, people are more likely to grab takeout or cook a boxed meal than they are to actually cook.

But you need to learn how to actually cook if you are going to save money. Boxed food and carryout add up, and most of us don’t have to budget to eat that way. It is also unhealthy.

This article is meant to be a guide on how to learn to cook and serve as a nutritional reference so you can thrive.

Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links. When you click these links, I may get a small commission. It won’t cost you anything, but it helps me to run this site. I only promote products and services I use and love.

Nutrition

What you put into your body is a big factor in how you feel. Your energy, ability to focus, and your ability to make long term memories are all affected by what you eat. Plus your metabolism is starting to slow down as you reach adulthood. It is time to eat like an adult.

There is a lot of advice out there for what a “healthy diet” is. I recommend skipping all the fad diets and aiming for balance, or a diet that has existed for thousands of years.

Take a moment to look into the Mediterranean and Okinawan diets, and check out the daily dozen. Those are pretty good guidelines on what you should eat and what an appropriate portion size is.

The Easiest Types of Cooking

When I was in college, I was lucky if I had time to sit down for a 30-minute show. There was work, a full course load, a club or two, and then studying dominated almost every minute of the day. Food had to be made quickly and with little or no supervision. There wasn’t time to do a whole bunch of prep or monitoring cooking food.

When you are busy like that, there are a couple of cooking techniques that are easier and require less effort. Take the time to master them and a few favorite recipes, make them in bulk so you can just reheat leftovers, and you will eat well.

Assembling

The “I’m just throwing something together” technique. This is how you make things like sandwiches and salads. Everything is already cooked and you just throw it together to make something tasty.

This technique works particularly well for leftovers.

Stews and Sauces

Stews and tomato sauces are easy to assemble and then you just let them simmer all day. This is a cheap way to feed a bunch of friends and it is easy to watch while studying all day on a weekend.

They also freeze well so you can portion things out and defrost some soup for a quick meal when you aren’t feeling like cooking.

Some great recipes include:

Quick Frying

This is what those frying pans are for. Quick frying recipes throw a bunch of stuff in a pan and cook it fast. Most “ready in 30 minutes or less” recipes fall into this category. Make big batches bulk them out with some rice and you can eat well for 4 or 5 meals.

Some links to get you started:

Roasting/ Baking

Throw things on a pan or baking sheet, put it in the oven, set a timer, and then come back to food. This is a brilliant cooking method when you are studying or entertaining. I think about half of what I ate through college involved either roasting or baking.

Some great recipes include:

Crock or Instant-pot

The set-it-and-forget-it method of cooking. It is so nice to dump food into the crock pot and come back from class to a hot meal.

Here are some great recipes:

Building Your Recipe Repertoire

The best place to start is with your family’s recipes. Grab a notebook and write down all your favorite recipes your family makes. Sit down with your parents and collect all the family tricks you grew up with.

Next, make a list of all the dishes you like to eat at restaurants. Then look them up on the internet and try out the recipes. If you have time, you can make a different recipe once a week for your family. Once you have a recipe mastered, and you know you like it, add it to your cookbook.

Slowly build your repertoire. Try to favor recipes that cook and make fast.

A Basic Kitchen Kit

When you move out of your parent’s house, you need to take the means of cooking with you. As you start out, your kitchen will be very basic. To make most recipes, you only need a few basic items.

This guide creates a basic kitchen assuming you are not in the dorms with a meal plan (which most students aren’t). If you are going to be on campus with a meal plan, I will indicate what pieces of equipment you should take so you don’t have to head to the cafeteria for every meal.

Knives

You only really need 2 knives when you are starting out: a chef’s knife and a pairing knife. The chef’s knife will cut just about anything into any size you want, while the paring knife will make quick work of peeling and cutting fruit.

If you have a paring knife, you don’t even need to get a peeler. You will likely add a peeler to your kitchen at some point, but you don’t need one when you are starting out.

Good knives are expensive, and this is one area where you don’t want to skimp. A good, sharp knife is much safer than a dull one. And that expensive knife will be with you your whole life. Choose wisely.

But how do you choose a knife? You should pick something high quality that fits well in your hand. That means you should go somewhere schmancy like Williams Sonoma and physically hold all the knives. Once you have a feel for what you like, you can usually find the same knife online and order it straight from the warehouse for cheaper than any store.

Pots and Pans

The trick here is to get something quality that will last you a long time for as cheap as you can get it while providing the most functionality. The best pots and pans can go in the oven so you don’t have to start out with a bunch of baking pans as well.

You can bake a cake in a large flat bottom stockpot (or frying pan) just as easily as a dedicated cake pan… assuming your stockpot can go in the oven.

My husband and I started out with a cheap set of IKEA 365 pans, and they are still going strong over 10 years later. They have thick, flat bottoms, and can go in the oven if needed. Some day we will upgrade to something more professional, but honestly, I think we will have these pans until our own kids go to college. Not bad for $50!

The only pan from that set that did not last was the frying pan. It was a non-stick pan and it lasted maybe a year. For teflon coated pans, that is par for the course. So don’t get a teflon non-stick pan. Get a carbon steel one.

A properly seasoned carbon steel pan can be passed down to your great-grandkids and it is more non-stick than any coated pan I have ever seen. It also has the benefit of being able to go in the oven. The only downside is it can’t handle acidic foods. So you can’t use it to build a tomato sauce; but it does a fantastic job on eggs, grilled cheese, roasts, and anything else you might need.

All you really need are:

a big pot you can make soup in
a smaller pot for sauces and pasta
a non-stick frying pan (I recommend carbon-steel)
A large metal frying pan
An aluminum baking sheet

Utensils

You need some plates, bowls, cups, mugs, forks, knives, and spoons. Get a set for 4 so you can have some friends or a study group over.

You can get something new, but I highly recommend heading over to the nearest second-hand store. They always have a fantastic assortment of quality discarded dishes and utensils available for cheap. You should also look for:

Measuring, Mixing and Unitaskers

A way to measure out your food (especially if you bake) is indispensable. And a box grater is needed to shred cheese and other foods. Consider picking up:

Food Storage

You need something to store food in. Ideally, you would use something cheap that can hold your meals so you can portion them out and save them for later, or take them to class and eat them for lunch.

Personally, I like jars. I save all kinds of jars: peanut butter, pickle, jam, etc. And then I reuse those jars to save and carry other food. It is cheap/ free to save jars, clean the labels off, and use them. Because I can get them so cheap/ free, it isn’t as big a deal if they break or if I forget one on the table at lunch.

Start saving up the jars your family gets from just eating your normal food. Then take them with you for free food storage containers.

You need to gather enough food storage that you can portion out a week’s worth of food. So save as many as you can and then when you get to college, you will know if you have enough.

Bonus

You don’t need one, but if you don’t have easy access to a heat source an instant-pot is amazing. The ability to throw food in a pot and then go study for an hour or so and then come back to food is indispensable. I would seriously consider investing in an instant-pot if you can.

The other piece of equipment you should consider is a fridge. If you live with roommates or otherwise have access to a fridge, this might be an unnecessary splurge. But if you have food allergies of any kind, I would seriously consider getting one so you know for sure your food is safe for you to eat.

Wrapping it all up

Cooking is a skill that can save you thousands of dollars over the course of a year. We have covered the basics of what you need and what you need to know to get started. Next week we will cover cooking on the cheap and meal planning.

Check STEM 911 out on Social

Get more study tips and tricks on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

Interested in more personalized help? I tutor most STEM subjects. Schedule a 15-minute get-to-know-you today!

The STEM-911 YouTube Channel

Spread the love

Jane Reid

Jane Reid, the primary author of Unprepared Mom and STEM 911, is an educator, tutor, women’s rights advocate, and mom. Here to make your life easier one article at a time.

How to Learn Cooking Basics Before College

Nutrition