Most Useful Gadgets for Your College Dorm Kitchen

The Daily Meal

These simple, often overlooked gadgets can help make your dorm cooking surprisingly impressive. THE DAILY MEAL

While anticipating the first semester away at school - the first time away from the parents, from having laundry folded, and most importantly, from home-cooked meals - most college freshmen have no idea how to prepare for living away from home, let alone using a communal kitchen.

If you're like most, you don't have to fear, because college food nightmares don't have to be a given, and there's ways to prepare for your departure so that you're ready and able to cook up healthy, delicious meals. Your diet or love of cooking doesn't have to fall by the wayside at college, and you'll be happy to hear that the trip to Wal-Mart to stock up on things for your college dorm doesn't involve as much ramen as you thought.

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To help you prepare for a semester full of cooking, we've gathered a list of simple gadgets you can buy for college that can change the way you eat (and cook) at school. Whether you have a kitchenette in your dorm room or a communal kitchen shared amongst the floor, it's easy to be well-prepared with kitchen items that help you cook up a mouthwatering meal that will satisfy your hunger and help you avoid the freshmen fifteen.

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Though dorm restrictions and communal kitchens can propose road blocks, there are ways to get around their limitations, and ways to make sure you stay full and your diet stays regulated when you're away at school for the first time this fall. Stock up on this kitchen-packing list and you're sure to ace your culinary exam at school.


Coffee Filters
Coffee filters can be paired with an electric kettle in place of a coffee pot, and you can also use them as pseudo-cheesecloth tied with a small piece of string to brew tea or soak varied spices into a soup.


Can Opener
Imagine sitting in your dorm, watching the snow fall (if there even is snow where you're going), and grabbing a can of your favorite Campbell's to open, only to discover you have no way of opening it. Make sure not to fall victim to this mistake and overlook this essential kitchen tool.


Microwaves
If your college or university allows it, microwaves are a great piece of equipment to have resting on your shelves next to your textbooks. They're essential for reheating all of those leftovers your mom left you with from parents' weekend, or even the to-go box you brought back from the dining hall.


Silicone Tools
Sets of Silicone tools, such as spatulas and mixing spoons are important; you never know when you're going to need a mixing spoon or two, plus, they make great bookmarks.


Mixing Bowls
Mixing bowls come in all shapes and sizes and can have a variety of uses. You might use one as a cereal bowl and another to mix up some cupcake batter. No matter what kind of cooking you'll get into at college, it's important to keep various sizes of bowls around so you can create pretty much anything you'd like.


Measuring Cups and Spoons
If you've ever gotten a craving for Duncan Heinz brownies, then you know just how important measuring cups and spoons are. They also come in handy when making pancakes, waffles, or measuring a cup of dry ingredients like almonds for a regimented diet.


Cutting Boards
Cutting boards are never just cutting boards, anyways, right? In your dorm, we see them used as platters and plates at your multiple dinner parties.

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- Megan Byrne, The Daily Meal

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