Anyone travel with kitchen utensils? lol. I know it sounds ridiculous but I stay in each spot for 6 months, get a local apartment and eat as healthy as possible so cooking is important.
What I have been doing is just buying what’s missing each time, usually around $200-300. Blender, spatula, knife sharpener, non aluminum fry pan, food storage containers, 2 large plastic cups for my smoothies (I make 2 days at a time), stuff like that.
But I also make my own desserts, to avoid white processed sugar and feed my addiction, and this gets a little more complicated. Today I bought 2 metal bowls, measuring spoons/cups and I want to buy a food scale and an oven thermostat. 😁
I usually donate the stuff to friends or the apartment owner when I leave.
But lately I have been thinking out might be easier/better to just bring another bag with me like a rolling suitcase and pack a small but complete kitchen so I don’t have to buy every time. I think an extra bag was $35 each way.
It’s an enormous amount of time finding all these things in a new place as well, although it helps me figure where to get supplies quickly.
Any other people out there living similar and encountering the same struggle?
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My kit includes: a small air fryer that can cook virtually anything and everything, a toaster, a small coffee maker, an insulated coffee tumbler, 8 oz plastic tumbler with lid, one plate, one bowl with lid, one paring knife, one set of flatware, one scrub brush. Lots of plastic bags.
Nice, I feel like this is an evolved solution. What type of plastic bags? I’ve been bringing biodegradable doggie bags for my organic waste. Because of the ants, I keep all organic waste in the freezer and this bags are cheap, theoretically better for the environment and very packable.
Honestly most of the bags I use are recycled grocery bags but I do keep a supply of both quart and gallon size zip lock bags for odds and ends. I feel things take up less space in bags then boxes
I usually ask the rental owner first if they have the stuff I need. Usually they do. Also if I book thru airbnb, I ask host if they have the stuff I am looking for. Before the booking they usually comply and have it available.
Thanks for the info!
I tend to not use AirBNB. It’s always more expensive and in the places I travel, it seems to cater to people who are not price conscious over the short term. Although often I can negotiate for longer term, many properties are already rented on the big holidays for extremely high prices and therefor cannot go 6 months without gaps.
I will usually stay at a hostel for the first 2 weeks while I walk the streets and meet people to find a locally priced apartment. I never know what I’m gonna get and if the difference is only a poorly equipped kitchen to save hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of dollars a month, it makes sense to me.
I tend to not use AirBNB. It’s always more expensive
It’s really not, but you have to game the system.
Book an AirBnB for a week, if it’s nice, check the availability for the next month(s) and if it’s not booked up, talk to the host directly. You’ll get a massive discount most likely, because they get shafted by AirBnB as much, if not more, than you do, with platform’s fees.
That’s how I got my flat in CDMX where I’ve been for majority of this year. I randomly ended up there late December last year because the place I booked didn’t work out and I had nowhere to go, I loved it so much and found it so convenient I befriended the host/landlord and just renting directly from him now at a lower rate.
Granted, it’s still not a local rate, but unfortunately you have to have a proper visa and local bank account to rent like a local, which I don’t have - I’m still technically a tourist here. But it still works out for me, because it’s just about what I’d have to pay for a room back home (London), and I get my own flat in a good district for that money here.
Yeah, we carry some basics. Central to this is a sharp chef’s cleaver, and have thought about a breadknife too. We have brought plastic chopping boards as well if doing a string of hotels to be able to do salads. Also have a couple of those silicon reusable slider top storage bags for storage and packing stuff.
We carry a range of spices in separate zip bags for cooking. Have thought about a stainless frypan haha (so heavy) to avoid all the PFAS that come with using non-stick stuff.
If you are into it, do it!
Forgot about cutting boards, great point. My apartment now has a glass one. WTF. There is almost no sound more grating than the knife hitting the glass each time and I’m sure it’s dulling the blade.
Yeah makes a difference! even a small bamboo one would be light and work well.
We also had a handheld coffee grinder and Nanopresso for a while too, was a great way to save on making coffee in-house every morning.
Also, love the username btw
Having an extra checked bag can get really expensive especially over time, but if you’re staying in places for a while like that then it will be a lot cheaper I think. I think that’s a great idea since it’s such a big part of your life.
I think it was only about $35 each way but even at $75 it might be worth it. That said, I already carry a 75 litre backpack and a carry on (with my computer gear). Juggling even that much through large airports is annoying and I can’t say I’m excited about having a rolling kitchen as well, haha.
Think about what’s really essential and what you can easily buy. If you already check a bag try to fit the stuff in there.
I bring a knife, nice chopsticks, thermopen, bag closey clips, a mini silicone spatula, mini wood spatula, and some silicone wine bottle stoppers, a nice corkscrew, and an aeropress. It takes up hardly any space other than the aeropress.
Essentially my entire checked bag is dedicated to “quality of life” items so the kitchen essentials are just a part of that. There’s a yoga mat, a first aid kit, a hammock, sketchbooks and art supplies, sports shoes, etc… it makes the 3-6 month stays really nice.
I like that. Quality of life items. That’s exactly what it is. I love to cook and enjoy the act prepping food. During the hot afternoons, having something to do other than staring at my phone is helpful. And the other benefit is health and great eats!
I went back and forth on this and there are so many variables and preferences that you really have to decide what is right for you. I will say that a large oven safe sauté pan can replace all other pans in a pinch. You can use it in the oven for cakes, loaves, cookies, casseroles, and on the stovetop for sauces, pasta, omelettes, steak whatever.
An immersion blender (with battery) or a blendtech (if you only do smoothies) is probably more portable and versatile than a blender itself.
You can also get collapsible silicone bakeware, bowls, containers etc that would let you take a lot more.
If you google camping cookware kits they will be focused on providing the most stuff in organized and travel sized things as well.
Good luck!
I just use whatever is in the apartment already, has never really been a problem but I am not a chef.
Here is a tip for both airbnb & booking.com, if the pictures all show nothing but shit from IKEA, don’t rent it because the owners don’t actually live there and chances are they skimped on kitchenware too.
I buy stuff and then sell them on fb marketplace later on. It surprisingly sells fast and you get around 50-60% of the value back. If you bargain hunt while buying you can technically get 100% value back. I bought and sold a microwave recently at same price I bought for. Idk why but there are people who buy used cooked utensils.
I bought a $7 kit from ikea with ladles spatula tongs spoons that I have been taking with me everywhere. I feel like half of my accommodations only have 1 spatula and 1 knife I have thought about buying a knife as well but idk if that would get me flagged 😭
I did take some stuff when i still checked a bag. Chef’s knife + sharpener, a mini cord spun food processor, and a moka pot, to make hostel cooking nicer when i first get to a place. then once i have an apartment that ill be in for 2-4 months i make sure it has/buy a blender, a quality pan.
That said knowing what i know now, the cost and ease of getting everything locally just doesnt make sense to check a bag for the small time/cost savings.
I don’t bake, so a blender, a Pan, a Knife, a sharpener, and a moka pot are $100 total which is the cost of a checked bag.
It would also depend on where i’m staying. Remote less developed area with not a ton of people, probably worth bring stuff. but in my mind the utility of the short term purchase works out.
if I use the stuff multiple times a day for 3 months what’s $100-$200 vs the utility gained.
1 pot
1 pan
1 chefs knife (or big dicing knife
1 spatula
assorted spice bags
^^^ gets the job done for me
I travel with a chef’s knife, travel knife sharpener, honing steel, silicone oven mitts, chopsticks, digital kitchen scale, measuring spoons (mostly because I have a cute pig set that is very compact :D), and spices. I keep meaning to add a lightweight wooden cutting board to my “stash”. And maybe some foot storage containers because I keep buying them wherever I go.
What is your travel knife sharpener? I think I’ve decide to remove the measuring cups because I can just weigh everything if I bring a small scale. But if it’s a cute pig set? Maybe there is room, haha
This: [ https://www.amazon.com/Lansky-2D2C-Diamond-Ceramic-Four/dp/B008EKY5OA?th=1 ] is the travel sharpening kit. It’s a bit tedious but between it and the honing steel the knife stays more than workable for years.
This: [ https://www.amazon.com/MSC-Internationl-78938-Measuring-Measurements/dp/B00LI6V7ZM/ref=sr_1_10 ] is the cute pig measuring set.
I’m freaked out by Teflon and plastic so yeah I hear ya. I’ve carried high quality items in the past and supplemented with cheap stuff when I arrive. Typically in my suitcase you’d find a stainless frying pan, a good, sharp chef’s knife, an immersion blender and small food processor attachment, a stainless french press, a small stainless cookie flipper/spatula, a water filter, and a spice kit, plus whatever else I have space for. Most of that stuff packs pretty easily with clothes around it, but obvs you can’t do it in a carry on. Rubber spatulas, stainless pots and pans, a good coffee mug/plate/bowl, etc. are usually easy to pick up at a thrift shop in wealthier countries or the open market in less wealthy ones, so I just bring the things with me that would be expensive or difficult to replace. Almost no airbnb has stainless fry pans, though, and they almost always have plastic utensils, Nespresso/pod coffee makers, and other things I’d just rather avoid.
I like to have full kitchens when I travel but the best way to do it I’ve found is by house sitting instead of renting. Real people live in the homes and so they usually have everything I need.
Any recommendations for finding suitable house-sitting gigs? I haven’t looked into it much but hear that there are Facebook groups where people are looking for a sitter?
I use TrustedHousesitters which also includes insurance for damages, replacement accommodations with cancelations and airport lounge passes.
I’ve used it to house sit in 5 countries so far and I prefer it to the previous airbnb situation.
Thanks!
I bring a good knife, food storage containers (use those to pack things in so they take up minimal room), a French press, and a Yeti mug. I’ve never regretted it, especially since I tend to stay somewhere for a few months.
My wife and I go pretty similar to this. Compact kitchen essentials. It also makes the transition days between long stays better if you are in hotels or traveling.