Student food "staples" parcel - suggestions?

VJsmum

HI,

my goddaughter is going off to Uni at the end of the month.

She has been stocked up with pots and pans, cutlery, plates etc.

I thought I would put together a "hamper" or "parcel" of staples that would help her cook and which can be pricey.

So, things like a small bottle of olive oil, mixed herbs, chilli etc

Any suggestion as to what might be good?

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CH27

My son goes at the end of the month.

I've got a bag with stuff in

Pasta
Rice
Passata
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Herbs
Teabags
Coffee
Sugar
Oxo cubes
Baked beans
Squash
Tuna

Eternal_Sunshine_2

Coffee mate x

Hard_Up_Hester

Also check if said student want's to cook, a work colleague bought kitchen stuff and food, none of it was used, her DD lived on takeaways and ran up thousands more debt than needed.
Hester

building_with_lego

Spices and a copy of The Takeaway Secret?

Moggins_2

I lived on pasta and stuff on toast and takeaways in my first year of uni, mainly because I couldn't stand the people I got stuck with in my halls of residence so didn't want to have to see them in the kitchen. They also wrecked all the equipment that l bought and contributed nothing themselves. There was also no storage space for food fresh or dry. When I moved into a house with a friend in the second year that was much better so perhaps save the best stuff for then

FairyPrincessk

A lot of student kitchens are pretty unpleasant and not terribly well equipped so unless the student is motivated or particularly likes cooking, I think things which can be prepared in under 30 minutes are generally a good idea. I'd suggest a student cookbook, rather than the takeaway secret, unless she is a very ambitious and experienced cook.

A few more food ideas to go with those already posted. Some of these I wouldn't suggest to OSers, but most OSers have several years of cooking day in and day out of experience, a full kitchen that isn't shared, and all of the right kit.

jam and peanut butter
pesto
chilli powder for one of the spices
cous cous
A few sponge mixes (normally, I wouldn't suggest this, but a student may want to bake once or twice but not enough to bother with a whole bag of flour, sugar, a pot of levening etc.)
a pot of hot chocolate mix
Mayo, ketchup, vinegar
If you think she'd eat it, smash
A few tins of soup, with some cold medicine a bottle of hand gel and some tissues.
A bag of porridge and instructions w/ measurements for how to make it in the microwave. If she knows how to do this she could save a fortune on breakfast.

and check to make sure she has a tin opener, a cheese grater and a sharp knife.

Valli

My son goes this month.
I have got him some washing up sponges, washing up liquid, MF cloths among other things

bargainbetty

I would also recommend decent toilet roll, a pot of curry powder (makes lots of things nicer), and a flask/thermal mug. Possibly even a mini fridge/kettle for her room.

duchy

A lot of halls ban mini fridges so best to check if doing that

Tin opener with a bottle opener on it
If she doesn't usually cook I'd go for a "Basic meals in 30 mins" type book and a supermarket voucher .
I'd add tea bags/jar of decent coffee and a set of very distinctive mugs (easier to retrieve when "borrowed" and a big tin of biscuits for Freshers week and meeting new people on her floor.

ditsykitchen

I'd include a student cookbook with it. There's a little square one with yellow and orange cover. Think it's just called The Student Cookbook or similar. I'm a student and I just eat the way I did when I wasn't, so just include what you would consider to be staples in your own house. Think the cookbook also has a storecupboard essentials list, but not sure as have since passed it on to my SIL who started uni after me.