Skip to content

Top Navigation

Food & Wine Food & Wine
  • Recipes & Cooking
  • Drinks
  • Travel
  • Holidays + Events
  • News
  • F&W Classic
  • Video
  • Lifestyle
  • F&W Pro
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • F&W Classic Insiders this link opens in a new tab
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Wine Club
  • Podcast
  • Food & Wine Books this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Food & Wine

Food & Wine Food & Wine
  • Explore

    Explore

    • F&W Cooks

      F&W Cooks

      Food and Wine presents a new network of food pros delivering the most cookable recipes and delicious ideas online. Read More
    • Our 22 Best Crock Pot and Slow-Cooker Recipes

      Our 22 Best Crock Pot and Slow-Cooker Recipes

      Looking to amp up your beef stew but unsure where to start? A slow cooker can can take your comfort food to the next level. Read More
    • 50 Affordable Wines You Can Always Trust

      50 Affordable Wines You Can Always Trust

      We’ve assembled a list of 50 of the world’s most reliable, inexpensive wines – bottles that offer amazing quality for their price year in and year out. Read More
  • Recipes & Cooking

    Recipes & Cooking

    See All Recipes & Cooking
    • Chicken
    • Comfort Food
    • Breakfast + Brunch
    • Salads
    • Desserts
    • Vegetables
    • Pasta + Noodles
    • Chefs
    • Meat + Poultry
    • Soup
    • Appetizers
    • Side Dishes
    • Fruits
    • Seafood
    • Special Diets
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Steal This Trick
  • Drinks

    Drinks

    See All Drinks
    • Wine
    • Cocktails + Spirits
    • Coffee
    • Juices
    • Beer
    • Champagne + Sparkling Wine
    • Tea
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel
    • Wine Regions
    • Restaurants
  • Holidays + Events

    Holidays + Events

    See All Holidays + Events
    • Valentine's Day
    • Halloween
    • Passover
    • Hanukkah
    • Christmas
    • Gifts
    • Super Bowl
    • Easter
    • Thanksgiving
    • New Year's Eve
    • Holiday Entertaining
  • News
  • F&W Classic

    F&W Classic

    See All F&W Classic
    • F&W Classic Insider
    • Food & Wine Classic in Aspen
  • Video
  • Lifestyle
  • F&W Pro
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • F&W Classic Insiders this link opens in a new tab
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Wine Club
  • Podcast
  • Food & Wine Books this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Lifestyle
  3. Gifts
  4. The Best Tools for a Post-Grad Kitchen, According to F&W Staff

The Best Tools for a Post-Grad Kitchen, According to F&W Staff

By Food & Wine Updated April 10, 2017
Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
Skip gallery slides
FB Tweet
GNC blender
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon
The transition from the student life to adulthood can be rather disconcerting. One day you’re eating late-night Domino’s in the library and the next you’re expected to be a grown, self-sufficient human who cooks things. And in order to cook things, you need a kitchen stocked with all types of tools. Which tools, you ask? Here, our youngest, hippest, most-recently-graduated staff members share the kitchen tools they loved or wish they’d had as a post-grad.
Start Slideshow

1 of 10

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Rebekah Lowin, Digital Reporter (Columbia University Class of 2014)

Vitamix
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

I wish I’d had a Vitamix! Yup, dreaming big here. But I feel like the hardest part of adjusting to post-college life was the new, earlier wake-up time, and I would probably have been a little more excited to get out of bed and start work each morning if there was an out-of-this-world smoothie waiting for me.

1 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 10

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Dinavie Salazar, Books Intern (UCLA Class of 2013)

Cast Iron Skillet
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

When I moved into my first apartment, my dad gifted me his old seasoned cast iron skillet. It’s such a simple kitchen item, but a staple. I used it all the time and it just felt like a piece of home.

2 of 10

3 of 10

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Phoebe Melnick, Video Producer (Boston University Class of 2016)

KitchenAid Mixer
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

I still am a recent post-grad and I love my KitchenAid stand mixer. Apparently this is usually a wedding gift. I wanted it for a graduation gift. I use it mostly to stress-bake cookies.

3 of 10

Advertisement

4 of 10

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Hannah Walhout, Editorial Assistant (Pomona College Class of 2014)

Cheese cloth
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

My first instinct is to say a dishwasher (still waiting on that one!). But cheese cloth is one of those things that you don’t think you need until you do, and it makes me feel like an adult when a recipe calls for it and I actually have some handy (this applies to a lot of specific-but-useful kitchen tools, like microplanes and pastry brushes). So maybe it’s more of a psychological thing—when you have cheesecloth, it means your pantry is fully stocked and you’re doing it right. Welcome to adulthood!

4 of 10

5 of 10

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Rebecca Delman, Photo Assistant (Binghamton University Class of 2014)

Crock pot
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

My Crock-Pot! I can make amazing, easy dinners and don’t have to worry about leaving it on and unattended while out of the house. I throw in chicken breasts with some onions and BBQ sauce, and make pull-apart chicken that isn’t dried out.

5 of 10

6 of 10

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Telsha Anderson, Social Media Manager (Syracuse University Class of 2015)

Microwave
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

When I graduated, I was in love with my microwave. I was in and out of my apartment and didn’t (still don’t) know how to cook, being able to heat something up in 5 minutes was crucial to my survival. What I really needed was a lifetime supply of DiGiornio.

6 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 10

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Abby Hocking, Digital Photo Editor (The College of New Jersey Class of 2011)

Food processor
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

I wish I had a food processor when I first graduated. I thought that since I no longer lived in a dorm, I could start baking from scratch more. One of the first recipes I made required shredded carrots, so I shredded 4 (!!) cups of carrots with a cheese grater (to make this recipe). It took about an hour. My food processor shreds those carrots in seconds now!

7 of 10

8 of 10

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Elisabeth Sherman, Digital Reporter (The New School Class of 2012)

Iron Skillet
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

I wish I never had a microwave. I don’t have one now, and I cook almost every night. It’s a blessing. Back then, I wished I had a heavy iron skillet. They’re so versatile and they aren’t easily damaged. We have two sizes, and they’re worth all the space they take up in the kitchen.

8 of 10

9 of 10

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Morgan Goldberg, Editorial Assistant (Emory University Class of 2015)

Toaster Oven
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

I cannot live without my toaster oven. I initially told my mom that I didn’t want one and of course, I was wrong. I use it every morning to toast my English muffin for breakfast and often to make single cutlets of baked chicken — you don’t need to use the whole oven when cooking for one.

9 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 10

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Megan Soll, Digital Producer (University of Georgia Class of 2012)

GNC blender
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

This GNC blender kit became my constant companion. It cost me barely $30, but works just as well as a Vitamix for protein shakes and juices. Living solo after college and having fruit and veggies expire was a constant annoyance (and money waster). I kept frozen fruit on hand instead and made a portable drink (or meal, TBH) when I was tempted to order something. Also a blessing: my toaster oven. Though it later caught fire (due to me being irresponsible covering Trader Joe’s garlic naan bread in extra olive oil), it made reheated pizza and leftovers much better.

10 of 10

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Food & Wine

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 10 Rebekah Lowin, Digital Reporter (Columbia University Class of 2014)
    2 of 10 Dinavie Salazar, Books Intern (UCLA Class of 2013)
    3 of 10 Phoebe Melnick, Video Producer (Boston University Class of 2016)
    4 of 10 Hannah Walhout, Editorial Assistant (Pomona College Class of 2014)
    5 of 10 Rebecca Delman, Photo Assistant (Binghamton University Class of 2014)
    6 of 10 Telsha Anderson, Social Media Manager (Syracuse University Class of 2015)
    7 of 10 Abby Hocking, Digital Photo Editor (The College of New Jersey Class of 2011)
    8 of 10 Elisabeth Sherman, Digital Reporter (The New School Class of 2012)
    9 of 10 Morgan Goldberg, Editorial Assistant (Emory University Class of 2015)
    10 of 10 Megan Soll, Digital Producer (University of Georgia Class of 2012)

    Share & More

    Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print
    Food & Wine

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Books from Food & Wine
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Sign Up
    MeredithFood & Wine is part of the Meredith Corporation Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Food & Wine. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.foodandwine.com

    Sign in

    View image

    The Best Tools for a Post-Grad Kitchen, According to F&W Staff
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.