Holiday Rental Essentials - Utensils

While you probably don't want to spend an excessive amount of time in the kitchen when you are on holiday, the fact that you have rented a villa/apartment rather than staying in a hotel surely means that you want to be able to prepare some meals.

A few years ago I did a half day cooking course with a friend in Thailand - we prepared the most delicious versions of Green Curry, Pad Thai, Tom Kha Gai and Spring Rolls that I have ever had. The lesson took place in a tiny makeshift kitchen where we each had a stand wok-burner and a small prep table with a chopping board. Aside from a knife and some small prep bowls, the only utensil we used for all of the preparation and cooking was a stainless steel spatula. It was really interesting to see just what you can make with such a simple set-up.

At my house, it's a different story. I have a drawer full of utensils and a couple of containers on my bench with the assorted spoons, graters and spatulas that I tend to use every day.

For a holiday rental - I am thinking that somewhere in the middle of these two extremes could be best. There are definitely some things you can get by without - garlic crusher, citrus zester etc - so below is my list of what I think should be the basics.

Basic Utensils
Tongs
Spatula
Flipper / Turner (aka Egg/Fish Slice)
Scissors
Salad Servers
Serving Spoons
Wooden Spoons
Can Opener
Vegetable Peeler
Whisk
Grater
Potato Masher
Colander

We'd love to hear from you to see if you think there is anything missing (or something on the list that you could do without). I haven't  mentioned knives or pots and pans here as we may do a separate post on these. MP has already posted about chopping boards.

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Images: 1, 2