Until the article turns up. . .https://www.growlermag.com/10-essential-items-minimalist-kitchen/

If he's carrying things around in a duffle bag, lighter lis better, as well as cheaply replaceable. I once had two gas rings to cook on (no oven, just a gas hot plate). i was provided an aluminum skillet, probably around 7” in diameter and an aluminum stew pot, about 2 qt. Also plate, bowl and mug, and a set of flatware. I immediately bought a sharp knife. There were some duplicates of what I had left in the apartment, especially dishes, but it was enough to make just about anything—and I did. Soon acquired were a cutting board, soup ladle, wooden spoon and grater, and a kind of pot that acts like an oven on a gas ring. Then storage, though here plastic baga might be adequate. The stewpot was also the mixing bowl, and before the wooden spoon cakes and stuff were mixed with a dinner fork.

An idea to consider, however, is if he's not even going to have a box for kitchen stff, a camp set might be what's needed, maybe with the addition af a utensil roll. There are bigger sets, meant to serve four, that have useful sized pots, plus ”dishes”, that are light and compact.

This article has a simple list - https://mypieceofcakemove.com/how-to-pack-a-kitchen/
Another with a better list, I think: https://www.thekitchn.com/here-are-the-kitchen-essentials-you-need-to-survive-a-big-move-tips-from-the-kitchn-207854

I think even if I had to throw all my cooking supplies in one bag I would still want a vegetable peeler and a rubber spatula (scraper).

An Instant Pot, 12” non stick skillet with lid, a santoku, a veggie peeler, cutting board, 1 corning ware casserole dish, and a pyrex measuring cup, can make 90% of everything that I ever cooked in my first apartment. The Instant Pot has taken over a lot of cooking chores, even now, with a fully equipped kitchen.

Since it a pot and cooker both, it works even in a temporary hotel room quarters for 1 pot pasta dishes, or for pot in pot stews plus rice, etc. I only wish it were around in my younger, less equipped kitchens, years.

Thanks for all those great suggestions! After basic he'll be at the same school for about 18 months. He'll be in a dorm-type of place and then after a few months will probably move off base to an apartment with some buddies. That's where he'll be able to cook his own food. Definitely needs a peeler bc he eats lots of potatoes and other veggies. He eats a lot of tofu, beans, lentils, rice, etc, so just a saucepan for that. A lot of sailors just pass down anything heavy when they move, so if he uses a cast iron pan he'll probably just leave it in the apartment and get a new one at his new place! I like the camp gear suggestions bc that stuff is so light. He'll just be cooking for 1 so small and light will do the trick. When I drive his car to him at A school I'll bring him some of your suggestions.

I've never been interested in the instant pot. I remember my Mom using a pressure cooker when I was little to steam veggies, but the microwave steamer replaced that a long time ago. It kinda scared me bc it would whistle really loud and I always thought it might explode. I personally don't use any plug-in small appliances anymore such as rice cooker, slow cooker, etc, bc my induction cooktop is so great I can do everything on that now. If I still worked I think I would sometimes use the slow cooker though. My slow cooker has a browning function, so you can brown your chicken or whatever with a little oil, and then switch it to the slow cook mode, add the rest of your ingredients and set the time. That eliminates the need for cleaning the extra sauté pan. I think it's a Cuisinart brand but it's up high on a shelf so I'm not sure.

My son will have whatever barracks or rental appliances are available. I think there are outdoor grills at his A school barracks. He is actually vegan but he figures he'll have to relax his rules in basic training and eat what is available, but once he gets his own apartment he can cook what he wants. He's a very good cook. My daughter is an experienced hiker and camper, so I'll ask her for some recommendation on camp-type cooking things to keep the weight down. Perhaps a plug in induction hob would be handy. Not allowed in the A school barracks, but could use in his apartment if the stove sucks.

I looked up the camping gear I was thinking of and they call the type a "base camp pot" set. I found a nice review article about them. https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-camping-cookware

For your son's purpose, I'd avoid anything with Teflon, and prefer bare stainless steel to anything coated, for both safety and longevity. That will make them heavier, though--not appropriate for backpacking--but I doubt they're as heavy as proper kitchen items. The question would be how far would he have to carry his duffle bag, which probably carries heavier than a backpack, but if he only has to carry it across a train station, or similar, it might not be an issue. The service will be demanding a lot of stuff that he must carry when he's going from place to place, so perhaps it's best to wait until he's settled in and has a chance to know what he really wants. I'm not sure if the Navy gives them mess kits, but another thing to consider is that whatever he does have shouldn't be mess-kit-ish, and should be something relaxing.

An alternative thought would be to have a compact roll or cylinder for essential tools and knives, and pick up pots as needed. Cleaning up untreated (no Teflon or other coatings) yard sale or thrift shop pots isn't that big a deal.

Good luck to him!

An induction single 110v burner is one option. https://www.amazon.com/Duxtop-8100MC-Portable-Induction-Countertop/dp/B0045QEPYM/ref=zg_bs_13838451_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=W44M7N1325R5B24D7VY7

The first article that showed up on my search seems to match your description fairly closely, and it’s from three years ago:

https://food52.com/blog/22632-kitchen-tools-that-survived-my-cross-country-moves

“so perhaps it's best to wait until he's settled in and has a chance to know what he really wants.”

This seems to me to be the very best suggestion. One can’t predict what, if any, cooking he’ll be doing or what equipment he’ll need. And presumably there will be shops he can explore where he’s going. An important part of leaving home is making one’s own decisions and fending for oneself. When I Ieft for college I took a one cup immersion heater and a mug so I could offer my new friends a cup of tea. Kitting myself out when I got there was part of the fun of independence. Plus other people had brought different stuff and we shared. When my kids left they were the same. They didn’t want their mum organising them.

^^^She didn’t say she wanted to supply him with kitchen equipment, she said she was looking for an article which could help him consider the minimum tools he’d need to cook pretty much anything.

Yes, that’s true. But he could do that himself too if he’s an experienced cook as she says. And many responses discussed specific equipment.

I have a "chuck box" which we use for camping and road trips. What I have is very similar to what Dan188 posted as the ten essentials. Except no cast iron for portability. A big stainless steel pot which I can either minimally fill for coffee or heating up soup, or max fill for a pot roast, and making pasta. Also serves as a mixing bowl. A strainer. A frying pan big enough to serve as a lid for the pot. Tiny pot and pan that fit inside the big ones, for a quick cup of tea or frying an egg. Paring knife and chef's knife and a cutting board. Spatula, both a flipping one and a scraping one. A can opener and a wine bottle opener. A wooden spoon. That's pretty much it. I use melamine mugs for drinking and measuring. Hot pads, dish soap and scrubbie. I might also add stuff for pour over coffee but usually on the road we either buy it or use coffee bags. Heathens I know. Cheaper to have a small pour over gizmo and some filters. I guess they make metal coffee presses too . . .

You can bake on top of the stove with a pot or pan by using tinfoil to create a rough surface so the stuff doesn't burn. Can even use a small baking pan inside a big pot if you elevate it somehow . . . Stovetop breads are like english muffins, biscuits, etc. You can grill pizza dough too and fry bread . . .

foodonastump

Thanks for the article. It's not the one I read years ago, but it is helpful.

l pinkmountain

The chuck box list is great!

I forgot that I also have a small potato masher in there, and some small tongs. The tongs are from a set that came with two, so I had it extra.

I my kitchen with electricity, I have to say I love my immersion blender because I no longer have to have a blender taking up valuable counter space. For a minimalist kitchen, I guess one might want a toaster oven, but they are tricky to use and I am a distracted cook. I'd rather use that counter space for a snazzy toaster, but I love toasted things . . .

In my actual kitchen, I have a braising pan with a clear glass lid, which I can also use to roast things in, but I often use my roasting pans, my aluminum one doubles as a cake or lasagna pan but I have a larger one if I want to do a turkey . . . which vegetarian me rarely wants to do . . . I also splurged for some nice thick aluminum baking sheets, not the thin ones like you can get in all the marts. Cake and pie pans can be used to heat stuff up in and if you're going to be baking, of course loaf and muffin tins. And then of course I would splurge on the dutch oven, that is great for a minimalist kitchen. At my last tiny apt., I just stored it on the stove and used it often. Can even stir fry in it . . . and I have to say, a cast aluminum dutch oven is not a bad idea either. I inherited one from my mom, and it's a whole lot easier to move that around than the heavy cast iron one. Stamped aluminum of course is terrible, we're talking thick cast aluminum.

And in my actual kitchen, I have a grater and a meat thermometer. I would not usually do such elaborate meals on the road or camping. A good chef's knife can be used instead of a grater in most instances, but I do like it for shredding cheese and carrots. I do love my microplane for fresh citrus peel but I lived most of my life without such luxury. Same with a peeler, I use it all the time but I can also use a paring knife. But the peeler is in almost constant rotation.

Since I make pizza, a pizza cutter is something I use quite a bit, and because I am a pie lover, I use my pie cutter and server, although one could use a knife and a spatula. So the rest depends on what you like to eat I guess. I love my pasta server because I eat so much pasta but one can also use a big slotted serving spoon. I forgot that I have a small one of those in my camping kit too.

You don't have to use measuring spoons either, you can use a tsp and tblsp/soup spoon and eyeball the rest, but my measuring spoons get a lot of rotation. And for clean up, I love my set of bottle brushes of various sizes.

And as someone who went through many a stovetop tea kettle, I love my electric kettle that shuts off automatically and heats fast. We use that every day too.

The electric kettle is a sine qua in every British kitchen, office, work place and student room. Stove top kettles are rare these days.

But for minimals, esp. because the quarters may have coffee/tea equipment, you can boil water in any pot.

Well pillog that was my attitude but after several instances of ruining my pot or tea kettle and almost setting my house on fire, I switched to the auto shut off option and never looked back. They are also faster somehow I think the heating element closer to the water so heats faster. The speed and the auto shut off were what made it essential. They also make differently shaped hot pot ones that can do double duty for heating soups but are a pain to clean and not necessary, particularly if you have access to a micro. Soup heats pretty fast in a regular ol' pot. Water too, but for some reason I'm a person who lets the pots boil dry, no matter how many times I swear not to do it again . . .

Good point! I have an electric kettle that I used in my office when I was working crazy hours. They work great. Just a big thing to tote in one's dufflebag. I did a race some years back, in Appliances. This is a summary from there: I did a cup of water to a rolling boil on the induction with boost (3.3kW) in my Le Creuset kettle (heavy steel bottom), same kettle (cooled with a new measure of water) on gas (12K btu), a 1960's Farberware percolator (family heirloom) which became a powered camping water boiler because it burnt the coffee, an electric teakettle from the 1990's, and in a Corelle bowl in the Advantium 240V on Microwave high.

The results were Induction one minute, Farberware 1:15-20, electric kettle 1:30, gas 2:30, microwave 2:30-2:40. I also tested a cup of water in a very thin carbon steel pan against a heavy multiply skillet on the induction and they took exactly the same amount of time, which makes sense considering how induction works. :)

So, it's unlikely that a young sailor is going to have access to high powered, built-in induction, or even high powered gas (mine is medium), so a good electric kettle or coffee maker should be the winner, If there isn't already something like that there.