Cooking away from home

July 30, 2026·Darcie

Whether you are going home to visit family or setting off for a vacation in a rental house, cooking takes on a new dimension when you are away from your familiar surroundings. The Guardian's Mina Holland understands this, saying that "cooking anywhere but your own kitchen can feel like a paradigm shift and demands a different approach." She provides suggestions for planning along with a list of kitchen essentials.

Tortilla de patatas from Dom in the Kitchen by Dominic Franks

Holland sticks to tried and true recipes that do not require ingredients or tools that are difficult to source. She likes to center vacation meals around carbs, sticking to foods like pasta carbonara, tortilla de patatas, and stuffed peppers served alongside extra rice. Holland is wary of curries, because it's hard to know what spices will be available, either in the house or at nearby markets. If you have room, she suggests packing a "holy trinity" of cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and turmeric.

Her go-to kitchen tools and cookware list is simple: "a knife, a couple of pans, [and] a wooden spoon." Not as necessary but always appreciated are a box grater and a whisk. If you are able to bring cutting tools, a sharp knife is number one on the list of things to pack. Chances are good that the knives in vacation rentals will be dreadfully dull.

One tool Holland didn't mention that I always travel with if I know I’m going to be cooking is a digital thermometer. Whether you are cooking meats or making Italian meringue, knowing the temperature of your foods is critical. A Microplane grater, silicone spatula, and rimmed baking sheet are also handy to have. A quarter sheet pan with a tight-fitting lid is the perfect receptable for holding the majority of the items described above. Not only will it protect tools from getting mangled, it can also serve as a baking tray.

7 comments

FuzzyChefJuly 31, 2026

I used to travel with a knife, but now i bring a pocket knife sharpener.

janecooksamiracleJuly 31, 2026

Not much of a vacation for the one who always cooks!

gamulhollandJuly 31, 2026

We discovered extremely practical melamine nesting bowls from Costco at a vacation rental and bought our own as soon as we arrived home, so that was a surprising (and good) find. Also, I now have a copy of Claire Thomson’s Camper Van Cooking, and while I’m not a patient enough cook to whip up her delicious recipes over a campfire or camping stove, I would definitely use them in a rental kitchen. :)

breakthroughcJuly 31, 2026

I have cooked in a lot of rentals and timeshares. A sharp knife is essential. I also like to take a silicon spatula, juicer, microplane grater, seasoning salt and a small bottle of olive oil. If traveling by car I take a sheet pan, coffee grinder and my 10 inch cast iron skillet. I grill a lot, so the digital thermometer is a great idea.

FyretiggerAugust 1, 2026

The thing I take everywhere, traveling or not, is my family cook. For 15 years, it's been in digital form and I have it on my laptop, phone and iPad. It's great traveling, and at the grocery store. The recipes come from lots of different sources, but the thing they all have in common is, someone in the family wants to make it again-and-again. I also carry a few essential cookbooks in digital form.

Beyond that, when RV camping, my favorite knives, digital thermometer and a few other tools travel with me in a chefs knife wrap.

breakthroughcAugust 1, 2026

I’m digitalizing a lot of my recipes on an App called Recime. It is fabulous. You can take a photo of a recipe from a cookbook and it imports it into a recipe format accessible on your phone. As long as the recipe is on one page it was great. My husband and I are transitioning to a snow bird lifestyle. This way I’ll have access to my favorite recipes without hauling books back and forth. It is one of the most useful apps I have seen in a long time.

RinshinAugust 2, 2026

I've cooked at least one year's worth of cooking in our travel trailer from all over the US and the best strategy for me is keeping it simple. Salt, pepper, accent, combined dried herb mixture, paprika, chili powder, soy sauce, steak sauce, bbq sauce, olive and regular oil, rice and red wine vinegar, dijon, regular mustard, ketchup, Ranch for my spouse, mayo, and sugar. Always bring Japanese curry roux box, Japanese cream stew roux box, rice, pasta and cans of beans. All perishable are first brought in a cooler and later purchased as we go. Food always tastes best when eating outdoors. I keep a rice cooker, instant pot, and old drip coffee maker and grinder.