What to Bring With You (and What to Leave at Home) If You Are Using a Fully Stocked Kitchen
I don’t care what the ad says, the kitchen at your rental location will not be “fully stocked.” I am a travel minimalist whose happy vacation only requires a couple of shorts and some flip flops, but I will even bring a few things to the rental space if I do any cooking at all. Below are my recommendations for the absolute minimum of gear you’ll need in the little cottage you’ve rented for the holidays this year, and what you can probably leave at home.
Four kitchen items you absolutely must bring to Airbnb
Single sharp knife
I’m not sure if this is part of Airbnb’s terms of service, but every vacation rental apartment, from most expensive to lowest, contains exactly three knives. Two have broken arms, and they’re all dumb as hell. So you should take your own sharp knife with you wherever you go. But you only need one. In fact, you only need one decent chef’s knife at home. Pairing knife? You are welcome. Just work on your knife skills. Make sure you pack it safely: wrap the blade with cardboard tape.
Nice frying pan
There is nothing worse than trying to fry something on the scratched non-stick monsters that come standard on any rental property. It won’t heat evenly and will spill tiny teflon flakes on your morning eggs. So you will have to take the frying pan with you on vacation. But then again: you only need to bring one. I like stainless steel, but some people like cast iron. (Fools!)
Olive oil
The kitchens of rented units are often crammed with half-filled bottles of olive oil from previous short-term renters, but bring yours anyway. You have no idea how long this olive oil has been there, and many disgusting people cook with cheap olive oil, which I would not use to lubricate the engine. (Bonus tip: don’t use olive oil to clean your car’s engine at all!)
Salt and pepper
People often leave spices on vacation, so salt and pepper can be hidden somewhere in the kitchen, but nevertheless, since you basically can’t cook anything without these two culinary products, you should pack them just in case.
Bagillion to leave behind
Corkscrew
Most of the rental properties I have stayed in have corkscrews, sometimes many were left by previous tenants, but if they don’t, opening a bottle of wine without a corkscrew is not the hardest thing in the world, as you can watchthis ancient video Lifehacker . In fact, you just need to stuff the cork with something. Plus: remember what happened the last time you had to improvise to open a bottle of wine on vacation? When did Gary spill this on his shoe while trying to bump into the wall in his shoe? A fun highlight of the vacation!
Spices (excluding salt and pepper)
People often leave spices on vacation, so I love the complexity and innovative thinking it takes to cook with them. Making a chicken breading with paprika flakes, cumin, Sichuan peppercorns, and sweet corn? Why not? I’m on vacation!
Coffee maker
Most establishments have a coffee maker, but if they don’t, brewing a cup without a kyorig or anything else is very easy. You are simply pouring boiling water over the ground beans, not reinventing the wheel. So just boil some water in a saucepan, pour some coffee and pour it into the cup, keeping out the grounds. Civilization has made us weak.
Everything else Bon Appetit recommends
Speaking of civilization, this “essentials” bon appetite list to take with you on vacation rentals is like many Internet “bring it” lists: it’s overblown. It includes a microplanar, two different types of pans, two rimmed baking trays, a digital thermometer and blender, and a large plastic container to hold it all. I realized that they are more civilized than me from their fancy culinary magazine, but a blender ? As a daily necessity? Why not just stay home?
Bon Appeti t also suggests “create a shared google doc and ask couples to sign up for dinner and cleaning” in the Bon Appeti t essentials. They probably weren’t going to ask me, but I’m not going on vacation with Bon Appetit . It really won’t work.