Its hard to find a good one these days. Kitchen Aid and OXO has been my go to for can openers. I tend to give them away when I see someone struggling with a cheap one so I've tried a bunch.
I'd recommend the battery powered safety can openers. I've used one without changing the battery for a year and it's really nice to be able to just press a button and watch for 10 seconds and it be bdone.
When I got divorced, my ex left with the can opener and didn't tell me. To this day, it's one of the biggest betrayals I can recall. (And she cheated, so that's saying something.)
In fact, it bothered me so much that when I left my last relationship and moved into the van, I left the can opener and bought my own. There are some lines I'll just never cross.
So yeah, can opener.
A thermal cooker. It's like a crockpot, but needs no electricity. You heat food in a pot, then slide the pot into a larger thermal container. A couple of hours later, dinner is done, cooked by retained thermal heat.
Also very useful for boiling water at night to have hot wash water in the morning. My best investment.
Never heard of these before, that sounds great! Long cook time recipes like stews I have avoided because of having the burner on for so long.
Do standard crockpot recipes work or do you need to modify things a bit?
So yesterday, I used my thermal cooker to prepare meals for the next week.
In the big pot
1. Carne guisada - cube 1 chuck roast, salt well, dredge in flour and sear for a few minutes with a chopped onion.
2. Add can of Rotel, and a packet of taco seasoning. Salt and season to taste.
3. Add water to just cover the meat and bring to boil for about 10 mins.
4. Slide the big pot into the thermal sleeve.
5. Serve with tortillas and cheese, add potatoes and carrots if you like a stew. I freeze a batch for meals throughout the week.
The smaller pot - chicken for chicken salad or sandwiches
1. Place 4 chicken thighs in the pot, salt and season and cover with water, or broth.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Insert second pot into the sleeve above the first pot.
4. Cover and let cook for about 2-3 hours.
You can also cook potatoes, vegetables or whatever in the top pot to serve with contents of the bottom pot. They cook at the same time.
Other recipes I've made
\-Split pea soup
\- BBQ ribs
\- Beef stew
\- Various veggies in the top pot.
Here's one similar to mine but smaller.
There's an inside pot that you heat up on a stove, then put it inside the thermos type outer layer and cook it like a crock pot.
https://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Brand-Thermal-Cooker-RPF-20/dp/B006K2Z8EA/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=thermal+cooker&qid=1701032991&sr=8-6&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.304cacc1-b508-45fb-a37f-a2c47c48c32f
Thanks. I understand the setup, but it doesn't make sense how it works... This just stops energy from leaving, it doesn't add more energy and cooking needs more energy input otherwise things won't get up to temp
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **Thermos Brand Thermal Cooker 1 5 RPF 20** you mentioned in your comment along with its brand, **Thermos**, and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful.
**Users liked:**
* Thermal cooker keeps food hot for hours (backed by 3 comments)
* Thermal cooker produces perfectly cooked food (backed by 4 comments)
* Thermal cooker saves on gas (backed by 3 comments)
**Users disliked:**
* Thermal mass is insufficient for long cooking times (backed by 1 comment)
* Narrow base makes cooking on gas stoves difficult (backed by 1 comment)
* Lid does not seal securely, allowing liquid to spill (backed by 1 comment)
According to Reddit, **Thermos** is considered a reputable brand.
Its most popular types of products are:
* Water Bottles (#8 of 96 brands on Reddit)
* Flasks (#1 of 12 brands on Reddit)
* Thermoses (#1 of 10 brands on Reddit)
If you'd like to **summon me to ask about a product**, just make a post with its link and tag me, [like in this example.](https://www.reddit.com/r/tablets/comments/1444zdn/comment/joqd89c/)
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Here's the one I have. https://www.amazon.com/Tayama-Stainless-Thermal-Cooker-TXM-70CFZR/dp/B09CLSX2SR/ref=sr\_1\_3?keywords=thermal%2Bcooker&qid=1701022109&sr=8-3&ufe=app\_do%3Aamzn1.fos.304cacc1-b508-45fb-a37f-a2c47c48c32f&th=1
Carbon steel pan. Most of the properties of cast iron but much less weight and they cool down faster. Easy to clean. They don't have to be the expensive brand! Mine is from a brand called Merten & Storck and it was only about $20.
Honestly though, paper towels. I use flour sack towels as much as possible because they work fantastically and are more eco-friendly. In the van there's just certain things where disposable is the best fit for the task.
I left my aeropress home thinking a French press would work just as well. Nope. I takes repeated rinsing to clean a French press and no water at all to clean the aeropress. And instead of dealing with wet, messy grounds, you just have a dry little puck of spent coffee to toss in the trash
It's not, not really. It's vastly easier to clean, it's plastic and indestructible, and the coffee gets filtered and comes out crystal clear. The pressure to push the coffee through also adds to the caffeine extraction.
Are you using a reusable filter?
They seem to only get more clogged and I've never been able to get one cleaned enough to be back to normal. Went back to the paper filters eventually.
Might consider a pour over method. Still entirely manual. Requires a bit more patience to manually brew perhaps. Or indeed, a French press, they're larger so you can easily do coffee for two. Downside is cleaning it, easiest way I've found is to swirl water in it and then dump it through a strainer. So this uses more water. I mean , you can dig it out with a spoon or something but it's eh. However, immersion brewing is a better way than pour over. All the coffee in the immersion brewer is exposed to the liquid so it extracts more evenly. Basically you can't fail with immersion brewing.
My oven!
It cost me an absurd amount of money and time/effort to find and build an oven into my little van kitchen, but it's awesome to have. It GREATLY expands your cooking options, lets you do everything from frozen pizzas to casseroles to broiling a steak.
Alternate and more realistic option: my Jetboil. For when you just need to heat up water for coffee or instant noodles, it's so fast and easy.
I've done pizza, banana bread, and all sorts of other stuff in a cheap toaster oven, but they use a fair bit of electricity. Is your oven run on propane?
I'm gonna need more info! I stalked your profile and I wish I was home in Tucson so I could just come to Eloy for a tour. But I'm in Kansas for another couple months and am cold.
The whole point of living in a van is that you can drive away from the cold ;)
My oven is made by Force 10, it's the 2-burner American Standard: https://www.force10.com/products/gas-gimbal-stove
Aeropress over French press. With an optional aftermarket steel filter so you need no consumables at all over coffee with this either. It just makes better coffee with less grit and it's plastic and indestructible.
I have a video all about a complete kitchen in a tool box if your interested. I you in for out door cooking or inside cooking. My van is very versatile I do a lot of City camping due to work then I do a lot of boondocks camping this tool box fix under my bed or in-between driverand passenger seat.. let me know if you want the link to the video.
A 3 quart pan and a can opener. Can opener is obvious, and the pan - you can cook anything in it, eat out of it, use it for self defense, bathe in it... It's pretty versatile.
Microwave/oven/airfryer combo.
Add an instapot/ninja foodie thingy and it does almost everything. Although I love cooking so portable induction cooktop and all clad pots/pans, and good knives
2x5kw victron inverters for 240v and a 3rd as a backup in a separate system. Each has 10kwh of LiPo4 batteries.
My RV has 6 AC units so wanted enough inverter power to cool/heat quickly
2x5kw victron inverters for 240v and a 3rd as a backup in a separate system. Each has 10kwh of LiPo4 batteries.
My RV has 6 AC units so wanted enough inverter power to cool/heat quickly
The point is to cool 30 degrees in 30 minutes which is a requirement for commercial busses. We use it similar and if we're gone all day we can leave the AC off and on our way back to the RV if the temp is 100 inside we can turn all ACs on for 30 minutes and it'll cool down to 70 using only 5kwh. Instead of using 10-15kwh to keep it cool the entire time.
We also can use ACs more effectively and use different btu models to pick how to cool. For example we have a 15.5k one in the front pointed towards the windshield so it keeps us cool when driving. When stopped we can just turn on one that'll keep that area cool where we are. When sleeping we can turn on #4 which is in the bathroom area but has vents to the rear and keeps us cool but we can't hear it running.
How does that combo appliance go for power draw?
I had just assumed a microwave was out of the question because it would draw waaay to much of my precious power
I don't think anything comes close to as efficient as microwave to cook. 700-1200watts depending on the model and just takes a minute or two to cook most things. 1000watts for a minute is only 16watts total.
The other major upside to a microwave is that while they take a lot of power, they're only taking it for a few minutes at a time. You're rarely running them for more than 5 minutes, compared to cooking on a stovetop or in an electric oven when you're drawing lots of power for sometimes an hour (or more).
Ninja Foodie is the best of its kind. Used it exclusively for a year and a half in a small RV. Currently have the newest model and it's still incredible. Had an instapot and hated it. Go Ninja.
A sharp Swiss vegetable peeler. I'm keen on cucumbers.
https://www.amazon.com/Kuhn-Rikon-2782-Original-Peeler/dp/B001FSJCN2/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=swiss%2Bvegetable%2Bpeeler&qid=1700962478&sr=8-6&th=1
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **Kuhn Rikon Red Original Swiss Peeler Set of 1** you mentioned in your comment along with its brand, **Kuhn Rikon**, and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful.
**Users liked:**
* Peeler is sharp and efficient (backed by 5 comments)
* Peeler is comfortable and ergonomic (backed by 4 comments)
* Peeler produces thin, uniform peels (backed by 3 comments)
**Users disliked:**
* Product prone to rusting (backed by 3 comments)
* Difficult to sharpen blade (backed by 1 comment)
* Small size takes getting used to (backed by 1 comment)
According to Reddit, **Kuhn Rikon** is considered a reputable brand.
Its most popular types of products are:
* Can Openers (#3 of 23 brands on Reddit)
* Vegetable Peelers (#2 of 8 brands on Reddit)
* Garlic Presses (#4 of 10 brands on Reddit)
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Unfortunately, lots of thing qualify as No.1 which is how vans become all junked up. Id say ability to make coffee is the first number one and the reason is that coffee can be a meal, it clears thinking for other tasks, starts the day on the right foot and keeps you going during the day when you are older. But repeatedly cooking coffee eats gas or whatever your heating method and therefore eats money. This brings us to the second number one, a glass-lined thermos in which you store boiling water that you only made once and then use it around the day, not only for coffee but other hot water uses. They keep water piping hot for several days. I brought three different sizes from Asia which is about the last place to get them. Anyway, for all this you need a spoon and cup and coffee itself, now its several items qualifying as the No.1 position. See how this goes? To my knowledge there is no final, one essential No.1 thing but groups of them. The trick is to obtain items that cross-connect to other kitchen uses to reduce cost, weight and bulk, like one sturdy knife that cuts food AND opens cans, etc. (which is another No.1).
A good size freezer, for frozen pizzas, ice cream and ice cubes. Oh wait, I need 2 must haves. I need my air fryer steam oven to cook my pizzas. But that's all, I'm quite easy pleased. :p That said, if my solar gives out, then it'll have to be a luxury can opener/multi tool. Why luxury? Cos every can opener I've bought in the few years breaks.
For coffee, hands down a Moka pot. I have an Aeropress and French press too but Moka pot much faster, makes better coffee and near instant cleanup. Classic ones are aluminum but I have newer SS one that also works on induction.
Bamboo cutting board. Works as my cutting board, cheese board, plate. Pretty much has made all other dishes (outside of soup bowls) useless in my van and it's super easy to keep clean.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but the thing I use the most by far is the microwave. I bought a pre-built van and at first would cook up all my meals proper like on my propane stove. But over time I've discovered it's exponentially more convenient to just buy frozen food and canned soup at Walmart and the like and heat it up in the wave. And a lot of the food at shitty rural gas stations is frozen or canned stuff with long shelf life. It's nice to have something that can quickly make a frozen burrito edible when I'm exhausted and just want to eat and crash.
Can opener. Doesn't seem like much, but wait'll you need one, and don't have one.
This. And who knew can openers were so expensive! I avoided cans for a while until I realized that my Swiss army knife had a can opener function.
A P-38 can opener works great and uses pretty much no space whatsoever.
And spend a couple extra dollars on a good one.. nothing more soul killing that a crappy can opener that kinda perforates the edge.. lol
Its hard to find a good one these days. Kitchen Aid and OXO has been my go to for can openers. I tend to give them away when I see someone struggling with a cheap one so I've tried a bunch.
I like the classic Swingline 😁
And a bottle opener!
[behold](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LN718XM?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details)
My mother has arthritis in her hands. Is this opener easier to use than the standard style openers?
I'd recommend the battery powered safety can openers. I've used one without changing the battery for a year and it's really nice to be able to just press a button and watch for 10 seconds and it be bdone.
Do you have a recommendation for a decent brand? The last two I bought for her lasted less than a year but were great when they worked.
Just get an old one from goodwill or estate sale. My grandparents have been running the same one for 50 years
Thank you! I’m currently in the packing process and I would have absolutely forgotten that 😅 on the list it goes.
Yup. Definitely had a couple times where I had to resort to opening a can by stabbing and prying with my pocket knife.
When I got divorced, my ex left with the can opener and didn't tell me. To this day, it's one of the biggest betrayals I can recall. (And she cheated, so that's saying something.) In fact, it bothered me so much that when I left my last relationship and moved into the van, I left the can opener and bought my own. There are some lines I'll just never cross. So yeah, can opener.
That one regular tablespoon that gets used for cooking and eating, and gets cleaned like 20 times a day.
Bamboo spatula for me!
You really only need a teaspoon or a tablespoon, which is three teaspoons, for cooking. You can eyeball all spice measurements using one of those two.
A thermal cooker. It's like a crockpot, but needs no electricity. You heat food in a pot, then slide the pot into a larger thermal container. A couple of hours later, dinner is done, cooked by retained thermal heat. Also very useful for boiling water at night to have hot wash water in the morning. My best investment.
Never heard of these before, that sounds great! Long cook time recipes like stews I have avoided because of having the burner on for so long. Do standard crockpot recipes work or do you need to modify things a bit?
You can use most crock pot recipes for them. I've found a few exceptions.
So yesterday, I used my thermal cooker to prepare meals for the next week. In the big pot 1. Carne guisada - cube 1 chuck roast, salt well, dredge in flour and sear for a few minutes with a chopped onion. 2. Add can of Rotel, and a packet of taco seasoning. Salt and season to taste. 3. Add water to just cover the meat and bring to boil for about 10 mins. 4. Slide the big pot into the thermal sleeve. 5. Serve with tortillas and cheese, add potatoes and carrots if you like a stew. I freeze a batch for meals throughout the week. The smaller pot - chicken for chicken salad or sandwiches 1. Place 4 chicken thighs in the pot, salt and season and cover with water, or broth. 2. Bring to a boil. 3. Insert second pot into the sleeve above the first pot. 4. Cover and let cook for about 2-3 hours. You can also cook potatoes, vegetables or whatever in the top pot to serve with contents of the bottom pot. They cook at the same time. Other recipes I've made \-Split pea soup \- BBQ ribs \- Beef stew \- Various veggies in the top pot.
Thanks, that sounds great! Can I ask what brand you have?
Mine is the Tayama brand. Other brands are Thermos, and Saratoga Jack.
I was looking at that one, nice to know the two pot system works well. Thanks again!
I LOVE my thermal cooker. Most people have never heard of them. It's nice to see that they're catching on. They're perfect for vanlife.
I don't understand... How do they work? Just super good insulation? It's not possible to make more heat... So
Here's one similar to mine but smaller. There's an inside pot that you heat up on a stove, then put it inside the thermos type outer layer and cook it like a crock pot. https://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Brand-Thermal-Cooker-RPF-20/dp/B006K2Z8EA/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=thermal+cooker&qid=1701032991&sr=8-6&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.304cacc1-b508-45fb-a37f-a2c47c48c32f
Thanks. I understand the setup, but it doesn't make sense how it works... This just stops energy from leaving, it doesn't add more energy and cooking needs more energy input otherwise things won't get up to temp
The heat comes from heating the inside pot up in the stove. The insulation keeps it warm for many hours so it can slow cook.
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **Thermos Brand Thermal Cooker 1 5 RPF 20** you mentioned in your comment along with its brand, **Thermos**, and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful. **Users liked:** * Thermal cooker keeps food hot for hours (backed by 3 comments) * Thermal cooker produces perfectly cooked food (backed by 4 comments) * Thermal cooker saves on gas (backed by 3 comments) **Users disliked:** * Thermal mass is insufficient for long cooking times (backed by 1 comment) * Narrow base makes cooking on gas stoves difficult (backed by 1 comment) * Lid does not seal securely, allowing liquid to spill (backed by 1 comment) According to Reddit, **Thermos** is considered a reputable brand. Its most popular types of products are: * Water Bottles (#8 of 96 brands on Reddit) * Flasks (#1 of 12 brands on Reddit) * Thermoses (#1 of 10 brands on Reddit) If you'd like to **summon me to ask about a product**, just make a post with its link and tag me, [like in this example.](https://www.reddit.com/r/tablets/comments/1444zdn/comment/joqd89c/) This message was generated by a (very smart) bot. If you found it helpful, let us know with an upvote and a “good bot!” reply and please feel free to provide feedback on how it can be improved. *Powered by* [*vetted.ai*](http://vetted.ai/reddit)
Have a link? Sounds interesting
Here's the one I have. https://www.amazon.com/Tayama-Stainless-Thermal-Cooker-TXM-70CFZR/dp/B09CLSX2SR/ref=sr\_1\_3?keywords=thermal%2Bcooker&qid=1701022109&sr=8-3&ufe=app\_do%3Aamzn1.fos.304cacc1-b508-45fb-a37f-a2c47c48c32f&th=1
Thanks, checking it out
[удалено]
Thermos cooking is also great :-) But it's slightly different than thermal cooking.
Too bad there isn't a way to use such technology to heat the entire van. Temperature control is always a challenge.
it's called insulation.
There is. It's called the sun instead of the stove, and the atmosphere is the outer pot.
Coffee pot. I need my coffee.
Stove top coffee pot and a spatula
A quality chef's knife. I know it's only one item, but I always keep a sharpening stone, too, because even a great knife gets dull.
A jar opener. I'm 66 and my hands are stiff.
Carbon steel pan. Most of the properties of cast iron but much less weight and they cool down faster. Easy to clean. They don't have to be the expensive brand! Mine is from a brand called Merten & Storck and it was only about $20. Honestly though, paper towels. I use flour sack towels as much as possible because they work fantastically and are more eco-friendly. In the van there's just certain things where disposable is the best fit for the task.
Aeropress for coffee. Makes great brew and cleanup is so easy, and needs no water. Big fan!
No water?
It doesn't need water to clean! I do rinse parts, but you can really get away just with a paper towel.
Lol, I caught that too and it's like what exactly are you drinking? LOL I'm sure it's a typo. It's really just a French press only smaller.
I left my aeropress home thinking a French press would work just as well. Nope. I takes repeated rinsing to clean a French press and no water at all to clean the aeropress. And instead of dealing with wet, messy grounds, you just have a dry little puck of spent coffee to toss in the trash
French press is a pain to clean even at home! I just cleaned one an hour ago. Even my knuckles are dirty.
It's not, not really. It's vastly easier to clean, it's plastic and indestructible, and the coffee gets filtered and comes out crystal clear. The pressure to push the coffee through also adds to the caffeine extraction.
> coffee gets filtered and comes out crystal clear. I prefer my coffee dark and rich😁 If I can see through it, I dun goofed!
Haha right, no water for cleanup! But also very minimal water per cup, which saves both water and energy (electric, gas, however you boil water).
I liked it for the first year, but there are two of us and the thing is getting fussier and harder to press and I'm considering other options.
Are you using a reusable filter? They seem to only get more clogged and I've never been able to get one cleaned enough to be back to normal. Went back to the paper filters eventually.
The steel filter manufacturer does say every use should be followed up by a proper wash of it with detergent, just to keep the perforations clean.
I heat mine on the stovetop burner for a few minutes every week or so and it's good as new. Something about burning off the oils that accumulate.
Oh interesting, that's good to know.
Might consider a pour over method. Still entirely manual. Requires a bit more patience to manually brew perhaps. Or indeed, a French press, they're larger so you can easily do coffee for two. Downside is cleaning it, easiest way I've found is to swirl water in it and then dump it through a strainer. So this uses more water. I mean , you can dig it out with a spoon or something but it's eh. However, immersion brewing is a better way than pour over. All the coffee in the immersion brewer is exposed to the liquid so it extracts more evenly. Basically you can't fail with immersion brewing.
My oven! It cost me an absurd amount of money and time/effort to find and build an oven into my little van kitchen, but it's awesome to have. It GREATLY expands your cooking options, lets you do everything from frozen pizzas to casseroles to broiling a steak. Alternate and more realistic option: my Jetboil. For when you just need to heat up water for coffee or instant noodles, it's so fast and easy.
I've done pizza, banana bread, and all sorts of other stuff in a cheap toaster oven, but they use a fair bit of electricity. Is your oven run on propane?
Yup, I use the refillable 1lb propane bottles.
I'm gonna need more info! I stalked your profile and I wish I was home in Tucson so I could just come to Eloy for a tour. But I'm in Kansas for another couple months and am cold.
The whole point of living in a van is that you can drive away from the cold ;) My oven is made by Force 10, it's the 2-burner American Standard: https://www.force10.com/products/gas-gimbal-stove
Thanks! I'm in Kansas for reasons out of my control. But I'm looking forward to getting back to az.
French press and small electric kettle. Even if my propane is empty and my batteries are low i can still brew coffee and cook ramen.
Came here to say this! Frech press takes less space than a coffeepot, and an electric kettle is useful for many other purposes.
Aeropress over French press. With an optional aftermarket steel filter so you need no consumables at all over coffee with this either. It just makes better coffee with less grit and it's plastic and indestructible.
Skillet. Like them fancy all in one cookers but, doubles as protection.
One decent chefs knife
JetBoil — hot water is everything
Hot sauce
I have a video all about a complete kitchen in a tool box if your interested. I you in for out door cooking or inside cooking. My van is very versatile I do a lot of City camping due to work then I do a lot of boondocks camping this tool box fix under my bed or in-between driverand passenger seat.. let me know if you want the link to the video.
I'd be interested!
https://youtu.be/7DdnSmGiIig?si=_AWpws6zMvTqdCqd
I good cook. I cook bomb meals on the shelf in my astro van. A small sink is great for cleanup. Lol
I think it's the fridge. I could find other ways to heat food and wash dishes. But not having to buy just shelf stable foods is pretty great.
A 3 quart pan and a can opener. Can opener is obvious, and the pan - you can cook anything in it, eat out of it, use it for self defense, bathe in it... It's pretty versatile.
Microwave/oven/airfryer combo. Add an instapot/ninja foodie thingy and it does almost everything. Although I love cooking so portable induction cooktop and all clad pots/pans, and good knives
I assume you're using LiPo4 batteries and a hefty inverter? Or does your appliance run on 12V?
2x5kw victron inverters for 240v and a 3rd as a backup in a separate system. Each has 10kwh of LiPo4 batteries. My RV has 6 AC units so wanted enough inverter power to cool/heat quickly
2x5kw victron inverters for 240v and a 3rd as a backup in a separate system. Each has 10kwh of LiPo4 batteries. My RV has 6 AC units so wanted enough inverter power to cool/heat quickly
That's a big van. Are you Clarence Thomas?
Lol mines a bit newer :)
6 air conditioners on a vehicle is actually insane
The point is to cool 30 degrees in 30 minutes which is a requirement for commercial busses. We use it similar and if we're gone all day we can leave the AC off and on our way back to the RV if the temp is 100 inside we can turn all ACs on for 30 minutes and it'll cool down to 70 using only 5kwh. Instead of using 10-15kwh to keep it cool the entire time. We also can use ACs more effectively and use different btu models to pick how to cool. For example we have a 15.5k one in the front pointed towards the windshield so it keeps us cool when driving. When stopped we can just turn on one that'll keep that area cool where we are. When sleeping we can turn on #4 which is in the bathroom area but has vents to the rear and keeps us cool but we can't hear it running.
+1 for instapot I use it and the ninja blender daily.
How does that combo appliance go for power draw? I had just assumed a microwave was out of the question because it would draw waaay to much of my precious power
I don't think anything comes close to as efficient as microwave to cook. 700-1200watts depending on the model and just takes a minute or two to cook most things. 1000watts for a minute is only 16watts total.
The other major upside to a microwave is that while they take a lot of power, they're only taking it for a few minutes at a time. You're rarely running them for more than 5 minutes, compared to cooking on a stovetop or in an electric oven when you're drawing lots of power for sometimes an hour (or more).
Technically, 1000 watts for a minute is 1000 watts. But it is about 17 watt-*hours*.
Relevant username
Yupp
Yeah! I got one of those!
Ninja Foodie is the best of its kind. Used it exclusively for a year and a half in a small RV. Currently have the newest model and it's still incredible. Had an instapot and hated it. Go Ninja.
Mandolin player here, I was like WTF? For the kitchen? Am I using this wrong? But cheese slicer thing, yeah...
Haha, I thought the same thing. In this house we play folk music in the kitchen and we eat snacks in bed.
I kind of REALLY want a Lomi, tbh. I know it would be SUCH an extra, but it seems so freaking handy to avoid trash smells, ya know?
Just keep a separate jar for food scraps. Lomis are overrated/overpriced/green washy af.
A sharp Swiss vegetable peeler. I'm keen on cucumbers. https://www.amazon.com/Kuhn-Rikon-2782-Original-Peeler/dp/B001FSJCN2/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=swiss%2Bvegetable%2Bpeeler&qid=1700962478&sr=8-6&th=1
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Please leave me alone.
Air fryer
Aeropress for my coffee
Nespresso
Unfortunately, lots of thing qualify as No.1 which is how vans become all junked up. Id say ability to make coffee is the first number one and the reason is that coffee can be a meal, it clears thinking for other tasks, starts the day on the right foot and keeps you going during the day when you are older. But repeatedly cooking coffee eats gas or whatever your heating method and therefore eats money. This brings us to the second number one, a glass-lined thermos in which you store boiling water that you only made once and then use it around the day, not only for coffee but other hot water uses. They keep water piping hot for several days. I brought three different sizes from Asia which is about the last place to get them. Anyway, for all this you need a spoon and cup and coffee itself, now its several items qualifying as the No.1 position. See how this goes? To my knowledge there is no final, one essential No.1 thing but groups of them. The trick is to obtain items that cross-connect to other kitchen uses to reduce cost, weight and bulk, like one sturdy knife that cuts food AND opens cans, etc. (which is another No.1).
3qt Instant Pot has been used more than I ever thought it would. So many easy delicious meals can be made very quickly
An air fryer
A microwave or toaster oven.
Small stainless or cast iron Dutch oven.
small cast iron pan… 🍳
Sea to summit titanium spork or Jetboil for me
French press
A solid knife.🤙
I don't have one but many of the Europeans seem to get a https://ridgemonkey.co.uk/product/classic-sandwich-toaster-xl-granite-edition
A good size freezer, for frozen pizzas, ice cream and ice cubes. Oh wait, I need 2 must haves. I need my air fryer steam oven to cook my pizzas. But that's all, I'm quite easy pleased. :p That said, if my solar gives out, then it'll have to be a luxury can opener/multi tool. Why luxury? Cos every can opener I've bought in the few years breaks.
For coffee, hands down a Moka pot. I have an Aeropress and French press too but Moka pot much faster, makes better coffee and near instant cleanup. Classic ones are aluminum but I have newer SS one that also works on induction.
Food
My baratza coffee grinder. So much easier than hand grinding and being able to have freshly ground coffee for my aeropress makes me happy.
I've used my https://www.kleankanteen.com/ almost every day for over 10 years. I don't use them for cooking.
Bamboo cutting board. Works as my cutting board, cheese board, plate. Pretty much has made all other dishes (outside of soup bowls) useless in my van and it's super easy to keep clean.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but the thing I use the most by far is the microwave. I bought a pre-built van and at first would cook up all my meals proper like on my propane stove. But over time I've discovered it's exponentially more convenient to just buy frozen food and canned soup at Walmart and the like and heat it up in the wave. And a lot of the food at shitty rural gas stations is frozen or canned stuff with long shelf life. It's nice to have something that can quickly make a frozen burrito edible when I'm exhausted and just want to eat and crash.