Kit · Cooking without mains

Stainless steel utensil set

A turner, a spoon and tongs that will not melt, stain or snap.

Nylon utensils are lighter and they are the wrong choice here. They soften against a hot pan base, they stain permanently with turmeric and tomato, and the thin ones snap at the neck when you lean on a pan of half-rehydrated pulses. Stainless does none of that and will outlast the pan.

Three things do almost all the work in this kind of cooking: a slotted turner for anything taking a crust, a solid spoon deep enough to serve with, and tongs, which are the most underrated item in a one-pan kitchen because they let you turn things without a second tool.

Buy them with a hanging loop or a hole in the handle. In a van or a crate, utensils that cannot be hung or clipped end up loose in the bottom of a box with the sand.

The one exception worth carrying in addition is a silicone or wooden spatula if you have a non-stick pan, because steel and non-stick coatings do not get on. With a carbon steel or cast iron pan that problem disappears and steel is simply better.

See this one on Amazon

Also in Cooking without mains

Last reviewed 18 September 2026. Specifications and availability change and we do not track them, so check the listing against what is described here.