What's In Your Pantry?
Where & How To Start?
By Nalini Goordial
Pantry Essentials
What you have in your pantry depends on you! On what and how you cook. Are you beginning to see a theme here? Another article that is telling you that it depends on you, so what do you need me or for that matter this article for. Well, honestly you don't, not really, but we do learn from each other and sometimes having a list makes it easy to figure out where you want to go, how you want your list to look, the things you want to keep and the things you want to discard.
So, here's a list, feel free to discard.
This is a very basic list, and I will follow up with a more in-depth list in the next article.
Basic
Rice - this is a must in my pantry. Cost and versatility make this a staple in my pantry. Rice is there as a main dish or as a compliment to something else. It can be prepared in many different ways and suits the cuisine of many cultures. You must decide if this fits into your dietary needs.
Oats - healthy, inexpensive, nutritious and easy to prepare make oats a perfect pantry staple. Let me also add here that oats can be included in your beauty regime. You can make a face mask or use on stings and burns. Oats come in a few forms, from instant oats to steel cut oats and this all depends on the processing.
Pasta - should pasta be on the basic pantry list? One could easily make their own with just a few ingredients, but it does make for a quick weeknight meal, and it comes in so many forms to accommodate your craving in minutes. This also depends on your dietary needs. Keep in mind that pasta these days are made from many different grains not just wheat, so there is bound to be one that fits your lifestyle.
Broth - store bought or homemade. Keep this on hand. It helps for quick preparation of soups and stews, sauces, for addition to rice and so many other uses. Many options on the market now to suit almost every dietary requirement.
Tomato sauce - homemade or store bought. Buy the ones in glass jars, they just taste better, also buy unseasoned sauce and add your own seasoning.
Canned beans & corn - so easy to throw something together if these are in your pantry. Inexpensive, non-perishable, nutritious and they come in so many varieties. You can add a few ingredients to a can of beans and have dinner. I also like to have dried beans on hand for a few reasons, it is even less expensive, lasts longer and most importantly some of my recipes call for uncooked beans or bean flour.
Flour - I've recently become obsessed with flours. I have been buying organic flour for many years now, but I have become more concerned about the contamination of our foods and as of the writing of this article, flour is high on my list. Please do some research and determine for yourself, your level of comfort with the way wheat and milling is being done by the company you choose to purchase from. I am currently experimenting with European flour, so far it has been wonderful, and I'm not too concerned about contamination.
So, flour - yes, a must have for those of us who must have bread in one form or another as part of our dietary repertoire. I cannot give up rotis and naans, challah and scones. I could go on, but you get the picture.
All-purpose flour is the most common type in most kitchens and is usually enough for sweet and savory dishes. There are many other types that would make good additions to any pantry. Here's a short list - self-rising, whole wheat, semolina, bread flour, cake flour, spelt flour, rye flour, almond flour, oat flour, chickpea flour, sorghum flour, rice flour.
Sugar - this might spark a debate or two, but everyone's kitchen is different, for me this is a yes, sweetener in all its many forms or you can opt for a sugar free kitchen with the substitutes. I do use sugar, but I also use stevia in some recipes in addition I use honey and maple syrup. I do not buy brown sugar, as most brown sugar in the markets does not suit me. You may choose to buy brown sugar; it is necessary for baking and other recipes. You can also make your own quite easily as you need it, that means adding molasses as a pantry staple. Use 1 cup white sugar to 1 tablespoon molasses - mix well and there you have it, brown sugar.
I also include jaggery in my lists of sugar to have - jaggery is a sugar that the molasses is not taken out during production. As a result, all of the potassium, magnesium, sodium, calcium, iron, and antioxidants are retained in the jaggery. It can also be substituted on a 1:1 ratio so no need to rework any of those recipes.
Oil - you can go absolutely crazy here - extra virgin olive oil for eating raw on salads, as a base for bread dips and many other uncooked ways.
I do not cook with extra virgin olive oil; it does not have a high smoke point and does not lend itself well to high heat cooking. Look to refined oils such as vegetable, canola, corn, grapeseed, safflower and sunflower. Keep some coconut oil on hand, great for baking.
Baking soda - this is a basic ingredient for baking as it gives a quick rise to some batters and/or mixes. Also used for absorbing odors and even as a cleaning agent.
Baking powder - It is a baking/cooking staple.
vanilla extract - good to have as a pantry staple. Do get pure vanilla extract and not the imitation or make your own using vanilla bean and vodka.
Some seasoning, herbs & spices that pulls your dishes together.
cumin
ginger
paprika
cinnamon
black pepper
crushed red pepper
I thank these SOURCES
foodnetwork.com
outofmilk.com
loveandoliveoil.com