Kitchen staples

[Fat Guy]

We're likely to move into a new apartment next week. Because we've been in temporary accommodations for so long, we haven't got many surviving kitchen staples. Maybe we'll keep the old salt.

So, if you're starting from scratch, what do you need? I'd like to get it right this time around. In our old kitchen I think there were a lot of things we didn't need, and I felt like too often I had to run out for a single ingredient that I should have had in-house.

[onrushpam]

I'll be watching this one as I have two people close to me who are in similar situations and will be moving into new "digs" in the next couple of weeks. Maybe I can help them out a bit.

[Fat Guy]

I'd say one thing you should not buy for them, or buy for yourself if you are in my situation, is a prefab spice/herb set. Much better to get the individual products from a good purveyor. I intend to visit a place in Little India -- maybe Kalustyan's -- and stock up in that department.

I also want to turn over a new leaf, no pun intended, in terms of keeping a good variety of frozen herbs in inventory.

[lstrelau]

Steven, how are you going to stop yourself from bringing all sorts of wonderful things back from your trip to Barcelons? The Bouqueria alone (to say nothing of Ferran's retail offerings) will get your pantry off to a good start!

But, having said that, only you can tell us what your cooking style is and therefore what staples you would need in your new pantry to facilitate future meals without running out for supplies at the last minute.

Give us some clues.

Llyn (still incredibly jealous of your next few days and looking forward to the reports)

[weinoo]

Flours, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, rices, salts, sugars,

pastas, mustards, ketchup, fish sauce, soy sauces, ev olive oil, other vegetable oils, vinegars, anchovies, canned beans, canned tomatoes, canned stocks...

What kind of ingredients did you find yourself running out for?

[Fat Guy]

But, having said that, only you can tell us what your cooking style is and therefore what staples you would need in your new pantry to facilitate future meals without running out for supplies at the last minute.

It occurs to me that I've never really done this sort of self analysis. I also wonder if the new digs will present an opportunity for change. Certainly the new kitchen layout will be more conducive to doing things like actually taking out and using the KitchenAid.

[the old cook]

Having moved cross country, state to state 18 times in thirty years military, and a couple more in private business, and then retirement....I can state for sure, in the summer, if moving long distance, dont' take ANYTHING that could be hurt by transport in hot truck. If short distance, move your peppercorns, get new soda, baking powder, etc. It is probably old and needing to be replaced anyway. Do keep your good vanilla though. I actually ALWAYS took my bacon grease in a cooler from house to house. It is like gold to me.

[nibor]

I do this about once a year. I just buy things as I need them.

[gfweb]

Fun topic!

Dijon, yellow and country mustard, Hunts ketchup, Hellman's mayo.

White, red wine, cider, balsamic, rice wine vinegars.

Cornstarch, potato starch, Wondra, AP flour, corn meal, Jiffy cornbread mix, Bisquik.

Sugar, light and dark brown sugar, molasses, corn syrup, maple syrup, splenda.

Olive, EVOO, peanut, veg oils, sesame oil, crisco, jar of bacon fat.

Canned tuna, crab, ham, sauerkraut, corn, baby corn ears, water chestnuts

Canned Cento san marzano, Redpack diced tomatoes, hunts tomato paste,

Canned chicken stock

Orange marmalade, apricot jam, Jif creamy,

Walnuts, pecans.

Worcestershire, light soy, fish sauce, crystal hot sauce, tabasco, chiles in adobo, liquid smoke, horseradish.

The dark liquid Korean stores sell for darkening sauces.

Spaghetti, linguini, elbows, raman, bowties, egg noodles

White rice, barley, quinoa

Cornichons, capers, pimientos.

Food coloring

Fourpacks of little red and white wine bottles for use in cooking. (I hate opening a bottle to use just a cup).

Edited April 7, 2011 by gfweb (log)

[_john]

I always start with nothing and buy things as I need them. I always buy the smallest amount and write the date I bought it on it. having nothing in the pantry and refrigerator actually makes me feel that I have many more possibilities. Throwing something away is a shame and I try to avoid it at all costs.

I have a very small refrigerator and a small chest freezer. Using the freezer effectively is one of the most important things.

[Fat Guy]

How much to buy is a real internal tug-of-war for me. I like to minimize trips to the store but I also like stuff to be fresh. Ideally I'd buy, for example, spices a fraction of an ounce at a time and grind everything myself. But then I'd always be running out of things in the middle of projects, and I'd get very slowed down on some dishes.

It doesn't help that the new kitchen will have a beast of a refrigerator and a lot more storage cabinets than the old one.

[weinoo]

Canned ...ham...

For some reason, I don't think Steven's going to be stocking up on the canned ham . But otherwise, the list is great.

It doesn't help that the new kitchen will have a beast of a refrigerator and a lot more storage cabinets than the old one.

Of course, everyone realizes that "a lot more storage" in NYC is still a lot less than most people outside the city have.

[Fat Guy]

The scale of Harlem apartments is pretty impressive. It's not a huge kitchen, but by NYC non-billionaire standards it's really quite expansive.

[gfweb]

Canned ...ham...

For some reason, I don't think Steven's going to be stocking up on the canned ham . But otherwise, the list is great.

I guess the bacon fat is out too.

[Toliver]

I had stumbled across my 2008 Cooking Illustrated Annual yesterday and saw they had a Baking Pantry 101.

Here are their suggestions for baking pantry items to have on hand:

Granulated sugar - Superfine sugar - Confectioner's sugar - Molasses - Brown sugar - Maple syrup - Honey

AP flour - Cake flour - Bread flour

Baking powder - Baking soda - Yeast (instant or rapid rise)

Salt (table)

Chocolate - Vanilla extract

Canola or vegetable oil - Shortening - Baking spray (like PAM)

[Jenni]

If you are concerned about having stuff you'll never use, why not just buy stuff as you need it to actually cook a dish? That way you'll only end up with things you really cook with.

On moving in week, I suggest you organise yourself to cook very simple, comforting dishes that you like the most. Write down what these meals are, in advance. Work out what you need to buy, and you may well find yourself with quite a comfortable amount of staples straight away.

As someone else above posted, kitchen staples can be rather personal. For instance, for me, the absolute basics would be rice, several kinds of dal and bean, dried tamarind, ghee and spices. With that, plus added fresh fruit and veg, I could be quite happy for sometime! For a baking fanatic, flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder, etc. would be quite high up the list. For others, noodles, pasta, tinned tomatoes, dried herbs, olive oil and tinned beans might be the most important things to have on hand right from the beginning.

Put it this way: what do you like to cook most often? And what do you cook on those times when you don't have time to run to the store? The ingredients for that should be in your cupboard.

[andiesenji]

It's been more than two decades since I last moved. At the time this house was not quite ready as the previous owners were doing some work that was part of the deal so I discarded almost all of my pantry stuff and prepared to buy more once I was settled in here.

As I discarded the stuff, I made a list of the staples I would be needing immediately and optional ones that could be added later.

I made up menus for the first couple of weeks and from that made a list of items I would buy as soon as the kitchen was ready for use (new fridge, new freezer as I did not want the previous owner's).

As soon as the movers were finished, I made up my bed, set up the bathroom and made some initial set up in the kitchen (plugged in the fridge and freezer) and then I went to the supermarket. At that time there was an Alpha Beta just 3/4 of a mile away, with an excellent meat department with live butchers.

I stuck to my list but still managed to spend over to $200. (1988 prices) but I did not have to shop again for a couple of weeks.

I would probably have had to shop sooner but the neighbors here were very welcoming and brought me casseroles, cakes, pies and other goodies - including lots of tomatoes from their gardens.