The One Non-negotiable Food Item In Your Kitchen

[christine007]

Freshly ground black pepper. I think I'd starve without, because without it, I can't cook!

[LizD518]

Flaky kosher salt, which I use for everything from baking to finishing. I could live without butter (just barely), but everything would probably by cooked in EVOO.

[Shamanjoe]

Fish sauce is a good one, but I have to go with ICE. If there's no ice in my kitchen, I'd probably die of thirst..

[kayb]

Add me to the butter list. And Lawry's Seasoned Salt. I'm quickly getting to the point where I'll do without eggs, too, if I'm out of fresh organic free-range from the local farmers' market. I can do without half-and-half for my coffee and sub with milk, but I am not a happy coffee drinker when I have to do it.

[Shelby]

Add me to the butter list. And Lawry's Seasoned Salt. I'm quickly getting to the point where I'll do without eggs, too, if I'm out of fresh organic free-range from the local farmers' market. I can do without half-and-half for my coffee and sub with milk, but I am not a happy coffee drinker when I have to do it.

Oh YEAH on the Lawry's--I also love their lemon pepper.

I also gotta add that I will do without beans if they aren't Rancho Gordo. I've even gotten my mom and mother-in-law on the band wagon.

[Mette]

Butter and Hellman's mayonnaise - no other brands allowed

[Ashen]

I have no wiggle room on bacon.. It has to be real, dry smoked pork belly bacon.. No turkey bacon, chicken bacon , tofu bacon.. bleh.. Even the vac packed stuff walks the line of my tolerance.

[LBNoble]

Kosher salt & limes or lemons...

[SylviaLovegren]

Real butter, EVOO, and good eggs. The pale excuse for eggs most supermarkets sell taste bad to me.

[BarbaraY]

It has to be butter in this house, too. I think it has been at least 15 years since there has been margarine and that's because of a weird kid who didn't like butter!

[janeer]

I'm staying with the strictly "nonnegotiable" (no substitute) idea versus the "must have" (two different concepts). Full-fat cream, good butter, and lard for Mexican cooking. Fresh parsley, basil, cilantro.

[ScottyBoy]

Kosher salt

+1 Diamond Crystal Brand.

[eldereno]

I'm also in the butter camp! Beyond that....I always have half and half, eggs, bacon on hand. Prefer Hellman's mayo but have tried Duke's without being disappointed, however I must have one or the other in the fridge at all times. Will not use any other ketchup but Heinz (I grew up near Pittsburgh)!

[Mjx]

Sugar. I don't use sugar substitutes (unless there's a diabetic involved), even when it's a question of 'just' taste.

Even when it comes to coffee, which I usually take very sweet, I'll have it black, rather than with an artificial sweetener.

[sparrowgrass]

If I only get one, it would be butter. If I get to make a list, it would include eggs from my own flock, hamburger only from my farmer friend, tomatoes and sweet corn from my own garden, fresh garlic and (hanging head in shame) Diet Coke. (Or Diet Pepsi--in my world, the term 'Coke' means a soft drink. As in: 'I am going to the QuikMart, want a Coke?' 'Yeah, get me a Mountain Dew.')

[Porthos]

Freshly ground black pepper.

I've only used pepper out of a grinder for so long I didn't even think about this one. But definitely a non-negotiable. I even have an extra grinder that goes on vacation with us since we rent a house-keeping cabin for our trips and cook our own food then.

[sparrowgrass]

Fresh ground nutmeg, too.

[janeer]

oh, and I forgot: pure maple syrup.

[KarenDW]

root veg and garlic need to be organic or home grown. If only the DH would remember the Rule.

[annachan]

Tabasco - I love the other chili sauces I have as well, but I have to just choose one, I have to have Tabasco. It does something for my oxtail soup that no other chili sauce can.

[ajnicholls]

Butter and Maldon sea salt for me

[Beth Wilson]

The best quality that I can afford...I have gone back to school so the budget is tight, but never will I compromise and get the stuff that is dirt cheap and tastes like cardboard.....so I get the small size of decent olive oil and balsamic vinegar....I can survive.

Butter was the one thing my mother would never compromise and I guess she taught me well.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I can't pick just one. I won't cook in a kitchen that doesn't have real butter, fresh limes, some form of aji peppers, cumin, and fresh oregano either in it or available to it. EVOO almost makes the list, but not quite, because butter is more versatile.

[SobaAddict70]

Can't really do it with only one.

French butter, I guess.

[BeeZee]

no question, for me, it's French Roast coffee. I drink it black, one cup in the morning, and a good cup makes the morning tolerable. Need the jump start.