15 BASIC STAPLE INGREDIENTS YOU NEED BEFORE YOU START COOKING

JD

September 26, 2019

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cooking-tips

Your pantry is an ever-evolving collection of ingredients that reflects the kinds of food you enjoy cooking and eating. There are no hard-and-fast requirements, but this list presents many of the ingredients we most often call for in our recipes and which we think make the basis for a strong, adaptable home pantry. There are bound to be plenty of other foods that you consider musthaves, but you won’t get very far into most recipes without at least a few of these staples.

Butter

We like unsalted butter for cooking and baking, but salted butter is great for spreading on toast or homemade Buttermilk Drop Biscuits.

Cheese

The type(s) depend on your taste, but we recommend at least having Parmesan, which is a common ingredient and also good as a topping. Buy the real thing and grate it yourself. Feta and cheddar are also
versatile staples.

Eggs

It’s hard to overstate how many things you can do with eggs. They are one of the most versatile and valuable items in your pantry. We always call for large eggs in our recipes.

Milk

Low-fat milk is the most versatile. We often turn to whole milk and buttermilk when baking.

Yogurt

For eating plain and for recipes, we prefer whole-milk yogurt. We’re also big fans of Greek yogurt, which has a smooth, thick, decadent texture.

Bacon

From brunch to vegetable sides, bacon livens up pretty much any dish. Good bacon has balanced meaty, smoky, salty, and sweet flavors. We prefer cured, dry-smoked versions.

Lemons and Limes

A squeeze of citrus can be just the thing to brighten up a dish. Keep lemons and limes in the refrigerator until you need them.

Dried Fruit

Almost any fruit can be dried; the drying process concentrates flavor and sugar. Try dried fruit in salads, granola, or baked goods, or on cheese plates.

Garlic

Everyday garlic is the base of a ridiculous number of recipes, in cuisines from Asian to Italian to down-home barbecue. Don’t get caught without it.

Onions

Yellow onions are our first choice for cooking for their rich flavor. Red onions are great grilled or raw in salad or salsa (sweet onions are also best raw). White onions are similar to yellow onions but lack their complexity.

Shallots

With a complex, subtly sweet flavor, shallots are ideal in sauces, where they melt into the texture, and in vinaigrettes, where they add gentle heat.

Ginger

Fresh ginger has a bite and pungency that you just can’t get from powdered ginger. It also makes up part of the flavor base for many Asian recipes.

Olives

As a pantry staple, we like jarred brine-cured black and green olives. For the best texture, buy unpitted olives and pit them yourself.

Potatoes

These fall into three categories (baking, boiling, and all-purpose) based on their starch levels/textures. Make sure you know which you have, since you can’t always use any type and expect great results (see
“Choosing the Right Potato”).

Chiles

Dried chiles, chile flakes, and canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are all great shelf-stable standbys for when you need to turn up the heat a little.