It’s important to have a well stocked pantry. This does not mean that you have to have enough food to feed an army, it just means you should have certain things on hand so you don’t have to run to the store every time you want to make something.
Now you can download The Good Pantry List in CSV format so you can import it to free Android app, Out of Milk or other shopping list.
Dry Goods
With dry goods you can make just about anything. Make sure that your dry goods are well sealed to keep bugs out.
- All purpose flour
- Cake flour
- Bread flour
- Semolina – for pasta
- Corn meal – both yellow and white
- Corn starch
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda (one in the pantry, one in the fridge)
- Rice Flour – for batters
- White Pure Cane Sugar
- Brown Pure Cane Sugar
- Confectioner’s Pure Cane Sugar (at least 2 boxes)
- Bread crumbs
- Panko bread crumbs
- Corn flakes – for toppings
- Arborio Rice – for Risotto
- Converted Rice
- Jasmine Rice
- Spaghetti or Linguine (preferred)
- Farfelle – pasta bows
- Elbow Macaroni
Sweets
I usually keep a supply of things I can readily make desserts from.
- Dark chocolate chips
- White chocolate chips
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Almond Paste
- Pecans
- Raisins
- Dried Cherries
- Dried Cranberries
- Marshmallows
- Nutella
- Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Gel Food Coloring
Canned Goods
This, of course, is more personal taste, but I do think there are some canned goods that should be in every pantry.
- Whole Plum Tomatoes
- Crushed Tomatoes
- Great Northern Beans
- Kidney Beans
- Black Beans
- Garbanzo (Chick Peas) Beans
- White Corn
- Yellow Corn
- Green Beans
- Boston Brown Bread (it’s canned and fabulous!)
- Barbecued Beans
- Refried Beans (for an emergency Mexican dinner)
- Decent chili (for impromptu Chili Dogs)
- Beets (if you don’t have time to prepare them yourself)
Refrigerator Door
Although the refrigerator door is not technically a pantry, there are some things that I always have on hand:
- Worcestershire sauce
- White Worcestershire sauce
- Tiger Sauce
- Chicken Base
- Beef Base
- Vegetable Base
- Fish or Lobster Base
- Girards’s Champagne Salad Dressing
- Russian Mustard
- English Mustard
- Whole Grain Mustard
- Dijon Mustard
- Zatarain’s Mustard
- Capers
- Small Sweet Pickles (Gerkins)
- Kosher Dills
- Relish
- Chutney
- Tomato Paste in a tube
- Anchovy Paste in a tube
- Hot Red Pepper Paste in a tube
- Best Foods (Hellman’s in the East) Mayonnaise
- Horseradish
- Homade Chili Sauce
- Armenian Red Pepper Sauce
- Carmel Sauce
- Cocktail Olives
- Maraschino Cherries
- Watermelon Pickle
- Cocktail Onions
- Shallots in Oil
- Rose Petal Preserves
Freezer
- Multi-color Red Peppers
- Chopped Spinach
- Pearl Onions
- Puff Pastry
- Egg Roll Skins
Oils and Vinegar
- Good Balsamic Vinegar
- Cider Vinegar
- White Vinegar
- White Wine Vinegar
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Rice Vinegar
- Vermouth 1
- Sherry
- White Wine 1
- Red Wine
- Marsala
- Good Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Olive Oil
- Vegetable Oil (I prefer corn)
- Sesame Seed Oil
- Soy Sauce
- Tabasco
- Creme De Menth Syrup
- Chocolate Milano Syrup
- Rose Petal Syrup
These are some of my staples that I keep in my pantry. With these ingredients I can make a lot of dishes.
You don’t have to go out and buy sherry, vermouth and Marsala, just use the cooking variety. Wine, however, should be the real deal – Trader Joe’s has Two Buck Chuck (Charles Shaw), and award winning wine that is just fine.
I also usually have blue cheese, Jalsberg or Madrigal Swiss cheese, white cheddar, and sometimes fresh mozzarella. I always have Parmesan in stock.
If you have other things you consider essential, we would love to hear from you!
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Good cooking!