Every cook needs a good selection of flavour-packed staples that can be combined with fresh fruit, vegetables and meat to create fast, fuss-free dishes. Add these must-haves to your pantry:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Two good quality aged vinegars: for example, a balsamic and a varietal, such as chardonnay or cabernet
- Anchovies and capers
- A good-quality, tomato-based pasta sauce
- Whole peeled tomatoes
- Your favourite pasta variety
- A crusty Italian bread, such as our Pane di Casa or Soft House Loaf.
- A versatile hard cheese, like Grana Padano (traditional Italian parmesan).
We believe that a cook’s secret weapon lies not with a favourite recipe book or kitchen implement, but in imagination and a well-stocked pantry. Fill the pantry cleverly and you're on the way to not only more efficient cooking but more money in your pocket.
In the time it takes to grab a takeaway you can make a meal from scratch that not only costs less but tastes better and is probably better for you.
A well-stocked pantry also means that you always have something on hand for last-minute meals. The combination of a well-stocked pantry, fresh food in the fridge and freezer means you can cook a great variety of interesting meals – for everyday meals, special occasions and also for those unexpected guests. You just need to add some inspiration.
Pasta and noodles are two of our top pantry ingredients and we suggest having a good variety of different shapes and sizes for all occasions. By using a good quality packet pasta, making an easy tomato sauce and adding a variety of pantry stables such as chilli or tinned tuna or from the fridge perhaps some ham, mushroom or chorizo you can have a gourmet meal in minutes. It's best to have a selection of short pasta such as macaroni or penne with longer ones like fettuccini and spaghetti.
Canned tomatoes are another essential in the pantry. Tinned tomatoes are so versatile. We recommend both whole and crushed. Use the crushed ones for sauces, and the whole ones in things like casseroles that you like to have a bit more texture.
Different flours are a must too for baking and, if you're so inclined, bread making. Not only do you get to experience the joys of freshly baked bread but making your own is also good for the budget.
Coconut milk is also a valuable pantry addition. Use it in curries and you can also cook rice in it for a delicious coconut rice, but also use it with a sweetener and make a rice pudding, use it in place of cream in desserts or with a laksa paste for a quick delicious meal.
Stock, the basis of soup and risotto or to add flavour to casseroles, is another pantry must-have. We suggest you have chicken, beef and vegetable stock and powders.
Asian condiments and rice are also cheap but essential friends in the pantry. Fairly new to our pantry, but fast becoming essentials are the Asian flavours of soy, fish sauce and sweet chilli sauce. Sweet chilli sauce is so versatile, you can use it for dips as it is for fried nibbles, or in other dishes to lift them like adding a bit to scrambled eggs.
Also essential are spice and curry pastes, but whether Indian, Asian or Thai it does well to have at least a couple that, added to beef or chicken, can easily make a simple curry or stirfry. Essentials are Laksa paste, Rogan josh, Thai green and butter chicken. Keep some pappadums and chutney in the pantry and you're sure to impress
Other condiments such as grain mustard, when mixed with olive oil and lemon juice or oil and balsamic vinegar are handy to make salad dressing.
While it's OK to save on some pantry items, there are some staples like olive oil that you should spend more on. Good quality olives that can be served on an antipasto plate are a case in point.
Tuna is also a good thing to keep on hand; it's great with a simple pasta, a salad or a tuna bake.
- To minimise waste it's important to keep an eye on what needs restocking and to creatively use up the ingredients you may have too much of before their expiry date.
Make sure your pantry is regularly refilled with those ingredients used all the time. - Keep a shopping list going to help remember those staples which need to be replaced.
- Follow the FIFO principle of stocking pantries – first in first out – make sure you organise the pantry so you know the use-by dates of your purchases.
- Place the newer purchased behind the older ones.
Some pantry staples can be kept for longer or bought in larger amounts to save money, such as flour. - Others, like spices, should be bought in smaller amounts as they tend to lose their flavour after six months.
- Store them in really good airtight jars - don't let them sit open while you're using them and keep them dry.
As to which spices, it depends on the pantry owner, but we nominate coriander seeds, cumin and chilli flakes, oregano, cardamom, cinnamon and basil. My pantry also always has pink salt flakes and whole peppercorns.
Pulses such as chickpeas, (perfect for whipping up hummus), white beans and lentils are also good fallbacks. Couscous, cooked with the addition of boiling water then fluffing up with a fork, is the ultimate fast food. Served cold in a salad, or hot as a bed for lamb or a Moroccan-style meat casserole. Polenta, too, is no more than a few dollars, but can be used in infinite ways – use it instead of crumbs on chicken, cook it with a little parmesan for an alternative to potatoes.
Here’s our essential list!
- Flour: Plain and self-raising for baking and pasta making, cornflour for sauces
- Sugar: Caster, icing and brown sugar. Palm sugar for Thai or Vietnamese
- Pasta: A variety of shapes and sizes
- Noodles: Rice and wheat in different sizes and shapes
- Rice: Basmati and jasmine for curries, medium grain for everyday and arborio for risottos and rice puddings
- Grains: Couscous, lentils and polenta
- Fish: Tuna, salmon, anchovies for salads, bakes and pasta dishes
- Vegetables: Semi-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, roasted capsicum and olives
- Tinned Vegetables: Tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, cannelloni beans & sweet corn
- Dried Vegetables: Mushrooms. Chinese and (budget permitting) porcini
- Oils and vinegars: Extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, vegetable oil, balsamic vinegar, white wine and red wine vinegars
- Herbs and spices, seeds and nuts: Sea salt, black peppercorns, chilli, cinnamon, coriander seeds, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, basil, sesame seeds, vanilla beans or extract
- Jams/Preserves/Spreads: Marmalade, (great for glazing white meat), raspberry for desserts or biscuits, preserved lemons
- Nuts: Almonds, pine and walnuts
- Condiments: Dijon mustard and hot English; soy and sweet chilli, fish and oyster sauce; chutneys - mango and tomato and lime pickles
- Curry pastes: Thai green, Laksa and Indian Rogan Josh, Butter Chicken and Tandoori
- Milks: Tinned coconut milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk
- Stock: Vegetable, beef and chicken
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