The Store Cupboard
Two important things:
- There is not only a difference in quality as between Fresh and Tinned, but also as between different tinned goods.
- Tinned and dried items do NOT last forever!
Herewith essentials, useful standbys and some occasional treats.
Anchovies - tins of fillers in oil (everyday) or packed in dry salt (rinse well) for flavour
Angostura bitters - for pink gins, stews, braises and marinades
Artichoke hearts - canned or in glass jar
Beans - dried: kidney, white haricot, butter and flageolet; canned: borlotti, cannellini, kidney
Beer and Cider - for carbonnades and Norman dishes
Capers - in brine
Chickpeas - canned
Chilli oil - to jazz up stir-fries etc; or good over steamed fish, mixed with sesame oil and groundnut oil
Couscous - pre-cooked
Cracked wheat (bulghur) - good for a change from rice
Dried fruit
Flour - plain strong white; rice flour; cornflour
Harissa - for added fire and Middle Eastern elements
Herbs - bay, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme
Honey - clear, runny
Horseradish sauce - Not cream. Very good in a Bloody Mary.
Lentils - Puy
Lime pickle - for Indian food
Mustard - English and French, smooth and 'crunchy'
Nut oils - peanut best for all-purpose cooking; hazelnut and walnut (both go rancid quickly though)
Nuts and Seeds - pine kernels, almonds, sesame seeds. All good when toasted, too.
Olive oil - nuff said
Olives - all different types, as you prefer
Pasta - try and get the proper dried Italian stuff, much nicer and better texture than stock
Peas - frozen petits pois
Peppercorns - black, unground
Rice - Basmati, risotto, pudding
Salt - Maldon sea salt
Sardines - in olive oil, the more expensive the better
Soy sauce - Light and dark
Spices - as you prefer but NOT to be kept for infinity
Spinach - frozen
Sugar - white, caster too
Tabasco - for bite
Teriyaki sauce - good for marinades
Tomato ketchup - essential for small children, good for chips
Tomato puree - always handy
Vinegar - white wine, red wine, balsamic
Wild funghi - dried porcini
Wine - QED
Worcestershire sauce - rescues almost anything savoury from blandness
Yeast