Roberta, a friend of mine who is making noises about “really starting to cook,” asked for my help in organizing her kitchen and her pantry. She told me about her friend “who is one of those people who can walk into her pantry and start pulling out this and that and a box, and a can, and bags of spices or beans or stuff, and the next thing you know, she has a fabulous dinner for six, piping hot, set on her gorgeous dining-room table,” Roberta snaps her fingers over her head like a flamenco dancer, “just like that.” Then she looked at me and said, “I want a pantry like hers.”
Well, Roberta, so do I.
A converted closet off our tiny kitchen serves as my pantry and it serves well. It has two long high shelves; a square counter for big items and wall space for hanging seldom used pots, woks, and my barbeque gear in the off-season. Staples live in two places: the cupboards in the kitchen for ingredients I reach for on a regular basis, and the pantry for back-ups, for less-often used ingredients, and kitchen tools that won’t fit elsewhere. My plan for Roberta’s pantry was simple: I’d just list what ingredients are in my pantry and use that list to start Roberta’s pantry.
My pantry works well for me, and the way I cook, but I soon realized that it wasn’t going to work for someone else. A pantry, I realized, is a very personal expression of one as a cook: one’s pantry grows organically as the cook grows.
What really makes a good pantry? I went to the sources: the chefs, nutritionists, cookbook authors, to see what they have to say about the perfect pantry.
Not much as it turns out. I thought the gold standard of kitchen resources, the Joy of Cooking, would have a comprehensive pantry list. But neither the 1990 edition, nor the newest 75th Anniversary Edition, even has an index listing for “pantry.” I then went to the other end of the spectrum to the Culinary Institute of America’s tome The Professional Chef. No advice.
To the how-to books: Alton Brown’s oh-so-fun and informative, I’m Just Here For the FOOD, would surely have a pantry section. Nope. Great book, but pantry-free.
Mark Bittman’s book, The Minimalist Cooks at Home, based on his New York Times column, leaves us empty handed.
To the chefs: Jacques Pépin’s Fast Food My Way: a tease. Pépin says “Cans are a treasure in the pantry, whether they contain anchovies, tomatoes, peaches, tuna, or beans. I can easily transform these ingredients into fast and elegant dishes…Cheeses, olives, smoked salmon and trout, and nuts can all be used to great advantage.” Well, okay.
Finally Jamie Oliver came through for me in his first book, The Naked Chef, with a “Suggested basic list for your pantry.” High-five Jamie, I thought. Then I read the list, which in part suggests: three types of mustard, three types of oils, four types of vinegars, six types of flour, couscous, soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and anchovies in salt.
All these suggestions are great ingredients, but are they really a basic list for most cooks? I don’t think so.
However, if you plan to make Oliver’s Steamed and Roasted Duck with Honey and Oyster Sauce, well then, add that bottle of oyster sauce to your pantry, learn what it tastes like, and try it on different dishes, including Oliver’s Stir-fried Chinese Greens with Ginger, Oyster and Soy Sauce. Now you’ve got oyster and soy sauces.
Then pick up a bottle of good balsamic vinegar, sugar, and some fresh raspberries. Turn to Pépin’s Fast Food My Way and make Raspberries with balsamic vinegar for dessert. Now you’ve added a couple more items to your pantry, including the balsamic vinegar which is one of the four vinegars in Jamie’s list.
So, how should Roberta stock her pantry? Here’s my list: plan three meals and shop for those ingredients. Then plan three more. Do it again. Keep track of what you use often. Add interesting unknowns to your shelves. Use them in different settings. (I’ve recently been adding an Asian hot sauce (Sriracha Chili Sauce) to my traditional chicken soup. It really boosts the flavor and is a common practice in Vietnamese pho.)
Here’s the bottom line: a pantry is a reflection of the cook and the cook’s needs. A pantry grows organically as ingredients are gathered to make a meal, cook a new dish, entertain friends. Once you’ve acquired your own baseline of supplies (is a pantry anything more that a store of supplies?), how and what you add to your pantry guides, restricts, and expands the possibilities of what you can create in your kitchen.
There’s only one pantry list: your own.
To paraphrase Brillat-Savarin: “Tell me what’s in your pantry, and I’ll tell you what you are.”
What's in Your Pantry? Tell us here.
– J. Michael Wheeler
