You’ve been waiting for it and here it is, part two of Jay and Brendan’s essential pantry! Here I’ll share with you my top ten essential pantry items that I can’t live without. These are the hard working, go-to ingredients I think every cook should have in their home! If you missed the first installment, Brendan’s top ten, make sure you read it, its really good stuff. You may notice we have some duplicates on our list. I like to think great minds think alike, but truth be told, ingredients like salt, black pepper and flour are so basic to and essential to great food any list would rank them high. Well, at least I’d like to think so : )
Now lets see how your pantry stacks up against another professional chefs!
Part Two | Jay’s Top 10 Pantry Items
1) Kosher Salt: To me this is the single most important ingredient to have on hand at all times. My favorite brand by far is Diamond Crystal. The grind is perfect for seasoning by hand and the flavor is pure and true. Knowing how to work with salt is one of the best skills to master in the kitchen.
2) Whole Black Peppercorns: Similar to Brendan’s top ten, my second mush have ingredient is good wholes black peppercorns. The great thing about these little black beauties is that they go in and with just about everything. Make sure your pepper is fresh and always buy whole instead of ground and use a coffee grinder or a pepper mill for best flavor.
3) Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Good olive oil is a beautiful thing. The flavor can vary from spicy and peppery to buttery and rich depending on the olive varietal, growing region and month of harvest. Always buy olive oil from the first cold pressing, which is the best in flavor and most pure in color. I prefer arbequina olive oil for its peppery taste and smooth finish.
4) Vinegar: Having a nice selection of vinegars can be vital to a cooks success. I like to keep on hand apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar and good ole’ fashioned white vinegar. Vinegar is essential for sauces, vinaigrettes, marinades, baking and pickling. Balsamic vinegar is nice too, but much less versatile in application. I use balsamic for finishing and not for cooking, because of its deep, rich and usually sweet flavors. Great balsamic is a complex ingredient and should be served with the respect it deserves, by itself or with a few great seasonal ingredients. Like the beautifully plump, almost ready to pick tomatoes in my garden!
5) Honey: I couldn’t live without honey in my life. I try to substitute honey for sugar whenever possible and use it as my primary sweetener for drinks, vinaigrettes and sauces. I love it in every form from in-the-comb to filtered. Being a Michigan boy, I’m partial to the honey produced in our own backyard. My personal favorite is a wildflower honey from Sholtey’s farm in Luddington. If you’re ever in the area, stop by and buy a few jars, you won’t believe the taste!
6) Dark Chocolate: Chocolate is just one of those ingredients I always have on hand. I don’t think I need to explain my love for chocolate, because well…it’s chocolate! I like to keep a 65%-75% bittersweet chocolate in my pantry at all times for all those late night baking cravings. Chips and discs are my preferred shape and size simply for the convenience factor. I like milk chocolate too, but chose to leave it off my top ten because it is much less versatile. Stick with the dark stuff and you’ll never go wrong.
7) Mustard: From grainy French to traditional American yellow, mustard is a workhorse in the kitchen. Add it to a rub for extra flavor, use it in a vinaigrette for its emulsification properties or make a Carolina bar-b-q sauce with it! Whatever you decide to do, it will add that little extra something that will have people coming back for seconds and asking what that great flavor is! I like to keep a whole grain, a smooth dijon and a simple yellow mustard in the fridge for my daily cooking adventures. These three will always get you where you need to go, in a jiffy.
8) Dried Chiles: My love, dried chili. My chef friends make fun of me for my lust for dried chilies. I seem to put them in everything from marinades to chocolate. Every type I come across has something else I like. Grind a few cascabels with fresh garlic, lemon zest, salt, olive oil and you have the best rub you’ve ever tasted. Try Aleppo, Ancho and Guajillo for even more complex smokey flavors. Whatever you do, you can’t go wrong with having lots of dried chiles on hand.
9) Flour: What’s more essential to a pantry than flour? I say nothing! Try to find an un-bleached and un-bromated flour, like King Arthur, with a moderate amount of protein. I like AP flour, because it holds true to it’s name, all purpose. Its higher in protein than cake and pastry flour, which makes it suitable for yeast breads, yet it’s still lower in protein than bread flour. You’ll find AP to be the perfect solution for cakes, cookies and quick breads. The more you bake, the more you will find the need for specialty flours such as cake, pastry, bread, hi-gluten and many many more. What separates these specialty flours is their grind and protein content. The higher the protein content, the more gluten you can develop for a stretchier dough, such as bread or pizza. AP flour will handle 90% of your general kitchen recipes.
10) Jarred Preserves: Since I can remember, I’ve loved jarring and pickling. In the harsh months of winter, home-jarred jams, jellies, sauces and pickled provisions can make for a delicious quick meal with a warm reminder of the former seasons harvest. Spicy pickled green beans and jarred tomatoes are my two favorite mason jars on the shelf. My best friend Liz makes apple sauce by the bushel and gives a jar to anyone who visits the house (no joke, but only for as long as they last!). Learning how to jar at home is as fun as it is rewarding. Go ole’ timey and learn how to preserve fruits and vegetables, your stomach won’t regret it!
We hope you enjoyed reading our top tens as much as we enjoyed sharing them! Now go out and stock your pantry!
The first day of my trip was quiet and slow. It was a Friday and Mike was at work until 6pm, so I set off to wander the unfamiliar streets for food. I ended up in Lincoln Square, a busy and bustling place filled with lots of bars and restaurants. I tried to keep a keen eye for something a bit off the map, skipping all the usual touristy looking places. A half hour, a few blocks and fresh squeezed lemonade later, I ended up at the Nhu’ Lan Bakery just off the Brown Line Rockwell station.
