Grocery staples

[MBMorgan]

Lots of good suggestions here. I’ll just add that I like to keep dried porcini mushrooms on hand. Either reconstitute as needed or grind into a fine powder.

[Ernest]

1. 2 good quality salts. One for cooking and one for finishing

2. Red boat finish sauce
3. Porcini powder
4. Sherry vinegar
5. fresh lemons
6. Compound butter.
7. Peppercorns
8. Parmigiano Reggiano or pecorino cheese

These go without saying:
Ghee, garlic, good quality olive oil, Kerrygold butter

[klflowers]

What types of compound butters do you keep? I keep some garlic butter on hand regularly but that is about it.

[Ernest]

Anchovy and roasted garlic, miso butter, mixed herb.

[glitchy]

I don’t think I really keep anything not already listed. Out kitchen isn’t overly big and it and the freezer in the garage are stuffed constantly since covid started. I keep spices for my rubs, ingredients for my bbq sauce, lots of meat, cheese, salsa, hot sauce, canned tomatoes/juice/sauce/paste, frozen veggies, sour cream, bourbon, vinyl and nitrile gloves, and a lot of diet dew at all times.

Richard Chrz California Olive Ranch seems to do a decent grocery store EEVO for everyday use.

[Ernest]

I agree, California olive ranch is fantastic and scores highly even against the high end stuff.

[Reds Fan 5]

Eggs, garlic, lemons, onions, potatoes, leeks, chicken stock, heavy cream.

I have become a huge fan of leeks.

[RonB]

I must have missed this the first time around... I have nothing to add but when you buy fresh herbs it's almost always more than you need for a particular recipe. I chop the leftovers, (if necessary), and portion. Then I wrap in plastic wrap and put the portions in a zipper bag and freeze. I can't tell the difference when I add to a dish that will be cooked.

And try the small salad tomatoes when you need fresh tomatoes in the winter. They are close to "real" tomatoes. The downside is that the proportion of skin to meat is higher. They are also a real pain to peel.

[glitchy]

How do the herbs hold up frozen. I've been playing more with fresh versus jarred/ground/dried and run into what you describe, where I usually use less than half of what I bought (and it's expensive). I vacuum seal the leftovers and throw in the veggie drawer, but don't seem to need them again until long enough later that when I go get them their wilted, moldy, or smell rotten.

[glitchy]

Also, do certain herbs freeze better than others? Basil, flat leaf parsley, cilantro and chives are mostly what I've been trying fresh.

[RonB]

glitchy - they do get soft and mushy, but that's OK if you are cooking with them. I have frozen leafy herbs and chives. They work for adding while cooking. I wouldn't use them as a garnish...

[jumbo7676]

My answer is different now than it would have been had I responded when this thread first started. Over the past few months I've been cooking a lot more Asian recipes, mainly Chinese and Korean though an occasional Vietnamese or Thai dish, so I make sure my fridge/pantry is always stocked with soy sauce, Red Boat fish sauce, ginger and garlic, mirin, gochujang, shaoxing wine, chinkiang vinegar, and soba noodles. My favorite new pantry staple is a mason jar of hot chili oil (Lajaio You). I make a new batch anytime it runs out and expect I will do so for the rest of my life (as long as I never have a need to cut out spicy foods).

[FireMan]

You might be interested in the Mala Market for some Canton "stuff".

[troymeister]

It seems everything is listed...Except I love to cook with wine...Sometimes I even put it in my food....