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Pantry essentials
Well-chosen mainstays can add depth and flavor to basic dishes. They can also
transform your dish into something with an International flavor and flair. It helps if
you have a basic understanding of the herbs, spices, and sauces used in different
countries. A trip to the cookbook section of your favorite bookstore or library can
help you discover those differences, and can be an easy way to add something
special to your menus.
Here is a list of mainstays that you should consider for your global pantry:
Artichoke hearts: for salad, soup, pizza, dip, and spread
Bay leaves: for soup, sauce and pasta
Beans: Canned or dried, for soup, salad, dip, and spread
Bread crumbs: Fresh, dried, plain, seasoned, panko, for stuffed vegetables and
baked dishes, or to thicken sauce. Store them in the freezer to extend their shelf-life
Caraway: for German cabbage dishes, Eastern-European pastries, and Indian dishes
Chilies: dried, ground or canned, for sauce, dip, potato salad, and stew
Coconut milk: for Southeast Asian and Caribbean dishes
Dried fruit: for stuffings, seasoning pork, Belgian rabbit, chicken stew, and Middle
Eastern pilaf
Dried mushrooms: for sauce, stew, soup, and pasta
Enchilada sauce: use in place of tomato sauce
Flavored vinegars: for dressings, vinaigrettes, sauces, and gastriques
Canned fish: salmon, tuna, and anchovies for salad, pizza, pasta sauce and more
Ginger: for stir-fry, soup, vegetable dish, and dessert
Nuts: for baking, stuffings, garnishing, and many ethnic dishes
Olives: for pasta, salad, chicken, and appetizers
Paprika: a great browning agent for food you bake, fry, or roast
Pasta and noodles
Peppercorns: black, whole, in a mill is an essential. Other colors optional
Pickles: for sandwiches, salads, soups, and stews
Polenta: Italian cornmeal, the finer the grain the smoother the resulting texture
Refried beans: to make burritos, thicken soups, or make appetizer spreads with salsa,
sour cream, and avocado
Rice: brown, white, jasmine, a pantry essential as a side dish or the star of an entree
Saffron: threads over powder, for rice and sauces
Sesame seeds: for Middle Eastern, West African, and Chinese dishes
Spray oil: for the grill, topping bread crumbs on baked tomatoes, or eggplant, and
for oiling pans
Dried tomatoes: packaged dry or in olive oil, for pizza, pasta, sauces, and appetizers
Canned tomatoes: diced, crushed, sauce, for sauces and soups
Well-chosen mainstays can add depth and flavor to basic dishes. They can also
transform your dish into something with an International flavor and flair. It helps if
you have a basic understanding of the herbs, spices, and sauces used in different
countries. A trip to the cookbook section of your favorite bookstore or library can
help you discover those differences, and can be an easy way to add something
special to your menus.
Here is a list of mainstays that you should consider for your global pantry:
Artichoke hearts: for salad, soup, pizza, dip, and spread
Bay leaves: for soup, sauce and pasta
Beans: Canned or dried, for soup, salad, dip, and spread
Bread crumbs: Fresh, dried, plain, seasoned, panko, for stuffed vegetables and
baked dishes, or to thicken sauce. Store them in the freezer to extend their shelf-life
Caraway: for German cabbage dishes, Eastern-European pastries, and Indian dishes
Chilies: dried, ground or canned, for sauce, dip, potato salad, and stew
Coconut milk: for Southeast Asian and Caribbean dishes
Dried fruit: for stuffings, seasoning pork, Belgian rabbit, chicken stew, and Middle
Eastern pilaf
Dried mushrooms: for sauce, stew, soup, and pasta
Enchilada sauce: use in place of tomato sauce
Flavored vinegars: for dressings, vinaigrettes, sauces, and gastriques
Canned fish: salmon, tuna, and anchovies for salad, pizza, pasta sauce and more
Ginger: for stir-fry, soup, vegetable dish, and dessert
Nuts: for baking, stuffings, garnishing, and many ethnic dishes
Olives: for pasta, salad, chicken, and appetizers
Paprika: a great browning agent for food you bake, fry, or roast
Pasta and noodles
Peppercorns: black, whole, in a mill is an essential. Other colors optional
Pickles: for sandwiches, salads, soups, and stews
Polenta: Italian cornmeal, the finer the grain the smoother the resulting texture
Refried beans: to make burritos, thicken soups, or make appetizer spreads with salsa,
sour cream, and avocado
Rice: brown, white, jasmine, a pantry essential as a side dish or the star of an entree
Saffron: threads over powder, for rice and sauces
Sesame seeds: for Middle Eastern, West African, and Chinese dishes
Spray oil: for the grill, topping bread crumbs on baked tomatoes, or eggplant, and
for oiling pans
Dried tomatoes: packaged dry or in olive oil, for pizza, pasta, sauces, and appetizers
Canned tomatoes: diced, crushed, sauce, for sauces and soups