The pantry is a great place to stock up on the building blocks of home cooking. I confess that is where I also keep some "emergency" supplies, like canned fruit, boxed broth, and canned beans.
baking supplies
If you don't keep cannisters on your countertop, the pantry is the place to store baking supplies:
- flours: I usually have whole wheat, white whole wheat, unbleached all-purpose, and cake flours on hand; occasionally, when the urge to bake bread from scratch hits me, I'll also have bread flour here.
- sugars & other sweeteners: I prefer to use organic raw cane sugar for most things; organic light brown sugar is almost always on hand, too. I refuse to use chemical sweeteners and am also wary of the new "natural" sweeteners such as stevia, etc. I do use honey, molasses and maple syrup when I can in place of refined sugar.
- chocolate: look for organic, fair trade brands - better for the environment and for the grower.
- dried herbs and spices
- baking powder (try to buy aluminum-free) and baking soda
- vanilla (rarely a local item - one of the luxuries we buy anyway)
canned food
It's a good idea to keep a few cans of beans on hand for those days when you realize that you haven't had time to cook your own - check the labels and look for organic varieties with the least amount of sodium and preservatives.
I buy canned tomatoes and tomato paste for pasta sauce, red sauce for Mexican dishes, and chilis - I find that they are relatively inexpensive and so far I haven't had the luxury of canning my own. Again, look for organic labels with the least amount of sodium and preservatives.
When our seaonal, local fruit is at an all-time low in the produce market, I will occasionally buy canned fruit - look for organic labels with fruit packed in juice rather than syrup.
cereals & crackers
We are not big fans of cold cereal, but we do usually have a box or two of it on hand for quick breakfasts and sometimes for snacks - look for organic, whole grain types with a minimum of added sugars and few ingredients. We also buy organic, whole grain crackers for school lunches and for eating with cheese. Has the cereal or cracker supply grown stale? Process them into crumbs and store in the freezer in an airtight container: cereals and sweet crackers make great crumb crusts; savory crackers add interest to crumbs used for breading.
coffee & tea
A small assortment of regular and herbal teas are good to have for cold weather drinking - these are rarely local, but you can find excellent organic brands that contain nothing but tea and herbs. For coffee, I try to buy organic, shade-grown, and fair-trade - it's a lot to look for, but it causes the least havoc on the environment and gives the growers a fair price.
dried fruit
Dried fruit makes for excellent snacking, particularly in winter months when fresh fruit may be very limited if you are looking for strictly seasonal and local varieties. On my list to try out in my new kitchen is the dehydrate function on the oven....
grains & pasta
We're in the process of switching over to whole grains and pastas - not an easy task with kids, who seem to revel in simple/refined carbs! We currently compromise by alternating whole grain pasta with white, brown rice with white, etc. There are a lot of interesting grains out there to experiment with - many cook in the time it takes to cook rice. This may be an area in which you need to buy non-local, but you can certainly try to seek out organic/sustainable alternatives.
legumes
I like to keep legumes on the countertop as a reminder to use more of them and to presoak/batch cook them ahead of time, but the pantry is a good place for them, especially if counter space is limited or you don't have attractive cannisters in which to keep them. I recommend having split peas, lentils, and 2-3 varieties of beans on hand - usually we have black, garbanzo, and either white or pinto beans.
oils
Most oils will quickly turn rancid when exposed to heat and light, so I keep a small container by the stove for easy access and store the larger containers in the pantry. The most beneficial fats are found in olive oil and oils from nuts and seeds. If you don't use a lot of the nut/seed oils (they tend to be strongly flavored and go rancid most easily), keep them refrigerated. We generally have peanut oil for stirfrying (obviously not an option for those with peanut allergies), sesame oil because we cook a lot of Chinese food, a less expensive organic olive oil for general cooking, and a higher-end organic olive oil for salad dressings and "drizzlings."
nuts & seeds
Full of beneficial fats and high in protein, in moderation nuts and seeds make for excellent snacking and great additions to cereals, pilafs, and baked goods. Look for organic/sustainable brands - like grains, this may be an area where you have to look beyond local/seasonal.
vinegars
Vinegars can add brightness to many dishes and are the base for many salad dressings. I recommend having organic varieties of red wine, apple cider, and balsamic vinegars on hand. If you cook a lot of Asian food, add an unseasoned rice wine vinegar to that list. Distilled white vinegar, although not good for many recipes, makes an excellent cleaning product when diluted with an equal amount of water - use to sanitize countertops, cutting boards, sinks, and bathrooms (the smell quickly dissipates)!
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