Photo by: Pieter Pieterse.
11 kitchen store cupboard essentials
It’s midweek, you’re late back from the office, the takeaway menu on the fridge door is calling you… but a stash of shelf life-tastic goods will make sure you don’t slip into fast food habits.
Photo by: Pieter Pieterse.
Tinned Tomatoes
The humble starting point of a million food adventures, buying your favourite fruit (let’s not have that argument) this way means it’ll keep long enough for inspiration to strike you.
Here are a few ideas in the mean time.
Handy hint: buy the cans of whole toms, rather than the chopped ones. They’re better quality and break down as you cook them anyway. You’re welcome.
Olive Oil
Tomatoes without olive oil… are you mad? While cooking with it at high heat has debatable health consequences, drizzling it raw, as the food gods intended, will instantly up your intake of healthy fats.
It’s a cancer-killing, diabetes-destroying delight. And it’s made in South Africa, too.
Tinned Sardines
While we’re fishing for fats, you can’t go wrong with a can of sardines or pilchards – packed with omega three fatty acids (trust us, they’re a good thing.)
Pop a tin on toast, or into a pasta sauce with those tomatoes we agreed on earlier for a speedy Italian treat.
Dried Pasta/Rice/Cous-cous
We’ll lump these carby staples together. In the cupboard, not in the pan, that is.
So long as Professor Tim Noakes doesn’t find out and confiscate them, you can use these as a great base for food from around the globe, from the Mediterranean to the middle of India.
Coconut Milk
The best store cupboard items give you versatility – and this contender does just that. Equally at home in a Thai curry or a panna cotta, you can go sweet or savoury at your leisure.
Nuts
An interesting addition to many a dish, a handful of these serves as a healthy snack or part of your lunch-on-the-go.
While we’re at it, how about this for a fun fact to impress your family with: peanuts aren’t really nuts at all!
Tea Bags
All of this store cupboard planning is hectic, so let’s sit back and make a refreshing brew. It’s your choice whether you opt for an Earl Grey with eight sugars, or a good old South African Rooibos.
And when you’ve finished, whatever you do, don’t bin the bags.
Spice Box
Spice is the variety of kitchen life. You don’t need to go for a cupboard full of never-to-be-used, unidentifiable brown powders, either.
Just a little bit of labelling and organisation will leave you with an unlimited range of flavour combinations, whether you’re looking for a flash in the pan or an afternoon in the oven.
Yeast
No, not what’s growing in the corners because you haven’t had a spring clean in a while. Rather try the tiny sachets of this magic key to the world of baking.
So keep a box full of these and rise to the culinary challenge.
Salt & Pepper
Ubiquitous in Michelin starred restaurants right down to the greasy all-night diner, can you imagine a life without these two essentials?
If you’re going to the trouble of cooking a meal, it’s a crime against hunger humanity not to season it properly. You have been warned.
Cocoa Powder
We’ve all got at least a small sweet tooth, so go ahead and indulge it with this. You can bake a cake with the kids, make ice cream, or even add it to your main course. Seriously.
And besides, how else will you make a great hot chocolate?
