PANTRY

A good pantry should do two things: support and enhance your recipes, and give you staples that allow you to whip up something tasty on the fly.  Week to week I generally centre my shopping list around items that I need for specific recipes, so as to save on waste and money, but the items listed below are ones that I know I can fall back on. They serve as options for lazy dinners and form the basis of many of my comfort foods. These are the items that are always in my cupboard and items that I'll grab in the supermarket if I haven't got a list to hand. Staples don't need to be expensive - for most of these items the cheapest brand does the job well - and your staples might not be exactly the same as mine, but they should give you the room to make delicious dishes and personalise your cooking. In my mind there are a few categories that form the foundations of a pantry: fats, acids, seasonings (including herbs and spices), dried goods, tinned foods, condiments and sauces, and...