The Pantry

These are basic items that you should have in your pantry.

Dry Goods

• Baking powder and baking soda - Because recipes often call for such small amounts of baking powder and baking soda, you may think these ingredients are not essential for success.  They are!  These ingredients are leavening agents--without them, the baked product will not rise.  Because the chemical properties of the two ingredients are different, one cannot be substituted for another.  It's best to keep both on hand.  When using baking soda, keep in mind that the soda and acid begin to react as soon as liquid is added, so any product that uses only soda as the leaven should be baked immediately.  Wo(Man) tip:  Baking soda can also be made into a paste to clean the battery terminals in your car. 


• Baking powder - A combination of dry acid, baking soda, and starch that has the ability to release carbon dioxide in two stages: when liquid ingredients are added and when the mixture is heated.  When buying and stocking up on baking powder, try to find the most current date available by looking for a manufacturing or expiration date on the product.  Keep in mind when it was manufactured and how long it has been sitting on the store's shelf, because time weakens its potency.  Just because you bought it last week, it doesn't mean it was made last week and is as fresh as possible.  Once a can is opened, fresh baking powder should be good for 3 to 6 months.  Baking powder should be stored at room temperature in a dry place.  A cabinet or pantry away from the sink or heat source (such as the stove, direct sunlight), is a perfect place.  Do not store baking powder in the refrigerator as it may shorten the shelf life due to condensation that ocurs on the can.  To test baking powder:  First stir the contents of the can to see if there are any lumps.  Lumps are an indication that the baking powder has picked up moisture, and has started a reaction in the can.  Check the code dates on the bottom of the can to make sure it is still in code.  Baking powder has a usual useful life of 24 months from the date of manufacture.  Stir 1 teaspoon baking powder into 1/3 cup of hot water.  If it bubbles gently, it is fine to use.  If you have a can of baking powder that has been sitting in your cupboard for a year or more -- toss it out!
• Baking soda - A chemical leavening agent that creates carbon dioxide and is used in conjunction with acidic ingredients, such as buttermilk, sour cream, brown sugar, or fruit juices, to create the bubbles that make the product rise.  The most common practical use for baking soda is as a leavening agent in baking.  In combination with a liquid and an acid, baking soda undergoes a chemical reaction that releases bubbles of carbon dioxide.  Trapped in batter or dough, these carbon dioxide bubbles enable the baked good to rise.  Baked goods leavened with baking soda, therefore, generally have a light crumb and are aerated with many holes left by the escaping bubbles of carbon dioxide.  Store baking soda in a cool, dry place.  To test baking soda's effectiveness:  mix 1/4 teaspoon baking soda with 2 teaspoons of vinegar and the mixture should bubble immediately.  Man tip:  Baking powder is for biscuits.  Baking soda is for batteries.
• Chocolate - Baking chocolate, also known as unsweetened chocolate or bitter chocolate, is cooled, hardened chocolate liquor.  By U.S. standards, unsweetened chocolate should contain between 50 and 58 percent cocoa butter.  When sugar, lecithin, and vanilla are added, you get bittersweet, semisweet, or sweet chocolate, depending on the amount of sugar present.  Chocolate should be stored in a cool 60-70 degree, dry (less than 50% humidity), and odor-free environment away from direct heat and sunlight.  If stored properly, dark chocolate and cocoa will last for years.  White and milk chocolate can only be stored for about 10 months because of the milk solids they contain.  When chocolate is not stored properly, grayish-white streaks will appear on the surface of the chocolate, called bloom.  Bloom is when the cocoa butter has separated causing it to rise to the surface of the chocolate.  This happens when the chocolate is stored in too humid or too warm a temperature.  The chocolate can still be used as it only minimally affects the taste and texture.
• Bittersweet and semisweet - Can be used interchangeably.  They contain at least 35% pure chocolate with added cocoa butter and sugar.
• Milk - At least 10% pure chocolate with added cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids.
• Unsweetened - Used for baking and cooking rather than snacking.  This ingredient contains pure chocolate and cocoa butter with no sugar added.
• Cocoa powder, unsweetened - Pure chocolate with most of the cocoa butter removed.  Dutch-process or European-style cocoa powder has been treated to neutralize acids, making it mellower in flavor.  When a recipe calls for cocoa powder, don't use the sweetened kind unless the recipe calls for sweetened cocoa.  The sweetened kind is for making hot cocoa.
• White chocolate - This isn't really chocolate.  White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids.  Products such as white baking bars, white baking pieces, white candy coating, and white confectionery bars are sometimes confused with white chocolate.  While they are often used interchangeably in recipes, they are not truly white chocolate because they do not contain cocoa butter.
• Flour - A milled food that can be made from many cereals, roots, and seeds, although wheat is the most popular.  Store flour in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.  All-purpose flour may be stored for up to 8 months.  Bread flour, cake flour, gluten flour, wheat flour, and other whole grain flours may be stored up to 5 months.  For longer storage, refrigerate or freeze the flour in a moisture- and vaporproof container.  Bring chilled flour to room temperature before using in baking.
• All-purpose - This flour is made from a blend of soft and hard wheat flours and, as its name implies, can be used for many purposes, including baking, thickening, and coating.  All-purpose flour usually is sold pre-sifted and is available bleached or unbleached.  Bleached flour has been made chemically whiter in appearance.  Some cooks prefer the bleached flour to make their cakes and bread as white as possible, while other cooks prefer their flour to be processed as little as necessary.  Both bleached and unbleached flour are suitable for home baking and can be used interchangeably.
• Bread - This flour contains more gluten than all-purpose flour, making it ideal for baking breads, which rely on gluten for structure and height.  If you use a bread machine, use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour for best results.  Or use all-purpose flour and add 1 or 2 tablespoons of gluten flour (available in supermarkets or health food stores).
• Cake - Made from a soft wheat, cake flour produces a tender, delicate crumb because the gluten is less elastic.  It's too delicate for general baking, but to use it for cakes, sift it before measuring and use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour for every 1 cup all-purpose flour specified.
• Self-rising - An all-purpose flour with salt and a leavener, such as baking powder, added.  It is generally not used for making yeast products.
• Oatmeal - The oat is called a groat after the hull has been removed.  Oat groats are the whole oat grain, with only the hard unpalatable outer hull removed, but with the kernel's outer bran layer left in tact.  They are long and thin with a smooth shiny surface and look like brown rice.  They can be eaten at this stage, but are typically processed into one of the forms below.
• Steel-cut - Steel-cut oats, also known as pinhead oats and sometimes referred to as coarse or rough oatmeal, are made by passing groats through steel cutters which chop each one into three or four pieces.  Since they still contain the whole grain including the oat bran, steel cut oats are very nutritious.
• Rolled oats - Rolled oats are made by steaming groats and flattening them with a roller.  These come in two distinct varieties.  The first variety is sometimes referred to as old fashioned or jumbo.  These are made by first steaming the whole groat for a few minutes, thus partially cooking it, then passing it between rollers to flatten it out.  The second variety is sometimes referred to as quick-cooking rolled oats.  These are made by putting steel-cut oats through the same process.
• Instant - Instant oats are made in a similar fashion to rolled quick-cooking oats, except they are steamed longer and rolled more thinly.  It produces the kind of oats used for making some types of 'instant' porridge.  Generally the more you process a food, the less nutritious it becomes.  Instant oats are best avoided if you want to get the full benefit of this grain.
• Sugar - Sucrose - is a carbohydrate that is present naturally in fruits and vegetables.  All plants use a natural process called photosynthesis to turn sunlight into the nourishment they need for growth.  Of all known plants, sugar is most highly concentrated in sugar beets and sugar cane. Sugar is simply separated from the beet or cane plant, and the result is 99.95% pure sucrose (sugar).  The sucrose from sugar beets and sugar cane is not only identical to one another, but each is the same as the sucrose present in fruits and vegetables.

• Brown - Brown sugar consists of sugar crystals coated in a molasses syrup with natural flavor and color.  Many sugar refiners produce brown sugar by boiling a special molasses syrup until brown sugar crystals form.  A centrifuge spins the crystals dry.  Some of the syrup remains giving the sugar its brown color and molasses flavor.  Other manufacturers produce brown sugar by blending a special molasses syrup with white sugar crystals.  Dark brown sugar has a deeper color and stronger molasses flavor than light brown sugar.  Lighter types are generally used in baking and making butterscotch, condiments, and glazes.  The rich, full flavor of dark brown sugar makes it good for gingerbread, mincemeat, baked beans, and other full-flavored foods.
• Confectioner's or powdered sugar - This sugar is granulated sugar ground to a smooth powder and then sifted.  It contains about 3% cornstarch to prevent caking.
• Granulated - "Regular" or white sugar, as it is known to consumers, is the sugar found in every home's sugar bowl, and most commonly used in home food preparation.  White sugar is the sugar called for in most cookbook recipes.  The food industry stipulates "regular" sugar to be "extra fine" or "fine" because small crystals are ideal for bulk handling and not susceptible to caking.
• Yeast, active dry - You'll usually see this in small packages in the baking section of the grocery store.  It needs to be mixed with warm water for a few minutes before you use it--this wakes the yeast up and gets it ready for your recipe.  Check expiration dates on these, and keep your packets in a cool, dry spot.
• Yeast, bread machine - This highly active yeast was developed especially for use in doughs processed in bread machines.
• Yeast, rapid rise (sometimes called instant) - This is a hardy strain of yeast, and does not need to be hydrated before using.  While it doesn't actually rise more rapidly than any other yeast, you get to skip the step of hydrating, making the process a couple minutes faster.  It is also more concentrated than active dry yeast so you'll get a fuller rise in some recipes than with the same amount of active yeast.

Canned and Bottled Foods

 

Most need to be refrigerated or frozen after opening.  Check the label!  Also, canned foods aren't good forever.  Pay attention to the "use by" date.

•  Broth, beef, chicken, and vegetable - A strained clear liquid in which meat, poultry, or fish has been simmered with vegetables and herbs.  It is similar to stock and can be used interchangeably with it.
• Dijon mustard - To many people, Dijon-style mustard is regular mustard.  Another group of people think that common yellow mustard you refer to is called "prepared" mustard, but any fluid mix of crushed or ground mustard seeds with seasonings and vinegar, wine, water, beer or must (fresh-pressed grape juice) is a prepared mustard (in Britain, a "made" mustard).  What you are referring to as regular mustard is best called yellow mustard or perhaps American-style mustard.  There are, of course, many types of prepared mustard with many flavor variations.  Dijon is light in color, but fairly strong in flavor.
• Evaporated milk - Made from whole milk, canned evaporated milk has had about half of its water removed.  It lends a creamy richness to many recipes including pumpkin pie.  Measure it straight from the can for recipes calling for evaporated milk.  To use it in place of fresh milk, dilute it as directed on the can (usually with an equal amount of water) to make the quantity called for in the recipe.  Evaporated milk is not interchangeable with sweetened condensed milk, which also comes in cans.
• Honey - A sweet, sticky sweetener that's produced by bees from floral nectar.  Honey is now available in more than 300 varieties in the United States.  Its flavor depends on the flowers from which the honey is derived.  Most honey is made from clover, but other sources include
  
  lavender, thyme, orange blossom, apple, cherry, buckwheat, and tupelo.  Generally, the lighter the color, the milder the flavor.  Store honey at room temperature in a dark place.  If it crystalizes (becomes solid), reliquify it by warming the honey jar slightly in the microwave oven or in a pan of very hot tap water.  If the honey smells or tastes strange, toss it out.  Honey should not be given to children who are younger than one year old because it can contain trace amounts of botulism spores.  These spores could trigger a potentially fatal reaction in children with underdeveloped immune systems.
• Jam, Jelly, Preserves - Jelly, jam, and preserves are all made from fruit mixed with sugar and pectin.  The difference between them comes in the form that the fruit takes.  In jelly, the fruit comes in the form of fruit juice.  In jam, the fruit comes in the form of fruit pulp or crushed fruit (and is less still than jelly as a result).  In preserves, the fruit comes in the form of chunks in a syrup or a jam.
• Ketchup - A spicy sauce made chiefly from tomatoes and vinegar, used as a condiment.
• Oil, vegetable - The most common varieties are made from soybeans, sunflowers, corn, peanuts, canola, and safflower.  All are light yellow and have a neutral flavor.  Store at room temperature and use within 6 months.
• Oil, cooking spray - Cooking spray is applied to cookware to prevent food from sticking.  Never use it on non-stick cookware.  It is probably the most dispensable item in the cupboard.  Traditionally, cooks used butter, shortening, or oils poured or rubbed on cookware.  
• Oil, olive - This versatile oil is made from pressed olives.  Extra-virgin olive oil, made from the first pressing of olives, is considered the finest type.  With the most robust olive flavor and aroma, it has a rich golden-to-green hue.  It's also the most expensive.  Products labeled "olive oil" (once called pure olive oil) are usually lighter in color and have a more delicate taste.  Store in a cool dark place for up to 6 months or refrigerate up to 1 year.  Chilled olive oil becomes thick and cloudy.  Let it stand at room temperature until it becomes liquid and clear.
• Peanut butter - Peanut butter today is remarkably similar to that produced a century ago.  To legally label the spread as peanut butter, it must contain a minimum of 90% peanuts with no artificial sweeteners, colors, or preservatives.  Some brands add natural sweeteners and salt, plus stabilizers for freshness.  Natural peanut butter has no stabilizer but may contain natural sweeteners and salt.
• Sweetened condensed milk - This product is made with whole milk that has had water removed and sugar added.  It is also available in low-fat and fat-free versions.  Sweetened condensed milk is not interchangeable with evaporated milk or fresh milk.
• Vanilla - A liquid extract made from the seed of an orchid.  You can make your own vanilla by slicing 2 vanilla beans open and putting them in 1 cup of a good-quality vodka.  Give the container a shake every once in a while.  (I make my own.  When it gets low, I just keep feeding the container with new vodka and new beans.  It takes about 3 weeks ago until it is usable.)  Don't buy imitation vanilla!  If you want to save money, make your own.  It tastes better than vanilla you can purchase.