All of the recipes on this site use around 250 ingredients in total, many of which are long life. A supply of these ingredients will allow you to make most recipes you will find. Below is a recommended list of pantry staples organised by type
Whole Spices
Whole spices keep their flavour much longer and a good spice grinder can grind them all into ground spices, so where possible buy whole.
- allspice
- annatto
- european bay leaves
- indian bay leaves
- black pepper
- black cardamom
- green cardamom
- brown mustard
- caraway
- cinnamon
- cloves
- coriander
- cumin
- lime leaves
- fennel
- fenugreek
- kalonji / black onion / nigella seeds
- mace
- nutmeg
- saffron
- sesame seeds
- sichuan peppercorns
- white peppercorns
- star anise
Other spices
- cayenne pepper
- dried garlic powder
- dried onion powder
- kashmiri chilli powder
- sweet smoked spanish paprika / pimenton
- sweet unsmoked hungarian paprika
- turmeric
- ginger powder
- celery salt
Dried Herbs
Fresh herbs are usually preferable, but aren’t always on hand or in season. To convert between dried and fresh use approx 2x as much for fresh
- basil
- dill
- marjoram
- mint
- oregano
- parsley
- rosemary
- thyme
- coriander
- tarragon
- thyme
Other dry items
These are all dry long life items
- salt
- soft brown sugar
- caster sugar
- plain flour
- bread flour
- 00 flour
- baking powder
- bicarbonate of soda
- bread yeast
- cocoa
- cornflour / cornstarch
Oils and Vinegars
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- white wine vinegar
- red wine vinegar
- cider vinegar
- rice vinegar / rice wine vinegar
- distilled malt vinegar
- white vinegar
Alcoholic liquids
- brandy
- dry cider
- dry sherry
- port
- mirin / rice wine
Citrus
Fresh fruit is based, but pre-bottled juice is ok
- orange juice
- lemon juice
- lime juice
Sauces, Preserves, Purees, and long-life tinned and bottled pre-prepared items
- Basil Pesto
- HP Sauce
- Ketchup
- Hendersons Relish / Worcestershire sauce
- Dijon Mustard
- mango chutney
- mayonnaise
- miso paste
- sambal oelek / chilli sauce
- Lemongrass paste
- tamarind paste
- Fish Sauce
- Soy Sauce
- Gochujang paste
- Golden syrup
- Hoisin sauce
- Honey
- Coconut Milk
- tinned tomatoes
- baked beans
- tomato puree
Dried Carbs
- Basmati Rice
- Pasta
- noodles
- vermicelli
Meat
These can all be frozen either before or after cutting and dividing
- Chicken pieces, skin on
- Pork medallions or joint
- Beef joint
- Minced / ground beef
- Minced / ground pork
- Bacon
Fresh Vegetables
- Yellow onions
- red onions
- spring / green onions
- garlic
- ginger
- apple
- aubergine
- bean sprouts
- bell peppers
- sweet pointy peppers
- button mushrooms
- carrots
- celery
- cherry tomatoes
- chillis
- courgettes
- cucumber
- okra
- galangal
- leeks
- pineapple
- potatoes
- lettuce
- shallots
Dairy / Produce
- greek yogurt
- ricotta
- mozarella
- feta
- parmesan
- double cream
- milk
Others
- dried apricots
- bread
- flour tortillas
- corn tortillas
- কিশমিশ
“It's a beef extract - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovril Apparently, due to US FDA rules it can't be imported into the US. You…”