Cooking Essentials
I know it can be hard as college students to find the time or right ingredients to create delicious meals. Here are 10 essentials I think every cook should have in their pantry. If you keep a few of these things stocked cooking will become a lot less stressful and overwhelming.
Kosher Salt
I know kosher salt is a little bit more expensive than regular iodized salt, but it is really worth it. Also sprouts sells it in their bulk bin for pretty cheap. Kosher salt adds way more flavor than iodized salt and because it’s coarser you don’t need to use as much of it.
Olive Oil
Olive Oil is used in a variety of different cuisines and it is very versatile. It can be used to dress salads, prevent cooked pasta from sticking, and add good flavor to your least favorite vegetable. You can go really fancy with olive oil but there’s no particular need to, the basic stuff will do perfectly.
Hot Sauce/Chili Sauce
I love spicy food so I add hot sauce to about anything, but it also add flavor to it. My favorite hot sauce is Sriracha because it has a strong garlic flavor. You can add this to your ramen, eggs, or even add it to ketchup to create a spicy dip. Chili sauce also adds depth as well as flavor.
Pepper
If you can buy whole peppercorns and use a pepper grinder you are a step above the rest, but pre-ground pepper is still good. Almost every recipe will say season with salt and pepper because these spices proved flavor without changing the dish dramatically. If you could only have two spices in your pantry salt and pepper must be them.
Garlic Powder
I really like garlic power because it enhances a dish almost as well as fresh garlic. Plus you can buy it at the dollar store so it is very inexpensive. It is also perfect in spice rubs for chicken and beef.
Lemon Juice
Lemon juiced adds acidity to dishes which brightens them up. You can buy bottles of lemon juice for less than a dollar and it is more practical than buying lemons each week. If a dish seems a little to heavy or feels like it’s missing something adding lemon juice can help the dish out tremendously.
Honey
If you suffer from allergies you should buy local honey because you will become predisposed to the local pollen. Honey is an essential because it also is very versatile. It’s great on toast, in tea, or mixed with garlic and put on shrimp. Honey is also good for sore throats. I like to mix it with hot water and lemon and it helps my throat out immensely.
Nut Butter
Whether it’s peanut, almond, or whatever nut butter is great on toast, with apples, or even just on a spoon. It also has a good amount of protein and a jar of peanut butter for me lasts a while. You can also make pad thai with peanut butter and ramen noodles.
Unsalted Butter
Butter makes pretty much everything taste good. You should always have some in your fridge. I prefer unsalted butter because I like to bake a lot, but if you like salted butter that works as well. You can intensify butter by making brown butter which is a great sauce for chicken or zucchini.
Dried Pasta
Finally I think you should always have some kind of dried pasta in your pantry. If you’re in a pinch and need a quick meal pasta is perfect. You also don’t need to make a crazy sauce or have jarred sauce. Butter is great on pasta or you could add olive oil or canned chili sauce for a Cincinnati classic.