The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 79

{Thebasicpantry}
T

he pantry is the backbone of your kitchen. Many

beginning cooks are intimidated by recipes because of the
sheer number of ingredients that need to be purchased the
first time they cook something. But pancakes are a
convenient food precisely because they are made from
ingredientsyouprettymuchalwayshaveonhand.Imagine
having to buy flour, butter, eggs, buttermilk, baking
powder,sugar,oil,andvanillaextracteverysingletimeyou
wantedtomakepancakes!
I like to keep a well-stocked kitchen, and, as such, my
pantry is a large one. I recently completely emptied my
kitchen shelves and refrigerator and reorganized them, in
theprocesscataloguingeverypantryitemIhadintoasingle
documentthatlivesonline,whereIcanaccessitatanytime
to see exactly what I have to work with. (What? Doesn’t
everybody do that?) I came up with 357 different food
items, including 8 types of salt and 63 different spices
(yikes!).
There’s no need for you to keep a pantry that large, but
every kitchen should be stocked with some basics. Here
you’llfindsometipsonhowtobestuseyourrefrigerator,as
wellasalistofingredientsthat’llhelpyougetthroughmost
of the recipes in this book with only the need to purchase
perishable ingredients fresh. I divided it into refrigerated


goods, baking supplies, grains, canned goods, spices, and

whatIcallwetpantryitems.

RefrigeratedGoods
Like cell phones and clean underwear, a refrigerator is one
ofthosethingsthatyouneverreallyconsidertheimportance
of until it stops doing its job (like mine did last week)††.
Organizing your fridge for maximum efficiency—in terms
offoodshelflife,foodsafety,andeasyaccesstothethings
you reach for most—should be a top priority. It’ll make all
of your cooking projects go faster and more easily, and
having more fun in the kitchen inevitably leads to more
cooking.That’sagoodthinginmybook.
Afridgeisbasicallyjustabigcoldboxwithafewshelves
init,right?Well,that’strue,butwhereyoustorefoodinthe
fridge can have quite an impact on its shelf life. Most
refrigeratorshavecoldandhotspots,withtemperaturesthat
range from 33° to 38°F or so. In general, the back of the
bottomshelf,wherecooler,heavierairfallsto,andtheback
of the top shelf, closest to the fan and condenser, are the
coldest spots, while the middle of the door is the warmest.
Howyouorganizeyourfoodinthefridgeshouldbebased
onhowcolditneedstobekept.
First, some basic tips on getting the most out of your
fridgespaceonadailybasis:
•Getafridgethermometer.Thereareanumberofthings
that can cause your fridge to break down or lose power:
electricalshortsorsurges,cloggedventilation,etc.Soit’s