Food staples - what are yours?

[grumblebee]

Just because I am curious, I thought I would start a thread and ask. What are 5 food staples that you need to keep stocked in your house at all times? List 5 for the cupboards (dried and canned goods), 5 for the fridge and 5 for the freezer.

Mine would probably be:

Cupboard:
-Basmati rice
-olive oil
-balsamic vinegar
-pasta
-dried or canned beans

Fridge:
-cheese (gruyere or esrom)
-butter
-onions or shallots
-tomatoes
-eggs

Freezer:
-Freshly frozen fish fillets (tilapia, snapper or salmon)
-homemade veggie or fish stock (I make it and freeze it in ice cube trays so I always have some on hand)
-phyllo dough
-spinach
-frozen mixed berries

 

[college_cook]

ooh, this will be a fun thread!

Cupboard:

Basmati rice
Various cooking oils
Soy sauce
Garlic
Basil


Fridge:

Cheese
Eggs
White wine
butter
Apple/Orange Juice

Freezer:
I am so finicky about keeping my freezer stocked...

Several pounds of the following:
Boneless/skinless cheicken breasts
Pork Shoulder or Chops
Various steaks and ground beef

Frozen veggies
Frozen breakfast items, i.e. waffles/toaster pastries ( for the g/f)

 

[pdswife]

Cupboard
1. Rice ( different kinds)
2. Peanut butter
3. tomato soup
4. beef and chicken broth
5. Lentils and split peas

Fridge
1. eggs
2. milk
3. coffee creamer ( never ever without)
4. butter
5. onions

Freezer
1. hamburger
2. chicken pieces
3. different cuts of lamb
4. Ham
5. Bread

 

[Claire]

Freezer: Stock or ingredients for it (bones, etc)
a bag of brocolli
Butter

Fridge:
lettuce
onions
Lemons and/or limes
cabbage

pantry:

Oil (I like to keep olive, peanut, and veg, but that makes three and is cheating. If I had to pare it down, and believe me, I have, I'd go for olive).

Vinegar (again, this is cheating. If I had to choose one, I'd go for a white wine vinegar or apple cider ... in reality I must have a half dozen))

Pepper corns and a grinder. Grew up with fresh ground pepper and am never giving it up.

Salt. Preferably kosher, but plain old mortens will do me in an emergency.

Flour.

 

[thumpershere2]

cupboard
flour
sugar
spices
oatmeal
pasta

canned goods
peanut butter
tomato paste
kidney beans
cream soups
shortning

Freezer
bread dough
hamburger
butter
chicken
veggies

 

[Robo410]

cupboard: evoo, dry white wine, pasta, canned tomatoes, salt
fridge: cheese, coffee, eggs, bacon or panceta, apples
freezer: chopped spinach, peas, chicken on the bone, steak or chop on the bone, broth or stock.

very hard to select the basic necessities!

 

[urmaniac13]

pantry

• flour (of different sorts)
• sugar (regular, brown and powdered)
• rice (basmati, carnaroli and arborio)
• pasta (of all shapes)
• extra virgin olive oil

fridge

• milk
• butter
• eggs
• cheese of different sorts
• vegetables of different sorts

freezer

• OUR HOMEMADE ICE CREAMS
• parmigiano (and/or grana padano)
• vegetables of different sorts
• puff pastry sheets
• nuts of different sorts

However there are many other staple items that couldn't fit in the list in all 3 categories!!

 

[kimbaby]

great topic...I wold give you karma but I have recently so it wont let me...
now for my answers:

Mine would probably be:

Cupboard:
-long grain rice
flour
sugar
dried beans/peas(limas right now)
egg noodles/pasta
-potatoes

-

Fridge:
-cheese (cheddar,american,&mozerrela)
-butter
-onion
-milk
-eggs
-celery

Freezer:
hamburger
pork chops
chicken
frozen okra

 

[COGRILLGUY]

Cupboard:
-a good olive oil
-rice
-whole black pepper
-kosher salt
-Italian seasoning

Fridge:
-milk
-eggs
-fresh parm
-lemons/limes
-green and red leaf lettuce

Freezer:
-Ben & Jerry's
-sausage links
-frozen berries
-coffee
-beer mug

 

[grumblebee]

It's interesting that we all have quite a few staples in common! Olive oil, basmatic rice, onions, butter, cheese, eggs...

 

[AllenOK]

There were some similar threads along this line a few months ago.

Please don't limit me to 5 items in each catagory. I have to feed 8 people in one meal. PeppA, our 5 kids, PeppA's Mom, and myself. It's a good thing I'm a cook, as I understand cooking in large quantities, food purchasing, warehousing/storage of perishable and nonperishable goods, etc.

I have two refrigerator/freezers, a chest-style deep-freezer, and a pantry that's bigger than most folk's bedroom closet.

Add to the complexity of cooking for lots of folks, that I am not from MI, but OK, and have COMPLETELY different tastes and expectations from food than what my family has. Factor in the nutritional requirements of my MIL, and the fact that she can't really handle the spicy stuff anymore. Multiply that factor by my training and experience in the food industry, and, well, basically the result is that most of the time, at least two separate dinners are being fixed. Either I won't touch what they fix, or "someone", can't or refuses to eat what I make. I have to take all of this in stride and try to strike a happy medium. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. C'est la Vie!

 

[luvs]

a steak, a few lamb chops, salmon, tilapia, chicken or cornish game hen, crab, etc.

also, garlic, shallots, onions, herbs & spices, etc.

butter, whole milk, several cheeses, heavy cream, eggs, etc.

potatoes, angelhair pasta, saltines or oyster crackers, cereal, etc.

cans of basic ingredients (assorted ones)

 

[Constance]

I couldn't possibly limit my pantry to 5 items. Salt, pepper, flour, sugar, and oil, I guess, would be my top picks, though. I really need baking powder, soda, yeast, and cornmeal too, as well as beans and rice.

The fridge would have milk, cheese, eggs, butter, and bacon.

The freezer would have venison, pork, chicken, seafood and beef.

How about baskets of onions, garlic, carrots, cabbage and potatoes on the basement steps?
And gleaming jars of home canned fruit and vegetables, jams and jellies lining the basement shelvers?

 

[Claire]

I'm really surprised that I don't have any meat or cheese in my pantry. Which is ridiculous, given that mine are full. I guess I was thinking in terms of non-perishables. There is always a chicken or some kind of poultry in the freezer. There is always a sausage/salami/grond meat of some kind in the freezer. And there is always a hard cheese in the fridge.

 

[cristal]

Pantry:

1. Olive Oil
2. Salt
3. Flour
4. Sugar
5. Pasta

Fridge:

1. Milk
2. Butter
3. Cheese
4. Yogurt
5. Eggs

Freezer:

1. Chorizo
2. Butter
3. Chicken Breasts
4. Ice Cream
5. Coffee

 

[cara]

cupboard:
pasta
oil
chili beans
pesto, canned
tomato puree

fridge:
Cheese
butter
cold cuts
milk
cottage cheese

freezer:
ground meat
beef in any variation
some pizza
frozen puff pastry
ice cream

but it's a hard choice..........

 

[ella/TO]

cupboard: flour;beef & chicken broths;pasta;olive oil;balsamic
Fridge: eggs;milk;margarine;parmesan;salad makings
Freezer: leftover fresh veggies; chicken breasts;homemade soup;brisket;another kind of beef or lamb or veal.

 

[Corinne]

In order to answer this, I tried to think of the things that make me "twitchy" when I run out or am close to running out of them!

CUPBOARD
Paul Newman's Pineapple Salsa
Spaghetti Sauce
Diced Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Pasta

FRIDGE
Cream Cheese
Beer
Sour cream
Cheese, other than cream cheese
Butter
Dasani water

FREEZER
Chicken - boneless breasts, thighs, wings
Ground Beef
Sausage
Jalapeno Poppers (w/cream cheese)
Veggies

 

[SierraCook]

cupboard
olive oil
garlic pepper
long grain white rice
onions
pasta

fridge
milk
cheese (parm and cheddar)
taco sauce or salsa
mustard
mayo

freezer
chicken breasts
ground beef
shrimp
tri-tip
pork roasts

 

[Dove]

To make a long list short..
When my neighbors need something, they call me. Between the RV and my mini grocery store as they call it I think we could make it for at least two months if we had to.

During DH's time in service I shopped once a month. Old habits are hard to break.