The ten items that you will always find in my kitchen

Published January 10, 2006

These are the ten items that you will always find in my kitchen. Almost all of them are used to add flavour to a dish, as opposed to being an actual dish (like chicken). All of them are used on a regular basis, and many recipes use most of them.

Pepper corns (in a grinder) – freshly ground pepper is much tastier that pre-ground pepper. We have a grinder in our kitchen and dining room. Most restaurants in South Africa have grinders on the tables. I am surprised that you don’t really find that elsewhere (at least where I have been).

Coarse Sea Salt (also in the grinder) – we get fresh salt in 10 kg bags (Lois also uses it to make bath salts) from my uncle up the West Coast. It is much nicer that the supermarket salt.

Dried Herbs – not as good as fresh herbs, but still really adds a nice taste to a dish. We usually use Herbs de Provence – a really tasty blend of marjoram, thyme, savory, basil, rosemary, and sometimes lavender.

Fresh Garlic – ‘nuff said

Chilli’s (fresh, dried and pickled) – an addiction of both mine and Lois’, these are used in vast quantities whenever we can find an excuse.

Olive Oil – salads, frying, yummy.

Balsamic Vinegar – mainly for salads, but often used to flavour other dishes (especially marinades) as well.

Red Wine – ‘nuff said. To steal a quote from a fridge “we always cook with wine, and sometimes even put it in the food”.

A selection of Cheeses (at least cheddar, fresh parmesan and mozzarella) – great for those pasta sauces, and of course for eating.

Curry Power & Masala (I usually have a selection and most of the ingredients as well) – sometimes we make our own Curry Powder, but we often use locally made powders. We also have a selection of Indian ingredients (cardamom, coriander, cloves, aniseed, vanilla pods etc). Our love for curry goes right with our love for chilli.

Well, that’s the list – there are tons of things I have excluded, but one needs to be selective. So, what is on your list?

(I think I need to try to find a recipe that include all of these – watch this space.)