Heirloom Hint for the 21st Century Single

 

My paternal grandma was a saver. She made winter-foraging squirrels look wasteful. This shrewd, German woman lived through the development of the airplane, both World Wars, the Great Depression, the Cold War, and almost lived to see the dawn of a new century.

Down in her basement, as far back as my memory serves me, she kept what she called a pantry. Row after careful row of canned and jarred food lined the pantry shelves. Nothing was wasted even though some food could have been carbon dated.

She lived by herself, and her ingenuity and clever system still works today. Why? It saves time, money, and stress. Exactly what a person cooking for one needs to do, right?

Establishing a cupboard kitchen pantry on a small, contemporary scale is crucial for cooking for one person. A well-stocked kitchen pantry and the single person go hand-in-hand, like peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, or white shirts and stains.

The Edible Toolbox

First, we all complain about not having enough time to do anything, but somehow we find the time (or waste it) to stand in the check-out line at the supermarket after work because we succumb to the fact that there's little else at home for dinner other than olives and boxed cereal.

The kitchen pantry should contain staples, food items needed on a regular basis. Think of a cupboard pantry like a toolbox. Hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, and so on all allow you to easily perform tasks to finish a hardware project. Likewise, your cooking will not yield satisfying results without standard items like salt and seasoning.

The pantry cupboard also serves as your stash of reserves like all those extra screws and nails one may keep in small containers. It's nice to know you can go home from work and not have to stop somewhere to get something to eat. It's reassuring to know that if the need arises for a quick snack or simple meal, you're covered. You don't go out and have buy something every time dinner time rolls around and ask yourself, what do I feel like eating?

What should you consider for your pantry? Even if you have difficulty putting things together, you can construct a hunger-busting, time-saving pantry.

Consider cold real estate in your planning

Many older generations consider the pantry a place for dry/canned nonperishables. Well, you're special because you are cooking for one person and that means expanding your stock pile into colder real estate in the kitchen. You need to consider your kitchen cupboards and your freezer. The freezer is the holiest of places in the kitchen for the single person. It is your secret weapon to battle your consumption and food spoilage.

Get creative with space

Before you go out and fill up every nook and cranny with dry goods waiting for the next proposed apocalypse, there are a couple of factors that influence the make up of your cupboard. The amount of pantry storage space you have available is an important consideration when designing a cupboard pantry.

Depending upon the layout of your kitchen (and whether you rent or own), you can alter your pantry storage space in the kitchen. There are many ways to do this. Inexpensive shelving units are great and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Consider adding smaller shelving units in your pre-existing cupboards to make another shelving space magically appear. This will eliminate the unused gap between the top of the food containers and the bottom of the next higher shelf. Look at small utility carts that double as an "island" countertop and shelving storage but can be wheeled off to a corner when done.

Birds of a feather flock together

This proverb is the key to organizing your pantry. Even if you are organizationally-challenged, just by putting like items with other like items, you will save time in the kitchen. Since you will keep opening the same doors to get certain food items, you will eventually train yourself to classify your food items.

Stick canned items together with labels facing toward you. Place cold, boxed cereals together. Store all your baking supplies in one spot. A box of pasta should snuggle up to other boxed dry goods. You can even slap on some sticky labels to the shelving edges to remind you what goes where.

One at a time

Buy only one container of each pantry item unless you have the space or voracious appetite for it. Don't be tempted to buy 6 cans of peaches because they were on sale. You will probably get sick of eating them, and it takes away space from other times. Unless you know you will consume 12 bags of ramen with gusto or have a dinner party planned, stick to limited quantitates whenever possible.

Keep it within reach

Personally, I am vertically-challenged, so I am tormented by having to reach for things on tip-toes. Even if you don't share this problem, keep your kitchen pantry in a dry plank that is easily accessible to you. You don't want moisture from your sink's pipes ruining your food, nor do you want to stand on a chair to reach for a can of beans. Are your pantry items that you use most frequently within easy reach for your hand and eye? You know what they say, out of sight, out of mind.

Make things easy for yourself. Pay attention to your "heavy users", food items you use on a regular basis. When deciding where things should live in your cupboards, think about keeping the heavy users at grabbing distance. If you're not sure what items you use the most, try to recall what you ate over the past two weeks, and this will give you a glimpse as to what you may need to have on hand on a regular basis.

What foods do you put in your cupboard pantry?

This list is a basic starting point for your cupboard pantry. By no means is this list conclusive. Personalize it as you see fit depending upon your personal tastes and needs.

 

• pastas

 

Choose at least two contrasting shapes. A long, thin shaped pasta such as spaghetti, linguini, or fettucini are good for thinner sauces. Shorter, stockier forms such as macaroni, zit, or penne are great for chunkier sauces and salads. Eating different shaped pastas also gives you the impression of eating more variety because of the textures and shapes. 

 

• rice

 

Select a long-grain variety of brown or white rice. Shorter, starchier types such as arborio or sushi rice are nice, but not a flexible in meal creation. 

 

• canned beans

 

I am always amazed by how people overlook beans and other legumes (i.e. lentils) as cheap, quick, and easy sources of protein and fiber. Most beans can be purchased dried, but I find canned beans more efficient since they don't require long soaking and cooking times.

 

• tomato sauce/paste, diced tomatoes

 

Use them for pasta sauce, chili, pizza sauce, or a mix for hamburger.

 

• flour

 

If you are not much of a baker, buy a very small bag of all-purpose, unbleached flour just to have on hand, and keep it well sealed.

 

• sugars

Granulated sugar, honey, and brown sugar are good foundations for sweetness in your pantry.

• baking soda and baking powder

 

These are irreplaceable must-haves for baking. Both of these are leaveners allowing baked goods to rise without the aid of yeast. Baking soda fizzes and creates a rise in dough when exposed to liquids. Baking powder reacts under the presence of liquid and heat emitting a double reaction.

 

• salt

 

A pinch of salt is important in enhancing the flavors of foods whether savory or sweet.

 

• herbs and spices

 

See Herbs and Spices to learn more.

 

• canned soups/broth

 

You get what you pay for with canned soup, so buy the best quality you can. Soup provides a simple, lightning fast meal or helps to round out a meager side dish. Make your own "homemade" soup by adding bits of vegetables to warmed canned broth.

 

• coffee, tea, hot chocolate

 

To help preserve the integrity of your caffeinated brews, keep them in tight-sealing, opaque containers. For those who haven't made the switch, gravitate towards whole coffee beans and loose teas. You and your guests will be very impressed by the dramatic difference in flavor.

 

• cereals

 

A box or two of cereals for breakfast along with at least one hot cereal (such as oatmeal, grits, of wheat farina) for a more gut-filling charge in the morning.

 

• crackers

 

A cracker is a carte blanche in the pantry. It is the "little black dress": it's a classic. They serve as conduits for quick appetizers. They go swimming in soups. They have an affinity for cheeses. They can go au natural and be nervously snacked upon. Select a sturdy, multi-purpose cracker.

 

• chips, pretzels, etc.

 

Pick up a few small bags of chips (the kind you find in kids' lunchboxes) instead of a large bag. The small bags are more expensive, yet allow more variety of flavors and portion control of your munching.