The Pantry Staples I SPLURGE on (and the Ones I DON’T)

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CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
0:30 Pantry Items WORTH splurging on
8:39 No extra dinner dishes (ad)
9:37 Pantry staples worth the splurge (continued)
13:12 Pantry items that are NOT worth splurging on

#pantrystaples #pantrycooking #pantry

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[onlypoynter]

Personally, from a Mediterranean country that is a big olive producer, the olive oil matters. But I agree that not every dish needs good olive oil. It depends on the dish a lot. I have two different bottles of olive oil, and whenever I cook I use the cheaper one for most things. When I'm cooking something that is heavy on the olive oil taste, i use the good one. I make pasta aglio e olio a lot because it's extremely tasty, fast, and easy to make and whenever I make it i use the good olive oil with good quality dry pasta and it makes a huge difference in the final dish.

[Jarptchow]

I agree on the spices but I would add that it is even more important to use whole spices and not pre-ground ones. They keep a lot longer and you can really taste the difference from a freshly ground black pepper from the pre-grounded stuff.

[jesseprins]

Brian, you can get 15 lb bags of good rice (I buy Japanese rice grown in California) for around $2/lb or less from either Asian supermarkets or even Amazon. 'Tamaki Gold' is my go-to when I can get it for a good price, but 'Nozomi" is really good too and usually cheaper. Where that bag you held up is over $4/lb and about the same.

And I grew up in Japan and am pickier about my rice than just about anything else.

[Wizkid]

Pro Tip: You can get a large jar of Better than Bullion at Costco for less than the grocery store, and it's actually an even better version. It's both organic AND reduced sodium, with about half as much salt as the regular version. Makes a huge difference, since it leaves room for other salt sources in the dish.

[robwilkerson]

Bravo! I love this! I hated that you always mention "Better Than Bouillon" it had been my secret for years. The Ham Base in over cooked country green beans is a game changer! Also incredible in red beans and rice. I had my friends 80-year-old grandmother back me in a corner and demanded that I tell her my secret flavor in my green beans. 2 or 3 years later she became very ill, and I stopped by her home and dropped off a jar of the BTB ham base. I cracked the jar and she got a little on her finger, licked it and looked me in the eye and called me a horrible cheater LOL. Then she got better and beats me to every single function with my own green bean! It's been a complete pleasure watching your channel grow!

[mattk]

Agreed on spices, though it's worth noting that getting them from Asian, Arabic, Indian, or other such specialized markets often yields good quality, large quantity, and rock bottom prices. From my own experience at least, I can pick up a pound bag of spice or spice blend for the same cost or less that the little jar at the supermarket. Also those places are often locally owned so it's nice to support them IMO.

[Tatjanak]

I cant believe how few people know about this, as this is such striking information: when buying canned tomatoes (in Europe, at least), you have a print on the top or bottom of the metal part of the can. The first number indicated the DAY of the year the tomatoes were canned. You want to go for numbers between 190 and 250, as that means your tomatoes were canned between july and september, which is peak "ripe season" for tomatoes grown in european countries (italy, portugal, germany etc). Im sure this applies to italian canned tomatoes bought in the US, such as Mutti. Most quality tomatoes, such as San Marzanos, are harvested during this time anyway, but if you go for a cheaper brand, check for the date!

[erikgranqvist]

Largley agree. Things I would add: A good tomato paste is, in my opinion, an absolute must in the kitchen. Buy a big jar of a really good tomato paste when on sale, and freeze it in cubes. Super handy to have at hand, and you don't need to feel like it's going to spoil in the can because you didn't use it up fast enough.

[heartlessxocean]

I'm disabled and on food stamps so the difference in price with beans and rice does make a bank-breaking difference, for me. 😅 That said, one of my few "splurges" is a good aged balsamic-- that stuff goes nicely with just about everything, and a little goes a long way. Absolutely worth it. And generally agree about the rest of everything else!

[bbutcher]

I genuinely appreciate the actual different advice here. Every food youtuber seems to always say the exact same things as if reading off of a script about how you MUST always use the best wines and the best olive oils. To only ever use the super high end spices because "everything else is dust!". It caused me to spend a lot of extra money when I first started until I realized it really didn't matter as much.

I also appreciate how you aren't pretentious about your cooking. That's gotten to be exhausting across the food youtubers.

[thomasyoung]

I’m a bean freak and was thrilled when Camillia beans started showing up in Publix here in St Pete, FL. And while I’m on the topic of beans, everybody please adopt the practice of brining your beans I learned from Cooks Illustrated. 1 gallon of water with 3 T of pickling salt (no iodine and dissolves in room temperature water easily) per pound of beans for 6 to 8 hours. Preseasons the beans and allows them to cook more evenly.

[puralupe]

I love the shout out to Ethan’s channel and the tomato video. Your channels complement each other and help those of us looking for high quality food information.

[rosejustice]

When you started talking about olive oil I gasped a bit - Sacrilege! - then I continued to listen. Due to a lesson from _America's_ _Test_ _Kitchen_ I started purchasing California Olive Ranch brand. They have a style they call 'Everyday' and it's a perfect workhorse for every day use. As you qualified, good enough to eat raw, but not crazy expensive as to be wasting money by cooking. Plus, the better quality than the store brand is noticeable.

[AMarie]

I recently started using Better than Bouillon and was amazed at how good it is. Although I am shocked at the price you quoted; $10-12 a jar? It's around $5 in my neck of the woods and even the Organic is no more than $7 or 8, but often goes on sale for less. I'm intrigued by the idea of fresh beans, but the price is shocking. Groceries are already killing us right now, so this is the wrong time to start upgrading ingredients unfortunately. But I'll keep these tips in mind for when/if life becomes more affordable. I used to buy really good vinegar but wasn't going through it fast enough. I threw away quite a bit of expensive vinegar so I just don't buy it anymore.

[LiamFitz]

Spending extra bucks to get nice pepper flakes has made a huge difference for me. Flat Iron Chili Co has some amazing products. Dark and Stormy chili flakes are insanely better than normal red pepper flakes

[UTeewb]

Costco usually carries BTB in a much larger jar and similar in price to grocery store. I love it because it's cheaper than chicken broth and I don't have leftover cans that I eventually have to throw away. Stuff seems to last forever in the fridge.

[hztecdj]

A tip for cooking rice at home: one teaspoon of mirin and one teaspoon of vegetable oil, added before cooking. While the rice is done, mix it loose and put the cover back, let it seat for 15 mins.
Learned that by working at a Taiwanese BBQ restaurant.
This method will let your rice not stick like clump, and with additional hint of flavor.

[austinczyzewski]

I think dried chili flakes are one of the easiest and most rewarding self-made spices someone can do in my opinion. I had so much fun experimenting with different dried chilis and honing in desired my flavor and spice profile. I go with primarily Thai chilis and some Smokier Mexican chilis and find the “sweetness” and smokiness with the heat make a dang fine chili flake for any dish.

[eliseleonard]

If you’re cooking paprikash or goulash, the quality of the paprika is hugely important since it’s a dominant flavor in the dish. I’m part Hungarian so probably biased, but after trying various sweet paprikas in the store for years I think you really need to splurge on some good Hungarian paprika. It’s not wildly expensive.

[kenziemydear]

my parents were always really frugal (not necessarily in a bad way), and I grew up eating the basics, but since being on my own and realizing I can easily spend my own money on the good pasta brands, the nice balsamic vinegar, the fresh fish rather than frozen, and the good brands of ice cream, my quality of cooking and my desire to learn more types of cuisine and dishes has skyrocketed. It really does make a difference if you want to enjoy food to a deeper degree. My favorite switch of ingredient to a better quality one was definitely the flour I was using to make bread, etc. Took my focaccia to the next level. Also using fresh herbs.