The Budget Larder: Pennywise Pantry Staples

If cooking at home is the simplest way to save money on food, stocking a pantry full of necessary ingredients is Step One toward achieving that goal. Foodies and food lovers that we are, we want our larder stocked with that which will render our meals superb, such that we shun take-out every chance we get.

But where to start?

The chef's triumvirate of basic, staple ingredients are salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil. Yet, with so many options for each, it's easy to become perplexed — daunted, even. Here are some of my best tips for saving time, money, and frustration on your next trip to the grocer or gourmet foods store:

SALT
It's easy to get caught up in the hype of exotic sea salts — the colors, textures, and promises of flavor exaltation luring you in — but a simple, inexpensive box of good, old Kosher salt will do the trick for nearly every culinary undertaking. Not only is less Kosher salt required to highlight the flavor of a dish than if you were using its iodized cousin, at around $2 for three pounds, you should be set for months with that single salt purchase.

PEPPER
With an initial investment of a peppermill, buying whole peppercorns is the way to go. Not only can you buy them in bulk, therefore saving you money overall, but whole peppercorns remain fresh for a full year while ground pepper loses its flavor after just four months. Look in the bulk section of your grocery store or spice market (India's Tellicherry pepper is among the best quality in the world) for whole peppercorns, and hit up that discount housewares store for a low-cost peppermill if you don't own one already.

OLIVE OIL
Keeping an everyday-use olive oil, such as a store brand variety, and a fancier condiment- or dressing-use olive oil is one way to rein in that olive oil budget of ours. I like Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Italian extra virgin olive oil for sauteing, and if I haven't been gifted a fancy bottle of olive oil in a while — and fancy now comes from many regions, including California, France, Greece, Italy, Spain; some is even being made in the desert of Morocco — I'll splurge on a decent bottle, usually at an outlet store or the aforementioned discount housewares shop. But buyer, beware! Olive oil does not improve with age. It should be consumed within 12 months from the time it was bottled, and as such, you should check for a use-by or expiration date, lest you top your salad with rancid oil. Being frugal also means knowing when to use those pricier ingredients, you know.

Once you have the three most basic gourmet ingredients at your disposal, it's easy to dress your dishes up from there. Be on the lookout for inexpensive bulk spices at ethnic markets — a spice like star anise will be less costly at an Asian market than at a specialty store, for instance — and consider growing your own potted herbs. For the one-time expense of a basil or thyme plant, you'll yield more for your money than if you had purchased fresh herbs each time a recipe calls for them. Also, be sure that what you're buying is actually what's advertised. For instance, very little of what is labeled "truffle oil" actually contains truffle, rather it contains truffle-scented chemicals instead. Not worth the money at any price. So save your pennies for a real truffle: you aren't likely to eat truffles on a regular schedule if you're trying to manage your food budget anyway, and when you do, it's worth it to get the real thing.

Copyright 2009, Shoestring LLC & Amy McCoy of Poor Girl Gourmet.