The Ultimate Store Cupboard

The store cupboard is the heart of the kitchen. With sensibly stocked shelves the answer to the question ‘what shall we have for dinner?’ never requires too much thought or effort.

When time is short, energy levels are hovering around empty and the shops are closed or too far away, the store cupboard is the saviour. It is a humble and low maintenance part of the kitchen requiring little attention for maximum return.

Unlike the fridge, which can be prone to stinky vegetable and dairy based tantrums, the store cupboard rarely needs cleaning.

You don’t have to defrost the store cupboard nor does it contain a tombola of mystery bags of frozen somethings or others that you swore you would remember the contents of without a label. It just sits quietly in the corner, biding its time, its contents ebbing and flowing with whims of culinary fads past and constant staples.

As well as the usual array of starches, pulses and tins, mine contains a wealth of spices and flavourings from a series of flirtations with Indonesian, Chilean, Spanish and Thai food – the latter also responsible for the presence of two blocks of tamarind pulp and an unopened container of something called Nang Fah shrimp paste. I can smell its pungency even through the shrink wrap and consequently am a little scared to open it.

I also have four different types of mustard (English, grain, Dijon and French’s, purely for hot dogs), eight types of flour, five varieties of rice (including a bizarre blue rice bought in Thailand for comedy purposes), six flavours of stock cube and powder and countless things in vinegar, not to mention seven types of vinegar itself.

But I was intrigued as to what the absolute essentials would be if faced with the unenviable prospect of starting from scratch with only space for five, or so, items.

With this in mind, it only seemed sensible to trust in the wisdom of crowds and the throw the question open to the Twitterverse which responded with heart warming enthusiasm.

The diversity of the answers was staggering – particular kudos must go to those who considered ‘suet’, ‘sun-dried tomatoes’, ‘penguin biscuits’ and ‘Pecorino Romano’ absolute essentials (I love conversing with foodies).

Proteins featured with surprising infrequency but were, perhaps inevitably, of the cured pork variety although anchovies also cropped up more than once.

Whilst the collective larder will be lacking in sweetness (both sugar and chocolate received only token mentions), it certainly won’t pull any punches – chillies in their various incarnations were universally popular with Tabasco being the unsurprising poster boy for the Team Capsicum.

Other notable mentions that just missed out on the top five include soy sauce, eggs and smoked paprika – once again proving that when it comes to feeling satiated, you can’t go far wrong with a salty/spicy combo.

Speaking of salt, it is with a great deal of satisfaction I can reveal it was by quite some distance the most popular choice with almost all respondents putting it at the top of their list. Most also specified Maldon as their preferred variety. With this in mind, I think it goes without saying that salt is a given, a shoe-in, an essential that needs no further mention. And whilst we’re at it, you can have black pepper as well.

But what else made the cut? When it came down to it, the final result was actually fairly unsurprising, in a comforting sort of way. Here you go:

5. Pasta – It’s quick, it’s versatile, it’s cheap, it’s easy to cook and it keeps more of you full than any other carbohydrate. Hooray for pasta (although data on the most popular shapes is yet to be collated).

4. Olive oil – Perhaps the most comprehensive victory in the competition, with just a single vote each for sesame and rapeseed oil to stop it from being a complete whitewash. No sunflower oil, no ghee, no nothing. Olive oil is your fat of choice by quite some margin

3. Chillies – Whether you want them powdered, flaked, dried, pickled or turned into a convenient sauce chillies are a universally popular store cupboard essential. Perfect for pepping up a whole range of dishes, you lot just can’t live without your chilli fix.

2. Garlic – Where would be without garlic? Indian food would be insipid, Thai cuisine a touch timid and Greek dishes as tragic as their theatre. Plus there would be a frustrating lack of jokes about the French.

1. Tomatoes – A worthy and runaway winner. Tinned, pureed or passata-ed tomatoes are the one ingredient our larders would be lost without. Simply mix with all of the above to create one of the finest dishes in the world or use as a base for soups, stews, curries…

So there you have it. The ultimate larder as chosen by you clever lot. But do you agree? What glaring omissions has the wisdom of crowds resulted in? And how would the answers differ if you were to ask the question in different parts of the world?

Finally in answer to many of you who kindly threw the question back to me, here is my top five:

5. Flour – not only could you make bread but also pasta thus doubling up on the carb front.

4. Olive oil – having been soundly shot down for my selection of butter due to the fact it should be kept in the fridge – and is therefore not a store cupboard item – olive oil will have to suffice.

3. Chickpeas – of all the pulses, probably the most versatile and filling. We’re never without either the dried or tinned variety and consequently eat a lot of hummus and falafel.

2. Garlic – certainly with you on this one. It has no equal in terms of its sheer brilliance.

1. Tinned tomatoes – see above.