What's your quirky pantry staple?

[Anonymous]

+1
At least 3-4 different kinds of Aachar ( Indian pickles).

Anonymous wrote:Bombay Delhi Tomato Aachar

[Anonymous]

Chili lime and Ajika ( spice bottles from Trader Joe’s)

Anonymous wrote:What is one food item that you always keep on hand that is unique to you and your cooking style? Like if you ran out, you'd feel anxious until your next shopping trip.

It can't be something people consider a basic staple like flour, sugar, flour, milk, etc unless it's something very specific like, "I cannot sleep easy without knowing I have two boxes of my Cheddar Bay Biscuit mix in the pantry."

[Anonymous]

Chaokoh Coconut Milk. It’s the best. I keep at least four cans on hand at all times. Second choice option would be Aroy-D. No other brand is even with buying if these aren’t available.

[Anonymous]

*worth

[Anonymous]

We must keep a specific brand of hot sauce my husband got while on a work trip. He has it brought to him (I pick up extras at the international market too shhhh). It’s good stuff though so I get it.

[Anonymous]

Not quirky, but if I have garlic onions and some stock saved am more at ease. You can make dirt taste good with those. Staples here.

[Anonymous]

Dried Turkish apricots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A big jar each of 3 varieties of homemade avakkai, a South Indian hot mango pickle. My parents’ neighbors family in India has been making them for over 50 years and I always make sure to put in my order well in advance. My mom ships them to me in summer.

OMG I love these pickles. I got into the habit of eating them at breakfast when I was in India with a group of mostly Indian people and we were served family style meals. The pickles were always on the table. I could not get enough.

interesting. my husband is SA and i have been there many times and no one eats pickles when i am there. we stay for at least a month. i love the dried mangos his mom sends sooooooooooooo good

[Anonymous]

fresh mint, cilantro, plain yogurt and garlic ginger paste. we make chicken biryani every Friday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My quirk isn’t a staple; it’s that I keep things for sentimental reasons. My grandma always supplied us with homemade jellies. When I was little, I saw a commercial for Smuckers and it was a revelation to me that people buy jelly. She passed away on Christmas day 17 years ago, but everywhere I’ve lived, I’ve had a jar of Grandma’s jelly sitting on the shelf in my pantry (unopened) with her handwriting on the label. I just can’t throw it out.

I kept an unopened can of peaches from my grandmother’s fridge in my own for a long time. Through a few house moves. It was not homemade, an actual metal can from the grocery store. I have other things with her writing and many of her kitchen utensils. She passed 20+ years ago.

Hid a jar of home-canned peaches after the friend who canned them died. I just couldn’t let them go. Spouse would have torn it right open, so… 🤫

This is in the DMV, so I was sure I was alone on this.

[Anonymous]

I'm kind of disappointed that peoples' items are quality things and not items like cheddar bay biscuit mix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A big jar each of 3 varieties of homemade avakkai, a South Indian hot mango pickle. My parents’ neighbors family in India has been making them for over 50 years and I always make sure to put in my order well in advance. My mom ships them to me in summer.

OMG I love these pickles. I got into the habit of eating them at breakfast when I was in India with a group of mostly Indian people and we were served family style meals. The pickles were always on the table. I could not get enough.

interesting. my husband is SA and i have been there many times and no one eats pickles when i am there. we stay for at least a month. i love the dried mangos his mom sends sooooooooooooo good

Where are y'all? Probably a regional thing. I was in a small village a couple of hours southwest of Mumbai. Pickle, pickle, pickle all day. Wish I were there eating it right now.

[Anonymous]

Buttermilk powder. You just mix it with water and get liquid buttermilk. I know you can substitute buttermilk for milk and yogurt/ vinegar but it’s not the same as using the original ingredient .

[Anonymous]

Za’atar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My quirk isn’t a staple; it’s that I keep things for sentimental reasons. My grandma always supplied us with homemade jellies. When I was little, I saw a commercial for Smuckers and it was a revelation to me that people buy jelly. She passed away on Christmas day 17 years ago, but everywhere I’ve lived, I’ve had a jar of Grandma’s jelly sitting on the shelf in my pantry (unopened) with her handwriting on the label. I just can’t throw it out.

I kept an unopened can of peaches from my grandmother’s fridge in my own for a long time. Through a few house moves. It was not homemade, an actual metal can from the grocery store. I have other things with her writing and many of her kitchen utensils. She passed 20+ years ago.

Hid a jar of home-canned peaches after the friend who canned them died. I just couldn’t let them go. Spouse would have torn it right open, so… 🤫

This is in the DMV, so I was sure I was alone on this.

I’m the one with Grandma’s jelly and you two are my people!