THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 30, 1995 TAG: 9505010201
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY FLACHSENHAAR, SPECIAL TO SUNDAY FLAVOR
LENGTH: Long : 204 lines
WHEN THE tortilla chips are just crumbs and the cereal has been reduced to dust, Mom waits for the inevitable wail.
One by one, the four of them stand in front of the pantry she thought was so well-stocked. One by one, each whines: ``There is nothing to eat in this house.''
Spinach to that.
Mom knows this proud pantry could sustain the family for days.
It's not that she's so clever; it's that she knows where the can opener is stored.
She knows if you mix tuna with mayo and chopped celery, you'll get tuna salad. She knows if you're hungry for dessert when the cookie jar is empty, you reach for the brownie mix and a baking pan.
Compared to the planting, foraging and hunting a hungry person had to do a few centuries ago, this seems simple.
But maybe it's not.
How do you buy for, organize, use and maintain a pantry for the fast-paced, health-crazed, cost-conscious '90s? What do you keep on hand to turn out a meal on a moment's notice?
We asked home economists Doris Trant and Faye Taylor of the Virginia Cooperative Extension to help us build a better pantry - one that would see the family through potentially disastrous events, such as hurricanes and power outages, drop-in company and daily after-school snacks.
And guess what? It wasn't hard, after all.
Trant and Taylor's advice:
The pantry should be in the coolest, driest part of the kitchen, away from the oven and the refrigerator exhaust. Storing foods in plastic containers with tight-fitting lids helps keep out insects and moisture.
When shopping for the pantry, reject cans that are severely dented, dented at the seams, leaking or bulging at the ends. A small dent not at the seam is OK.
Keep a shopping list going at all times. Without a list, the likelihood of accumulating two dozen cans of tomato paste or going wthout black pepper for weeks increases.
Plan menus before you shop. You might already have the can of water chestnuts that tonight's casserole calls for.
Make the freezer and refrigerator extensions of your pantry. Keep a frozen supply of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, ground beef in one-pound portions and packs of frozen vegetables. In conjunction with nonperishables from the pantry, these ingredients can be transformed into casseroles, stir-fries, pasta sauces and soups. When dicing onion and green pepper for tonight's recipe, dice extra and store it in the freezer. Keep the refrigerator stocked with eggs, milk, cheese, fruit and salad fixin's - all useful supplements to pantry items.
Collect recipes that can be made or almost made from pantry ingredients. With an appropriately stocked pantry, these recipes can be pressed into service when there's no time to shop, or when the weather's too bad to set foot outside. Many pantry recipes are offered at the end of this story. Other sources are food magazines and cookbooks that emphasize speed, ease, convenience. Back-of-the-box recipes often are simple, dependable skillet or one-dish meals.
Don't assume you can't make a salad if you're out of lettuce, tomato and fresh fruit. The pantry can yield a nutritious alternative, such as flavored gelatin blended with canned fruit or a mix of several types of canned beans seasoned and chilled. Those trendy pasta salads have humble pantry beginnings.
Use a pantry-storage system that will be convenient for everyone in the household. The kids should be able to reach the cereals and peanut butter. Seldom used items, like fancy vinegars and sauces, can reside on a high shelf.
Coupons are available on many pantry items. Use them sensibly, always with an eye to the size of your storage space, the pace at which you are likely to consume an item. A bargain backfires when you have to throw out unused food that has spoiled.
Maintain a first-in, first-out inventory system: When you add to your supply of canned tomatoes, put the newly purchased cans behind the older ones.
Keep your pantry in step with the times. Processed foods used to be high in fat, salt, sugar and calories. Now we have more healthful alternatives. Buy the low-fat, low-sugar, low-salt and low-cal versions of canned and packaged goods. Use whole-grain breads, cereals, crackers. Buy canned tuna packed in water and evaporated skimmed milk. Make lots of room on the pantry shelves for foods in the grain-pasta-cereal category.
Keeping the pantry neat and organized as you go makes it function better and minimizes the amount of work you'll do when you deep-clean. Spills and sticky jars should be cleaned immediately. During the recommended yearly spring clean, shelves should be vacuumed (often the best way to get at those crumbs) and scrubbed. Toss out-of-date items.
Don't store onions and potatoes in the same bin. Each gives off a gas detrimental to the other.
While white sugar and white flour seem to last indefinitely when stored in plastic containers with tight-fitting lids, most other pantry items have a shorter lifespan. (See box, this page.)
ILLUSTRATION: KEN WRIGHT/Staff
Graphics
HOW LONG IS IT GOOD?
Here are some maximum recommended storage times, under optimum
conditions:
Whole spices - two to five years
Ground spices - six months to two years
Oil and shortening - can be stored in pantry for three months.
For longer storage, refrigerate.
Dry pasta - one year
Canned goods - one year
White rice - 1 year
Brown rice, wild rice - four to six months
Whole-grain flour - refrigerate.
Cornmeal - 4 to 6 months
Peanut butter - can be stored in pantry for two months. For
longer storage, refrigerate.
Cereals - 3 months.
For more information on storage, call the Virginia Cooperative
Extension, Norfolk office, 683-2816; Virginia Beach office,
427-4769; Chesapeake office, 547-6348; Suffolk office, 925-6409.
A PANTRY TO BE PROUD OF
This clip-and-save list is not gospel, just a guideline. If you
don't bake, many of the following ingredients can be eliminated. If
you do lots of ethnic cooking, for instance, you'll probably want to
stock more spices, vinegars and grains.
Breads
Breadcrumbs
Crackers
Cereals
Oats
Flour, all-purpose, self-rising, cake
All-purpose baking mix
Cornmeal
Sugar, granualted, powdered, brown
Baking powder
Baking soda
Yeast
Cornstarch
Baking chocolate
Unsweetened cocoa
Nuts
Raisins
Honey
Molasses
Corn syrup
Maple syrup
Vegetable oil
Olive oil
Solid shortening
Vinegar
Peanut butter
Jelly, jam
Salad dressings
Mustard
Ketchup
Mayonnaise
Pickles
Relish
Worcestershire sauce
Hot-pepper sauce
Soy sauce
Lemon juice
Dry sherry
Salsa
Salt
Pepper
Bouillon cubes or powder
Spices: dry mustard, bay leaves, basil, oregano, parsley, sage,
rosemary, thyme, poultry seasoning, dill, chili powder, cumin,
paprika, curry, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice
Vanilla extract
Coffee
Tea
Canned evaporated milk
Canned, bottled juices
Rice
Pasta
Gelatin, plain and flavored
Pudding mixes
Canned chili
Canned stew
Canned tuna
Canned chicken
Canned vegetables
Canned mushrooms, for casseroles
Canned tomatoes, whole, stewed, pureed, paste, sauce
Dry beans
Canned beans
Canned fruit
Applesauce
Canned broth
Canned soups, for eating
Canned creamed soups, for casseroles
Canned chopped chilies
Grated Parmesan cheese
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Snack foods, such as cookies, popcorn, pretzels, chips
Convenience items, such as cake mixes, macaroni-and-cheese mixes,
pizza and other main-dish kits
by CNB