The Pantry Series - Getting Started
The Pantry Series - Getting Started
So you have decided to go all Marie Kondo on your pantry! Well done, but remember you are the cook (probably) in the family and you may just need that little packet of cacao butter one day. So don't go too hard with the sparking joy on yourself.
Having said all that...here are some of my top tips in what will become a series of articles for you to get organised with less pain and budget strain!
Clear it ALL!
Starting with an empty pantry is pretty much the only way to go. It is a lot easier to throw things out, when you have empty shelves. Wipe everything down, and the get ruthless. Toss anything that you haven't used in a year. If you have no idea what recipe you bought it for, that is a good hint that you probably will never use it. DON'T let anyone (by this I mean any other person in the house...husband, kids, aunty, the cat) talk you into keeping something just because they don't like the idea of chucking stuff out. (I speak from experience!)
Keep what looks or smells good!
I have a bit of an issue with use by/best before dates as I know these are in place just to appease the powers that be and are pretty arbitrary. Seriously though dry spices or herbs will lose their savour way before they expire officially and chocolate on the other hand will hardly change, maybe bloom a little but will be perfectly ok way after its best before date. So use your noggin or more importantly your nose, and keep things that still smell good or look fine. With many things, if unopened and stored correctly, (tinned fish or curry pastes for example) they will most likely keep for a lot longer than the use by date would indicate.
What is left?
Organise what you have left with a logic that works for you and that you will remember when it comes to finding that weird thing you now need and know that you kept for a reason! Alphabetical, left to right, groupings; breakfasts, spreads, condiments, dry goods, baking, chocolate shelf, etc. (YES I have a chocolate shelf, devoted to cacao, my Callebaut chocolate collection, cocoa powder, beans, nibs, chocolate liqueur as well as chocolate drinks. Don't judge me!! hahahah)
Fill in the blanks.
SO now you have a clear mind and a clear pantry...it is time to add things back in. Don't store dry yellow lentils if you only like red lentils, or tinned diced tomatoes if you always prefer fresh. Look at my Heal your Pantry books and start making a few things that you know you will use and use again. Some of these ingredients may well end up in the fridge of course. (And may I suggest you do this same clean out process with your fridge and freezer!) When you know what you have, where you will find them at a moment's notice, I am confident you will be cooking much more organically and simply, with loads of flavours that you didn't even realise you had access to. Organise, organise. It is the only way!
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Tenina Holder
Tenina Holder is a wife, mother of five and grandmother of nine, who started cooking in the olden days before Thermomix was even a thing.
Tenina has become the premium go to source for all Thermomix expertise and of course fresh and easy recipes that work. Her cooking classes and foodie trips are sold out in literally hours, her cookbooks appear on the Australian best seller lists and her social reach is in the millions. Her Insider Club is the most fun you can have with a Thermomix and you really should join her! She believes chocolate, butter and salt are health foods. Her food positivity mantra is, eat everything, just not all at once!
