The Basic Ingredients You Need In Your Kitchen

Flour

Flour is finely ground starchy portions of grains, most commonly wheat. It is the major basic ingredient of baked goods and also serves to thicken liquids in cooking, such as custard or pudding. There are a wide variety of flours made from different types of wheat and other grains, including all-purpose, self-rising, cake, pastry, 00, strong, whole wheat and semolina flour.

Sugar

Sugar is more than just a sweetener, it also plays an important role in many recipes as it contributes to bulk, texture and colour. It increases the temperature at which starches gelatinise and thus provides a light structure to cakes and biscuits. Sugars also give a brown/caramel colour to cooked foods when they react with proteins during heating (known as the Maillard reaction).

Salt

Salt is a crucial ingredient in every kitchen. It brings out the flavors in other ingredients and balances them. Without it, a dish is bland and boring. It is also used to make processed shelf-stable food more addictive and appealing.

Spices

Having spices on hand can help you create new flavours in cooking without adding fat or salt. They also provide a variety of health benefits.

A spice is the aromatic part of tropical plants traditionally used to flavor food. It can also be the dried seeds, bark, roots, berries or fruits of temperate plants.

Oils

Navigating the cooking aisle can be overwhelming for most shoppers, but it’s essential to keep healthy oils on hand for everyday cooking. There are a variety of cooking oil options on the market, including ghee, avocado oil, canola oil, olive oil, walnut oil and specialty nut oils. All of these oils have different uses and flavor profiles, but they all have one thing in common: they provide a source of dietary fat. It is recommended to choose cooking oil based on its smoke point and nutritional value.