We’ve been building a frugal pantry with all sorts of staple ingredients. From flour to fats, we’ve been discussing a lot of basic, common ingredients. This week however to move to the more varied and exotic. I titled this group “flavors” because they are those eclectic items that add punch, zip, and flavor to your foods.
Think about the following:
- chile peppers
- Asian sauces
- vinegars
- rich cheeses
- olives
These aren’t “necessary” to life, but they sure make it a little tastier.
One caveat: some of these items can be rather expensive. But, one usually doesn’t use a lot of them in any one dish. Provided it’s an ingredient that you will use often, or at least before it spoils, I have no qualms about splurging on these items once in awhile.
However, there are some tricks to making them fit the frugal pantry a little more comfortably.
- Watch for sales and markdowns. These are the kinds of items that don’t move off the regular grocery store shelves very fast. I often find them for half their regular price on the clearance shelves.
- Use coupons. Often manufacturers will send them to you
- Find an inexpensive source. Ethnic markets and stores like Trader Joes that specialize in these products will be able to offer them at a lower price than a regular grocery store.
What rich flavors have I forgotten? What do you like to add to your cooking to improve the taste?
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Oh wow-I imagine there are a lot of options in this category. I just bought a huge jug of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce at Costco because of a dip recipe I found that uses it and we loved it, so it will become part of our regular menu.
What abouWorcesterre sauce? Makes meatloaf taste fabulous!