Oils and vinegars
Two oils do nearly everything. A neutral oil such as canola or vegetable oil tolerates high heat and is the one for searing, roasting and frying. Extra-virgin olive oil is for dressings, for finishing a dish and for gentle cooking. Buy olive oil in a dark bottle or a tin, in a size you will finish within a couple of months of opening, and store it in a cupboard rather than beside the stove. Heat and light turn it rancid.
Acid is what makes flat food taste finished, so keep two or three vinegars. Red wine or apple cider vinegar handles dressings and pan sauces, rice vinegar is milder, and cheap distilled white vinegar is for quick pickles. Vinegar keeps almost indefinitely.
Cans and jars
Beyond the tomatoes and beans, stock tomato paste, coconut milk, canned tuna or sardines, and chicken or vegetable broth. Whole peeled tomatoes are the most versatile form, since you can crush them by hand for a sauce or leave them chunky for a stew. Rinse canned beans in a colander, which washes away a good part of the sodium. Add a short list of flavor builders: soy sauce, Dijon mustard, honey, hot sauce and peanut butter.
Dry goods
Keep one long pasta and one short one, long-grain white rice, lentils, rolled oats, all-purpose flour, sugar and breadcrumbs. Lentils deserve special mention, because they need no soaking and cook in twenty to thirty minutes. Onions, garlic, potatoes and lemons round out the list.
Storage and shelf life
White rice, dried pasta and dried beans keep for years. Brown rice, whole-wheat flour and nuts contain oils that go rancid within about six months, so store them in the freezer if you use them slowly. Move flour and grains into airtight containers, which keep out pantry moths. The USDA's guidance on canned goods is that high-acid foods such as tomatoes are best within twelve to eighteen months, while low-acid foods such as beans and tuna hold their quality for two to five years. Throw out any can that bulges, leaks, spurts when opened or is deeply dented along a seam.
What it makes
With only this shelf you can cook pasta with tomato sauce and garlic, rice and beans, lentil soup, coconut curry over rice, peanut noodles, and a salad of tuna and white beans.
Tip Tape a short list inside the pantry door and write an item down when you open the last one, not when you finish it. You will never run out of olive oil in the middle of cooking dinner.
