The Flavor Bomb Pantry

When a dish feels flat, adding salt or acid can frequently be the solution. Brined and pickled vegetables hit both of those factors, and they keep forever. And don’t forget the liquid, it’s as valuable as the ingredient itself. Options include: banana pepper rings, capers, giardiniera, olives, kimchi, sun-dried tomatoes, pepperoncini, roasted red peppers.

There’s a whole world beyond vegetable oil and wine vinegars. Keep these around for concentrated flavor in an instant. Options include coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil, toasted sesame oil, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, Chinese black vinegar, seasoned or unseasoned rice vinegar.

When you’re after a heavy dose of flavor and a wide variety of spices without juggling or buying multiple jars, look no further than spice blends. But not all blends are created equal. We like these because they’re mainstays in cuisines around the world and useful both for their flavor power as well as versatility. Options include curry powder, garam masala, herbes de Provence, Italian seasoning, ras el hanout, shichimi togarashi, za’atar.

We like to think of premade sauces as an ideal combination of ingredients that someone already did the legwork to make delicious. Whether it’s barbecue sauce slathered on ribs or hoisin adding a stick-sweet glaze to pork tenderloin, use these for a meal-in-minutes weeknight approach. Options include barbecue sauce, black bean garlic sauce, chipotle chili in adobo sauce, fish sauce, gochujang, harissa, hoisin sauce, peanut butter, pesto, ponzu, soy sauce, Thai red curry paste, tomatillo salsa, whole-grain mustard, white miso.