A Well-Stocked Pantry (Unlocked)
and ingredients: food and food labeling
Originally published for paying subscribers April 17, 2022. Unlocked now!
I was looking at a package of walnuts recently.
The back read:
Walnuts:
Ingredients: walnuts
Contains: walnuts
Which I thought was a little superfluous, especially given that, empirically with my two eyes, I can guess what’s in the package. My thoughts on this overkill packaging were heightened further when I realized while looking at a wine bottle that I’ve never come across a single bottle of wine with a back label that read:
Wine:
Ingredients: grapes and time
Contains: grapes
So why did they have to put so much work into the signage on the walnuts? Is it because nuts are a widespread allergen? My dog would be very offended that the same care was not given to her allergies by warning of grapes on the back of the wine bottle.
And so, my deep dive into the history of American food labelling began.
There are five basic things that are required in food labelling:
A name of the product
A nutrition facts chart
A list of each ingredient used in the product
They must be printed in English
They cannot have any false claims
For foods like walnuts, which can cause anaphylactic allergic reactions, the requirement are even more strict.
The origins of these requirements go back to the 19th century and arose in order to protect consumers from food borne illnesses. Then the rise in the buying of prepared foods in the 1960s made it clear that even more detailed information should be required on food labels in order for people to understand exactly what it was they were consuming day to day.
So looking at our walnut example from earlier, while it may seem ridiculous to have to label a one-ingredient product in the same way as everything else, in order for our protection, the FDA requires that the label must say, “Walnuts, ingredients: walnuts, contains: walnuts,” along with a chart of nutritional facts.
But why is alcohol exempt when walnuts are not? The short answer is Prohibition.
This article from Vox lays it out well. After Prohibition ended, a new government organization known as the TTB was formed to regulate alcohol, removing it from the jurisdiction of the FDA, and the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) does not require nutritional labels for alcohol beyond requiring that distilled liquors list the alcohol content of their bottles, and wines with an alcohol content above 14% are required to do the same.
The biggest controversy with this lack of labelling is that people are unaware of how many calories they consume in alcoholic drinks. I argue that the ease with which one can google how many calories are in various drinks makes this less offensive. I also argue that, while it is important for your health to consume not too much more or less than you need to in a day, food and drink are more than just calories. Being health-conscious in general is extremely important, and it is important to choose healthful foods. And if we’re being totally honest, choosing alcoholic beverages at all could be considered a very unhealthy choice. So — it is important to understand the healthfulness or lack thereof of what you’re consuming, but those facts should not consume you.
Often, I think, people can become wrapped up in food labels and labelling. But I say, as long as you’re conscious of the general facts about what it is you’re eating, go ahead. And remember, the foods without labels are usually the healthiest ones of all (I say with a small bowl of M&M’s by my computer as I write rather than the much-more-healthful banana that I almost chose as my snack). Food and drink should be a decision, but it should also be a delight.
For your convenience, I’ve included a quick calorie guide from the BBC food website below, which includes some delightfully British caloric comparisons to help you picture the amount of calories you’re drinking:
1 pint of beer is equivalent to one sausage roll (AKA pigs in a blanket): 180 calories
1 standard glass of wine is equivalent to 1 medium latte: 160 calories
1 shot of a spirit is equivalent to 1 banana: 60 calories
So what about the highly controversial expiration date debacle? Well, you may have noticed that our list of five required things on labels did not include expiration dates. That’s because they’re not required by the FDA. This is actually part of a nationwide attempt to reduce America’s food waste, which is estimated to be at a shocking 30-40% of the food supply. In fact, in a statement from the FDA, they place little credence to most date labels on food:
Date labels are generally not required on packaged foods. While manufacturers are prohibited from placing false or misleading information on a label, they are not required to obtain agency approval of the voluntary quality-based date labels they use or specify how they arrived at the date they’ve applied.
The FDA, and myself, recommend scrutinizing potentially-expired foods before tossing them out, even if the date on the label says it’s time to trash it. Mold, for instance, is not always the end of the world. On porous items like bread, mold can spread invisibly, so if there’s mold on one spot, it’s likely that the whole loaf is spoiled. But on something solid, like a piece of cheese, the mold can safely be cut off, and the rest of the block can be eaten safely. The Foodkeeper App is a great resource for food safety questions! Keep in mind, too, that spoiled food doesn’t always just affect the stomach. I once drank a cup of coffee that had been made from moldy beans, and while my stomach was fine, I felt like I had a cold for two days — runny nose, very slightly raised temperature, and lots and lots of sneezing. Your nose is usually right when it comes to food spoilage — if it smells spoiled, it almost always is spoiled.
So what did we learn? Probably not much. But it did get me thinking about what makes for a well-stocked pantry. I recognize that finances and kitchen space can make this ideal of a pantry impossible for many, but I find it to be a good guide. If you have the things listed below, you’ll be able to make most recipes at the drop of a hat. I hope you find my recipe for a well-stocked pantry below useful, and that when you look at a food label, you are reminded that expiration dates are more guidelines than actual rules and that food and drink should be enjoyed, in my opinion, with only a healthy rather than an obsessive consideration for the number of calories contained within them.
my own open pantry at home
A Well-Stocked Pantry
based on the section, “Basic Pantry,” found on page 790 of the wonderful, classic cookbook, “The New Basics,” by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins; and fully informed by the beautifully stocked pantries of my mom and grandma.
Herbs and Spices
Allspice
Basil
Bay leaves
Caraway seeds
Cardamom, ground and whole
Cayenne
Chili powder
Cinnamon, ground and sticks
Cloves, ground and whole
Cream of Tartar
Cumin
Curry powder
Dill
Everything bagel seasoning
Fennel seeds
Garam masala
Garlic powder
Ginger, ground and whole root (roots frozen in bags for best storage)
Herbs de Provence
Italian seasoning
Marjoram
Mint
Mustard seeds
Nutmeg, ground and whole
Oregano
Paprika, sweet and smoked
Peppercorns, mixed and whole in a grinder
Red pepper flakes
Poppy seeds
Rosemary
Saffron threads
Sage
Sea salt, coarse in a grinder
Salt, iodized
Sesame seeds
Thyme
Turmeric
Basic Pantry Items
Almond butter (or for the non-allergy-challenged, peanut butter!)
Baking powder
Baking soda
Beans, canned: black, butter beans, cannellini, chickpeas
Beans, dried: lentils
Bread crumbs, Italian
Broth: low-sodium veggie and low-sodium chicken
Chocolate: semisweet chips, 70% dark chocolate chunks
Cocoa, unsweetened powder
Coconut, shredded
Coconut milk, canned light-fat
Coffee beans
Cornmeal
Cornstarch
Dried fruits: apricots, cherries, cranberries, golden raisins, raisins
Extracts: vanilla, almond, lemon, orange, hazelnut
Flour: unbleached all-purpose (I use Hungarian High-Altitude for Colorado baking),
bread
Garlic, full heads
Gelatin, powdered
Honey, local
Ketchup
Liqueur: Grand Marnier
Milk: sweetened condensed and evaporated
Mustard: Dijon and honey
Nuts: almonds, pecans, walnuts
Oats, old-fashioned
Oils: olive oil — light and extra virgin, vegetable, coconut
Olives: green and pitted black
Onions: red and sweet
Pasta: angel hair, macaroni, orzo, penne, rigatoni, spaghetti, tagliatelli
Peanut butter (or for the allergy-challenged, almond butter!)
Pesto
Potatoes: golden, mini, and sweet
Preserves: your favorites!
Pumpkin, canned
Rice: brown, white, and wild
Soy sauce (I usually substitute Amino Acids for this as a great-tasting, soy-free alternative)
Sugars: brown, granulated white, powdered
Syrups: corn, maple, molasses
Tea: your favorites! (I recommend at least one black caffeinated, one green caffeinated,
and two herbal varieties as the best stock for hosting)
Tomatoes: cherry and Roma as well as a can of tomato paste
Vinegars: apple cider, balsamic, rice, and white wine
Wines: a red, a dry white, and a sweet white
Yeast, dry active
Basic Refrigerated Items
Butter
Cheeses: cream, block of parmesan, block of cheddar, fresh mozzarella
Creams: half and half, whipping
Eggs, pasture-raised
Mayonnaise
Milk: regular and any alternatives you like (my favorite for curries and baking is coconut!)
Preserved lime-grapefruit paste (great for meats and mixed drinks and lasts for a whole year! My recipe for it is here)
I’d love to know what your favorite item is to keep on hand in your pantry or fridge! Comment here:
That’s it for this week. Thanks, as always, for reading. Happy Easter!
If you know anyone who would like this post (or Food & Fodder in general!) please share!
Thanks,
Juliana
PS —
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I now have a little “storefront” on their site, so if you’re wanting to see or buy some of my favorite books, head on over to my Bookshop site! Right now, my Bookshop lists include my Cookbook Collection, My Work, My Top 10 (always changing), and My New Foray into Scary Books.
You can find a favorite cookbook of mine, “Half-Baked Harvest: Super Simple,” there!