Love Italian Cooking? Want to dedicate yourself to making Italian recipes from scratch, and need a list of the essential kitchen “musts” for gadgets and ingredients?
Here is our essential list, and readers: please send in your tips and advice so we can make the list even more complete!
THE ITALIAN PANTRY- CHECK LIST
1. Fresh herbs: basil, parsley, rosemary, sage, oregano, bay leaves, marjoram
2. Fruit and veg in season like: fruit and veg in season, like garlic, onion, celery, carrot, Peperoncino (small chili peppers) lemons- ALL YEAR ROUND; eggplant (aubergine), red peppers, zucchini (courgette), tomatoes (S. Marzano) figs- SUMMER ; fennel,peas – SPRING; radicchio, rocket, spinach, butternut squash, endives, orange- AUTUMN AND WINTER
3 Cherished Italian food brands: Lavazza coffee (you can buy the beans and grind yourself), Illy (coffee), Bei & Nanini (coffee), Gerardo di Nola (pasta), Annalisa (canned tomatoes), Menabrea (beer), Baladin (beer), Mutti (passata), San Pellegrino (mineral water) , Nutella, Cedroni (sauces and preserves), Brezzo specialty foods, Prunotto (honey and jams).
4. Condiments: Extra virgin olive oil, Olive Oil, Truffle olive oil, Balsamic vinegar (aceto balsamico tradizionale di modena), butter (yes, butter!), black pepper mill, course sea salt, fine salt, Mostarda, etc. Here are some original and fabulous condiments from the Accademia Barrilla gourmet shop.
5. Small gadgets: mezzaluna cutter, scolapasta (pasta strainer), Ravioli wheel, pizza stone, pestle and mortar (stone or wood), mandolin, mozzarella slicer, Ravioli tin, Bodum Parma cheese grater, garlic press, pasta serving spoon, parmesan knife, peppermill.
6. Bigger gadgets: tirasfoglia (pasta machine), Espresso maker, De ‘ Longhi coffee maker, pizza oven.
7. Other Food ingredients to have in the pantry: canned tomatoes , passata (Mutti), anchovies, Colatura di alici, Capers from Salina, Cucunci from Salina, olives, chicken bouillon, canned cannellini beans, canned garbanzos (chickpeas), lentils, Pancetta or guanciale, Prosciutto di Parma, Bresaola, Salami, Italian sausages, cornmeal (farina gialla), Italian ‘OO’ Flour, Nutella, canned tuna, polenta, walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, saffron.
8. Italian cheeses for cooking: Parmigiano, Pecorino, Mascarpone, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella, Ricotta, Taleggio, etc. More Italian cheese info here.
9. Pasta: Spaghetti, Penne, Rigatoni, Tagliatelle, Ditalini, etc- see more pasta here; and good brands include Setaro, Garofalo, Pastai Gragnanesi, Senatore Cappelli, Martelli, etc. EASY TO FIND- Barilla and De Cecco
10: Rice: Arborio and Superfino Carnaroli
11. Cooking wines: Dry Marsala, Moscato
12. Drinks Cellar: White wines (Friuli super whites, Falanghina from Campania, Gavi from Piedmont), Red wines (recommended wine estates here), Campari, Vermouth, Amaretto, Limoncello (keep in the freezer), etc. More on Italian spirits and liqueurs here.
13. Some Italian cookbooks we love: The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan, La Cucina: The Traditional Home Cooking of Italy by Italian Academy of Cuisine, Gennaro’s Italian Home Cooking: Quick and Simple Meals to Feed Family and Friends by Gennaro Contaldo, Carluccio’s Complete Italian Food by Antonio Carluccio and Priscilla Carluccio.
14. Italian Culinary Tours: learn how to cook with the locals in Tuscany, Umbria, Lake Garda, Portofino, Modena, Milan, Venice and a Grand Gastronomic Tour of Italy´s Culinary Treasures.
Other useful links:
