There is a difference between a stocked kitchen and a useful one. Some ingredients sit unused for months; others get reached for two or three times a week. Here are eight that earn their place on my shelf, and why.
Fish sauce
A few drops add savoury depth to soups, stews and dressings without making them taste fishy at all. It works in Italian ragu just as well as in Thai curry.
Pomegranate molasses
Sticky, sour-sweet and intense. A teaspoon over roasted vegetables, in a salad dressing or stirred into a stew brings instant Middle Eastern brightness.
Tamarind paste
Sharp and fruity — wonderful in curries, marinades, sauces and even in salad dressings where you want tang without sweetness.
Smoked paprika
One spoon and you taste a fire pit. Brilliant in stews, on roasted potatoes, in marinades for chicken or in a quick sauce for pasta.
Preserved lemons
Salty, fragrant and totally unlike a fresh lemon. Chop the peel finely into dressings, sprinkle over fish, stir into couscous.
Good Dijon mustard
Not just for sandwiches. It thickens dressings, brightens stews, finishes pan sauces — and a small dab makes mashed potato taste expensive.
Anchovies
They melt invisibly into oil and add deep savoury richness. Even people who claim to hate anchovies love what they do to pasta sauce and lamb.
Toasted sesame oil
Powerful and concentrated. A drizzle at the end of stir-fries, soups or noodle bowls transforms them — never cook with it, only finish.
None of these are expensive, and each one keeps for months. Buy them gradually as you cook, and you will find your everyday meals have suddenly got more interesting.
