Holiday pantry staples

by Nick Nunes

Christmas is here and that means family, friends, and long-lost connections are coming in for a landing and definitely going to be pilfering the pantries of those who can’t resist entertaining. Families with lots of kids are going to require significant quantities of snacks and the potential for people just dropping in is on the rise, which means having a stocked pantry for quick fixings is a definite must at this time of year.

What are the holiday essentials? Well, typical items found in the pantry like canned goods and flour are always going to come in handy during the holidays. Flour is going to get a lot of use as cakes, cookies, and all sorts of confections are definitely going to be prepared. However, many are also going to need a bit of flour to make a roux for gravy or sauce to go over scalloped potatoes or béchamel for macaroni pie.

For the bakers among us, flour is a must-have in the pantry yearround. At Christmas time, the need for flour increases with the desire to craft all sorts of confections in the home kitchen. Bread flour, cake flour, wheat flour, self-rising flour, corn meal, and corn starch, all are essential for the season. Leaveners are also important—baking soda, baking powder, and yeast. Don’t forget your extracts—vanilla, almond, coconut, etc.

Bakers should also be sure to stock up on nuts, dried fruits, baking chocolates, shortening, multiple sugars, cocoa powder, salt, and dairy items like butter, milk, and creams of all kinds. Spices of all kinds like cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and star anise should be present. Don’t forget chocolate chips, jams, jellies, oats, food colourings, sprinkles, and powdered gelatin.

Can’t forget all the canned goods. Tins of stock or stored veggies like corn, carrots, and peas are always great to have on hand. Beans are always going to be used during the holiday. Kidney beans, baked beans, black beans, pinto, chickpeas, green beans, and all kinds of peas will definitely find use at Christmas time.

Tins of tuna, mackerel, sardines, and salmon make for easy items to prepare at a moment’s notice when guests drop in unexpectedly. Tins of tomato paste, tomato sauces or chucks, soups and stocks, mushrooms, cranberries, and beets will all find use through the Christmas feasting prep.

It wouldn’t be the holidays without a little indulgence. Cookies, crackers, chips and crisps, confections, candies, and everything that comes in a crinkly wrapper are sure to get kiddies excited about sweets. Of course, candy canes are the staple of the Christmas celebratory sweets but all the different kinds of snacks are welcome at the Christmas snack table.

Don’t forget the dips to go along with the chips. Whether you’re a fan of salsa or spinach, a good dip can really round out the snacking station at any Christmas gathering. Cheesy dips, pate, guacamole, humus—the more dips the merrier.

It’s Christmas time, we can’t forget the wine. Whether or not you’re a big fan of fermented grapes or not, wine of all times is a must on the kitchen supply list. Dry wines, sweet wines, cooking wines, rice wines—a lot of cuisine calls for the addition of wine to spruce up and embolden the flavours of a given dish.

White wines are essential for light dishes like shrimp or fish, especially if you take an Italian recipe route. Red wines are magnificent for deepening the flavour of hearty dishes like the gravies for roast beef or stew. And, of course, it’s always great to have wine on hand to share a glass with the guests that you welcome this season.