What Is a Pantry Staple? A Definition and a Working List
A pantry staple is a shelf-stable ingredient you use often enough to keep on hand and replace before it runs out. Two ideas sit inside that definition. The first is shelf stable: it keeps at room temperature until it is opened. The second is use: a staple is something you reach for most weeks, not a jar bought for one recipe. This guide sets out the official meaning of shelf stable, a simple test for what counts, a working list with storage times, and what to buy first.
What shelf stable means
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service defines shelf-stable foods as foods that can be safely stored at room temperature. Its examples include canned and bottled foods, rice, pasta, flour, sugar, spices and oils, along with jerky and country hams. FSIS advises keeping canned foods and other shelf-stable products in a cool, dry place, and recommends temperatures below 85°F.
Shelf stable applies to the unopened package. FSIS notes that once a can or jar is opened, any unused portion must be refrigerated in a clean container. A can of tomatoes is a staple in the cupboard and a leftover in the refrigerator.
A three-question test
An ingredient earns a place on the staple list when the answer to all three is yes.
- Does it keep at room temperature, unopened, for months? If it needs the refrigerator from the day it comes home, it is a fresh ingredient, however often you buy it.
- Do you use it most weeks? Saffron keeps for a long time, but if it comes out twice a year it is a special ingredient, not a staple.
- Does it go into more than one kind of meal? Olive oil goes into nearly everything. A single-purpose sauce does not.
The answers change from kitchen to kitchen. For a baker, flour and sugar pass all three. For someone who cooks beans every Sunday, a dried bean does. The list is personal, but the test is the same.
A working list of pantry staples
Here are the categories most kitchens keep, with the storage times FSIS gives where it gives one. Where the federal chart is silent, follow the date on the package.
| Category | Examples | How long it keeps |
|---|---|---|
| Oil | Extra virgin olive oil, a neutral oil | Follow the date on the bottle; keep it away from heat and light |
| Acid | Balsamic, wine vinegar | Follow the date on the bottle |
| Salt and pepper | Flaky salt, fine salt, whole peppercorns | Follow the date on the package |
| Dried pasta and rice | Spaghetti, a short shape, white rice | 2 years at room temperature, per FSIS; cooked, 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator |
| High-acid canned goods | Tomatoes, pickles | 12 to 18 months unopened, per FSIS; opened, 5 to 7 days in the refrigerator |
| Low-acid canned goods | Beans, corn, canned meat | 2 to 5 years unopened, per FSIS |
| Whole-grain meals and flours | Stone-ground polenta, whole wheat flour | 1 to 3 months on a cool shelf, 2 to 6 months frozen, per the Whole Grains Council |
| Dried beans and lentils | Pinto-type beans, lentils | Follow the date on the bag |
| Sweet | Honey, sugar | Follow the date on the jar or bag |
The Whole Grains Council explains that meals keep less well than intact grains because grinding breaks up the protective bran and lets oxygen reach the grain. FSIS also advises against buying cans that are bulging, rusted, leaking or deeply dented, and says to discard a can with a deep dent on any seam.
What to buy first
A pantry starts with the things that turn fresh food into a meal: fat, salt, acid, and a few bases to build on. These eight cover most weeknight cooking.
- A finishing olive oil. Graza's Drizzle is pressed from Picual olives harvested in the first two weeks of October, when they are small, hard and green (shop Graza Drizzle, $17.00).
- A balsamic. Giusti, founded in Modena in 1605, makes its organic Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP from the must of cooked organic grapes and aged organic wine vinegar, aged in French oak (shop Giusti Organic Balsamic, $24.00).
- A flaky salt. Maldon has been made in the coastal town of Maldon since 1882 (shop Maldon Sea Salt, $7.99).
- A dried pasta. Gentile's spaghetti is a Pasta di Gragnano IGP, made with Italian wheat and cut thinner than most spaghetti (shop Gentile Spaghetti, $9.50).
- Canned tomatoes. Gustarosso's San Marzano tomatoes carry the D.O.P. for the Agro Sarnese Nocerino in Campania; they are grown by the DaniCoop cooperative, hand harvested, steam peeled and packed in their own juice (shop Gustarosso San Marzano Tomatoes, $8.00).
- A dried bean. Rancho Gordo's Rio Zape is a pinto-family heirloom, which the company says is denser than a classic pinto and makes a deep, rich pot liquor (shop Rancho Gordo Rio Zape, $10.00).
- A tin of fish. José Gourmet, a Lisbon conservas brand launched in 2008, packs its sardines in extra virgin olive oil (shop José Gourmet Sardines, $8.49).
- A grain to cook slowly. Moretti's bramata is coarse polenta meal, stone ground with the hull and germ (shop Moretti Bramata Polenta, $4.99). Because it keeps the germ, treat it as a whole-grain meal and use it within a few months.
All eight come to $89.97 at listed prices. With fresh vegetables, eggs and bread from the week's shopping, they make pasta with tomato sauce, a pot of beans, sardines on toast, polenta, and any salad.
Staples and storage
A staple is useful when it is still good as you reach for it. Put new packages behind the old ones, keep oils away from the stove, and move opened meals and beans into jars. The shelf-by-shelf storage guide covers each shelf in detail. For a longer list to build toward, the starter pantry sets out twenty-five jars, and the Denver pantry covers what changes for cooking at altitude.
Questions
What are the basic pantry staples? Oil, salt, an acid such as vinegar, dried pasta or rice, canned tomatoes, dried or canned beans, and something sweet. Add flour and sugar if you bake.
Is a spice a pantry staple? Yes, if you use it most weeks. FSIS counts spices as shelf stable; the use test decides whether a given spice is a staple in your kitchen.
How long do canned staples last? FSIS gives 12 to 18 months for high-acid canned goods such as tomatoes, and 2 to 5 years for low-acid canned goods such as beans, unopened and stored cool.
The shop is at 263 Josephine Street in Cherry Creek, Denver, and products ship across the continental U.S. from theambrosianpantry.com.
