What are some of the things, that are less obvious, that everyone should have in their kitchen for cooking(ingredient-wise) that have very long shelf-life?
Like obviously flour, salt, sugar, cooking oil, etc... But what are some other things that i should pick up before winter, that i dont need to worry about rotating or throwing away after a couple years if i dont use it all?
Bouillon cubes, dry pasta, custard powder, honey etc...
I want my kitchen to be more versatile without having to stress about using the stuff up right away before it goes bad.
>Bouillon cubes
why though? that's the worst option out there by far. throwing a couple bones in the oven and then letting them simmer over night is not even hard to do once in 2 or 3 months. you can freeze the beef base and use it whenever you need it
sure, but having a couple packs that last practically forever is better to have, than not.
Making a simple broth from bones needs pre-planning and like 2-4 hours of cooking. Making some stock from those cubes takes 5 minutes and as shitty as they are, are still better than using just water.
Thats the case with all these staples... Theres always better alternatives(Custard powder is shit compared to real home-made custard... but if you dont have eggs and cream, the powder is better than nothing) but this shit is more for last minute or low-effort meals.
at least get something like this then. it's still much better than dry cubes or powder.
4-8 pieces, depends on what country you live in. still very cheap
>Knorr Stock
It's your choice.
this isn't the dry stuff, it's luquid. jelly-like
I thought about those, but they dont actually last too long. I'm more looking for the kinda shit you can leave in your cupboard for 5 years and still be usable. The cubes are 100% desiccated and loaded with salt so they'll NEVER go bad. The gel ones exp in 6 months(and i dunno if id trust them after 1 year)
replace these with pic related, much more convenient and comes out as cheap or cheaper than bouillon cubes since it's normally for commercial use
I've been adding a little bit of beefy goodness to many dishes
do they sell this in america? does it have to be refrigerated?
I think it's by nestle so I'd imagine it should be available worldwide, and I bet there's similar products, it's thick beef concentrate but not a jelly like
so it's more convenient to use. I paid like $7.50 for a liter, I refrigerate it myself mostly because it's going to take me a long time to go through it - but it has so much salt it might not need it.
Search 'liquid beef concentrate' on A*azon. Loads of results
>at least get something like this then
Problem with those is it's awkward to use part of a pot when you only need a little stock for a dish. Stock cubes are easy to divide up.
We've got beef, chicken, pork, ham, vegetable and fish stock in cube form. Keeps well and means you don't make everything taste the same. (Yes, pork and ham stock taste different.)
All y'all need to get better than bouillon. Most all other stock-cheating methods.
>What are some of the things, that are less obvious, that everyone should have in their kitchen
Vinegars
Soy/Worcestershire/fish sauce
Mashed tater flakes (great for thickening as well as eating)
Jarred curry sauces
Dried herbs/Hispanices (yes, fresh is better)
Emergency jarlic
Canned soup
Honey
Cake mixes
Dry yeast
Canned fish
Etc
>better than bouillon
it's only available in america at a reasonable price. outside of america you pay triple or more because there is no officials distributor and it's just random shitheads trying to rip you off
Sorry, but that's not my problem.
>not living in americlapistan, the cooking capital of the world
Because, sometimes adding some bullion to a sauce or a dish can be nice without having to cut out a portion of frozen stock, thaw it, then add it. Ease of use. I have bullion and frozen stock I keep on hand because they both have their place.
>why would anyone buy stock cubes and just drop them in water when they could do something that's significantly higher effort for an only marginally better product
It's a mystery to every body
>for an only marginally better product
Yeah, that's what I said.
why? because it's convenient. are you daft?
there are countless convenient options that are all liquid. picking these cubes or powder instead is the worst thing you can do when it comes to flavor. at that point I wouldn't even bother eating soup
Whether or not the meat extract is powdered or dissolved makes zero difference to its quality
I'l agree the powder variants are usually heavier on the salt vs flavor content.
Which sadly means you can't use it as something like demi glace would be used, because dishes in the end have salt tolerance.
But a cube to replace 1tb of salt isn't a bad start.
Your bone swill isn't much better. Use shanks.
When normies became involved with cooking we get fags like this who treat it like high end audiophiles about headphones.
there's nothing high end about 20 minutes of active work roasting bones and dumping them in a pot with water. it tastes so much better it's actually worth it unlike many "high end" recipes
I get what you’re saying, but we both know that’s not really the time/effort required to make stock worth anything. You’re washing the bones, roasting, parboiling, skimming, draining, cleaning the stock pot, simmering in clean water with a cartouche, draining the stock after reducing for hours, running through at least two filters, quick chilling out of danger zone, dividing into portions, plus all the scrubbing. It’s a fuck ton of work that is worth it if you have cheap labor and time, but not worth it for mid week meals at home.
protip: buy a rotisserie chicken at costco, remove meat, put carcass in pressure cooker/Instapot, cook one hour on high, save yourself so much time and effort, and gets you 95% if the way there with 95% less effort
larp harder, overweight mcnugget eater
Canned corn beef has an insane shelf life. The brand I bought recently (Aldi) has a best by date of 2029. Lol.
It's like a hedge against inflation.
People talk about them all the time but I've never actually needed them in my kitchen
>I want my kitchen to be more versatile without having to stress about using the stuff up right away before it goes bad.
Dont be a fucking poser like those boomers with a garage full of tools they never use. Just do it organically- get a bunch of jars and fill them up with shit as you need them.
For example, I recently made Hot and Sour soup and now my pantry has a collection of Chink fungus and dried flowers, shit like that.
Hello mpw no I will not buy your shitty stock
some things i haven't seen mentioned in this thread:
>corn starch for thickening
>msg powder
>tomato paste
is it really a staple if you don't use it regularly?