Plg cookbook

pantry ingredients When you cook in the classroom often, it’s helpful to have a pantry of ingredients that you can use in many different recipes. The following ingredients are useful to have in any classroom, and they last a long time so you don’t have to worry about spoilage.

Salt — Salt helps bring out flavors and makes food taste better. Sometimes, adding just a little bit more salt can really change the taste of an entire recipe. It’s one of the most important ingredients in cooking and being able to control the amount of salt yourself means that you’ll be eating a lot less salt than the processed foods available. Learning how to salt food is an important step in cooking frequently, and it’s not an ingredient that should be feared.

Pepper — Pepper is a great addition to many recipes as a finishing touch. It adds a little kick and an extra dimension to the recipes, and many students really love freshly cracked pepper.

Oil — Olive oil and vegetable oil are two good oils to have in the classroom. Olive oil can be expensive, especially if you’re cooking with multiple classes a lot. Olive oil is good for making salad dressings and cooking on low–medium heat, while vegetable oil is a good all-around oil that is very economical to buy. Feel free to try alternative oils as well, like coconut or grapeseed oil.

Soy Sauce/Tamari Sauce — Soy sauce is an excellent ingredient to add to things like stir-fries and other Asian inspired dishes. Low-sodium soy sauce is good for the classroom, and tamari sauce is a gluten-free option that’s available at almost all grocery stores.

Vinegar — Vinegar is an acid, and adding acids to food can help bring out a little more flavor and brightness. Sometimes, when food tastes a little flat and bland, adding in a little splash of vinegar can really change the taste. Although the recipes in this book don’t explicitly use vinegar, it’s a good pantry item to have to experiment with students and flavors. Apple cider vinegar goes very well with vegetables and adds a slightly fruity and tangy taste. Lemon or lime juice also works well to add brightness to any dish.

Honey — Honey is an excellent sweetener to use, and it can always be a jumping point to talk about pollinators!

2