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Ever wonder what food experts always have in their kitchens in case of an emergency? Or just because they are their favorite, most versatile ingredients?! Well today is your lucky day! Oldways turned to some of our experts friends in the culinary and nutrition world to ask what five ingredients they always keep in their kitchens.

The overlap in these ingredients tells us what we should already have stocked in our pantries or what should be on our next grocery lists!


“Lemon, garlic, olive oil, some sort of pasta or grain, and eggs. If we could splurge on a sixth, it would be Parmesan cheese.”Editors at Food52

“Lemons, garlic, olive oil, pasta, anchovies.”Melissa Clark, food columnist for the New York Times and cookbook author

“Wine (is that an ingredient?), cheese, dark chocolate, EVOO, avocados… five is not enough!”Janice Bissex, MS RD and one of the moms behind Meal Makeover Moms

“Whole grains (i.e., farro, quinoa, brown rice, oats), EVOO, nuts (walnuts, almonds, pistachios, peanuts), dried spices (an assortment, including basil, oregano, turmeric, thyme, marjoram, and cinnamon), and legumes (beans, lentils, peas).”Sharon Palmer, The Plant-Powered Dietitian

“EVOO, garlic, herbs, garum, eggs.”Jody Adams, chef and restaurateur

“Yogurt, spices, olive oil, vegetables, lemons.” –  Ana Sortun, chef, restaurateur and cookbook author

“Eggs (I hard-boil a batch every week), milk, baby carrots for snacking, oats for breakfast (and now baby cereal), hummus for snacking.”Michelle Dudash, RDN and chef consultant

Were all of these ingredients already in your pantry?  What five ingredients do you always keep in your kitchen?


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