My Pantry Essentials

& how I organize them: salt, spice, herb, oil, vinegar...

Happy 2026 team! Hello from Sydney, I hope you all are starting the year off on a happy foot.

A little update from me… I bought a home?! I was lucky enough to move into my new place towards the end of December and the first order of business was obviously the kitchen.

Organization is important in a pantry - you need to KNOW where everything is. I have finally set up my cupboards in a way that makes sense to my brain in comparison to where my chopping board is, oven, stovetop, fridge etc. I can’t tell you how many times I organized, took out, reorganized, switched around, re-re-reorganized my pantry but I’m finally SO happy with the finished result.

The pantry categories below are salt, vinegars, fats, spices, herbs, and baking misc.

EVERYTHING IS WHERE IT FEELS LIKE IT SHOULD BE. I can reach into a drawer without thinking too hard and the exact item I’m looking for will be there. All you need to do is separate your items into categories and place the ones you use most in an accessible place for YOU.

For example, my salts are in easy reach, salty vanilla syrup, vanilla beans, powder, paste as well as my warming spices like cinnamon and tonka. I’m also a big fan of vinegar so my vinegars are actually all lined up in front of my oils since I reach for them more often!

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My Pantry Essentials

***These are in my pantry not fridge. I have many more per category but I wanted to share my top contenders.

In terms of my fridge, the weekend I moved in I made sure to make some jams and chutneys to have on hand (and because it was Christmas and we ate lots of cheese). I made 2 batches of mulled wine jam, cranberry sauce, as well as some candied jalapeños (duh) and candied olives. Let’s not forget the essential salted vanilla syrup…

candied olives, christmas jam, cranberry sauce

You may remember a similar page from The Condiment Book! You don’t need these all, but I wanted to share the overarching categories with you all. I’ve bolded my current faves of the bunch if I could only pick one (scary).

Salt

• Fleur de sel from l’Ile de Ré

• Halen Mon flaky salt

• Gros sel aka sel gris

@condimentclaireReplying to @samsqpxjswo my salt essentials

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Vinegar (& adjacent friends)

• Apple cider vinegar

• Balsamic vinegar - white or black

• Wine vinegar - red or white

  • to make my Mamie’s vinaigrette

  • to make relish

  • to make radish relish

• Sherry vinegar

• Malt Vinegar

• Rice Wine Vinegar

• Buchu vinegar

• Ponzu

• Soy sauce

• Black vinegar

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Fats

• Olive Oil

• Avocado Oil

• Ghee

• Coconut Oil

• Banhoek Chili Oil - Asian flavor specifically

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Spices

• Warming: cinnamon, tonka, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, pumpkin spice blend, ginger, turmeric, cumin, star anise, cloves

• Spicy: mustard seeds, cayenne

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Herbs

• Herbes de provence

• Dill - necessary for tzatziki which I make at least once a week

• Oregano

• Fennel seeds

• Saltbush

• Lemon myrtle

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Pastes (?lol?)

• Marmite

• Bovril

• Vegemite

@condimentclaireReplying to @Vegemite BIG SPOONFUL so that @Australia can adopt me

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Baking section

• All purpose flour + bread flour + sugar white/brown + baking soda/powder + standard sea salt

• Vanilla: beans, paste, powder, extract, salted vanilla syrup

• Cacao: powder + nibs

  • strawberry cocoa nib jam

  • Erewhon smoothie dupe

• Rogue bits: rainbow sprinkles (obviously), waddle seed, instant coffee

Overflow

• Any unopened and HOMEMADE jams, chutneys, jellies, and ferments! That way, I can easily see what I’ve made recently and serve it to friends who come over.

  • All overflow that’s branded goes into a wicker basket under my sink for when I run out of some of my essentials in my pantry/fridge :)

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Let me know if you want me to dive into tea/coffee/supplement pantry content!