The answer was a big surprise.
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The pantry is a sacred kitchen space where some of the best ingredients await their delicious fates. (Does anyone else imagine pantry ingredients animated in a Pixar-esque fashion whenever the pantry doors are closed? Just me?) With a well-stocked pantry, a capable home cook can knock out any number of gorgeous meals.
It’s all about stocking those shelves with the building blocks of flavor—tinned anchovies, dried beans, and rich stocks and broths for whipping up soups, stews, and sauces. So, I asked some of my food editor friends to point me toward their favorite brand of store-bought stock, and the answer was a big surprise.
Read More: 9 Grocery Staples I Stock up on When They’re on Sale
The “Stock Market” Experts
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Sara Bir: Simply Recipes Senior Editor, culinary educator, and author of three cookbooks, The Pocket Pawpaw Cookbook, Tasting Ohio, and The Fruit Forager’s Companion
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Genevieve Yam: Culinary Editor for Serious Eats, formerly a cook at Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Per Se, and worked on the most recent edition of The Essential New York Times Cookbook
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Myo Quinn: Simply Recipes Associate Editorial Director, who also worked as a line cook at the Michelin-starred Gramercy Tavern and Untitled at the Whitney Museum
Simply Recipes / Photo Illustration by Wanda Abraham / Retailer below
The Best Store-Bought Stock, According to Food Editors
When I asked my food editor colleagues to name their favorite store-bought stock, I was expecting them to name one of the boxed broths I grab when I need to develop flavor quickly, but instead, all three pointed me to a jar of Better Than Bouillon.
Better Than Bouillon is a viscous paste of pure flavor that, when diluted, transforms into the kind of stock or broth that tastes like it’s been bubbling away all day on the stove.
“As a food editor, I should probably say that I make my own stock (please, this is a judgment-free zone), but I don’t,” confides Myo. “I use so much stock in my cooking that it likely amounts to all five oceans combined. I have a jar of Better Than Bouillon chicken base at all times. It actually tastes like chicken and not just salty water.”
Genevieve echoes Myo, noting, “It’s an easy way to make a flavorful chicken stock, and I often incorporate it into poultry dishes like chicken pot pie or chicken noodle soup.”
While Myo and Genevieve are partial to the chicken flavor, Better Than Bouillon’s soup bases include beef, lobster, and turkey, and a line of flavored bases.
There are also vegetarian and vegan options that appeal to Sara. “I keep a jar of Better Than Bouillon’s vegetable stock base in my fridge at all times,” she says. “It has a deeper flavor than any boxed vegetable stock I’ve tried, and since an open jar keeps for months, it’s quite handy.”
Sara adds that the base boasts a strong, concentrated flavor. “For soups that are already packed with fresh vegetables or seasoning, a little goes a long way, but it makes a big difference.”
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