And a few extras just for fun
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As someone who’s spent the majority of the last decade writing about food in some capacity, I thought I’d have a lot to say for this newsletter about that all-important hub of the kitchen: the pantry. But I have little universal advice on specifics, simply because pantries are so personal. What looks well-stocked and organized to some may seem lacking or downright perplexing to others.
I feel vaguely uneasy if I don’t have certain favorites on hand. Quality Spanish olive oil I can afford to use in quantity. A couple jars of roasted Hatch chiles for a last-minute stew. At least three tins of anchovies for eating with bread and butter and making my house salad dressing. The most delicious unpasteurized soy sauce (you’ll never go back, I promise). My (and Sam Sifton’s) favorite chili crisp to add some verve to just about anything. Hyper-local honey. Lots of homemade jam.
My loves needn’t be yours. What I aim to do is help you identify companies that can connect you with the items you care about. I’m a big fan of a carbon neutral online market with amazing prices on a huge variety of sustainable products. Our San Diego editors favor an online grocer that helps you prevent food waste. I think nothing tops these flavorful, ethical, single-source spices. And, speaking of baking, there’s the 200-year-old company leading the way on regenerative agriculture. Of course, there’s lots more fun to be had in the pantry. Let’s get started.
Happy shopping and happy noshing!
–Elizabeth Weinstein, Marketplace Editor
Thrive Market
I love to shop local whenever possible, but enjoy ordering from Thrive Market, a subscription-based, carbon-neutral online grocer and Certified B Corporation. Thrive’s well-designed site and in-depth filters really let me shop my values, she says, making it easy to find, say, cruelty-free, biodegradable cleaning products. Thrive has tons of items from great brands at very low prices, and offsets all shipping. Membership will quickly pay for itself.
Misfits Market
Misfits offers perfectly good produce and packaged goods at a discount. The items don’t make it to stores because of sizing, cosmetic, and packaging discrepancies, or simple supply chain issues. It recently acquired Imperfect Foods, another online grocer in the business of selling “ugly” produce. Both have fans here at Bluedot.
Joi Plant Milk Concentrates
Bluedot contributor and in-house beverage expert Julia Cooper loves almond milk, and used to buy about two cartons a week for coffee and overnight oats. She recently decided to try Joi, a trendy brand that makes plant-milk concentrates. The verdict: “I am blown away by these nut milks.” The just-add-water concentrates save a tremendous amount of carbon compared to shipping water-filled plant milks across the country.
Brodo Broth
Brodo uses only organic vegetables and pasture-raised beef and poultry for its wonderful bone broths. A new, shelf-stable formulation streamlines shipping (and makes it more eco-friendly than a previous frozen iteration). We love Brodo's “welcoming, homemade flavor.”
Burlap & Barrel Spices
Burlap & Barrel’s Single-Origin Spices will be the most flavorful you’ve ever tasted. Refresh your pantry before you start all your cold-weather baking, mulling, and roasting. We love how Burlap & Barrel is adding transparency to the spice industry and the way the company builds supportive relationships with farmers.
Saltverk
Bluedot’s Good Libations columnist and social media manager, Julia Cooper, didn’t understand what the deal was with fancy salt. Then, she discovered Saltverk. Handcrafted in Iceland, the deliciously sustainable salt is made from local seawater that’s heated using the island’s legendary geothermal energy.
King Arthur Baking Company
King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat Flour comes from regeneratively grown wheat; the company pledges that its other (terrific) flours will follow suit by 2030. They also sell quality tools and ingredients for bakers. Amazingly, they trace their roots to the 1790s, all the way back to the country’s first flour company.
Patagonia Provisions
Patagonia Provisions approaches food with the same purpose its parent company brings to clothing. The delicious tinned seafood, dried fruit, jerkies, and more all have impressive sustainability stories.
