With mediocre ingredients the best you can hope for is a mediocre finished product. Ingredients are the key and great ingredients can help you to a memorable dish. But what makes an ingredient great?

Cost: Cost should not be a consideration. Not in the sense of throwing your money away by buying the most expensive ingredients but in knowing that just because the ingredient is more expensive does not mean it‘s better. The better ingredient might be the cheapest. Example: for those exotic herbs and spices seek out local ethnic markets. Often times they have what you‘re looking for in bulk at a much lower price than a little jar from the supermarket.

Fruits and Vegetables: Is fresh always better? You bet it is. How can a squash be any better than when you cut one from the garden or get one from a local farmer while the sap is still dripping from the end? Folks that grow gardens know when you want to eat corn you bring the water to a boil then you pick the corn. Why? Corn begins to quickly turn its sugar into starch after it‘s picked. As soon as you pick a fruit or vegetable it begins a downward slide. The closer you get to its harvest the better.

Meats and Seafood: Find a trusted local purveyor. Don‘t know, ask around. These people tend to have good reputations and stick around and their customers are generally very happy to steer you in their direction. Once you find one then support them. Do we always shop at small, local markets? No. We go to supermarkets like most people do, but for those special things, find the local guy. Form a relationship and they‘ll turn you on to the good stuff: great cuts of meat and how to cook them, the freshest fish and what‘s coming into season, invaluable sources of product and information.

As chefs, the perception can be that our refrigerator is stocked with artisan, local, organic ingredients that we shop for every day. Not true. We both have kids. Three each to be exact, and time is at a premium. Look in our cupboards and you‘ll find boxed macaroni. Check the fridge and you‘ll see bottles of salad dressings. We don‘t spend our weekends making chicken stock to stash in the freezer for later. Knowing this and knowing when it‘s time to seek out those great ingredients and whip up a batch of homemade stock will only serve to make you a better cook.

Speaking of great product here is a list of ten ingredients we don’t want to be without in our home kitchens:

1. Mustards
2. Sweet Chili Sauce
3. Sriracha Sauce
4. Good Butter
5. Good Soy Sauce
6. Salt & Pepper
7. Good Vinegars
8. Good Olive Oil
9. Parmesan Reggiano
10. Good Bacon (It is us writing this)