Pantry

A big pot of pasta on the stove is what dinner looks like after a long day, no matter which kitchen you grew up in. This is Maltagliati's Organic F...

Podravka Vegetable Soup Mix — Croatian instant juha od povrća, Koprivnica 1947 standard. Podravka's everyday vegetable-soup register — clear vegeta...

Livada Dill — Serbian-pantry pickle herb. Dried mirođija for the krastavci brine, the salmon roast, the sour-cream sauce that finishes potato salad...

Grill sauce is what waits on the table every time the roštilj gets going in a Balkan backyard, passed around before anyone even sits down. This Der...

Zvijezda Suncokretovo Ulje is a 1-litre bottle of refined sunflower oil from Zvijezda — the Croatian edible oils and condiments brand that is one o...

Vavel Kozacka Mustard — the Polish coarse-grain Cossack-style standard. Vavel's Kozacka pour from the Polish Wawel-Krakow heritage — coarse-grained...

The smell of paprika going into the pot is the smell of Sunday lunch cooking for hours. Bende Hungarian Hot Paprika comes in a 6oz (170g) tin. Stir...

Dinosaur-shaped macaroni was the pasta that got kids excited for dinner without a fight, a little bit of fun on a weeknight plate in Germany. Mühle...

Basil and good olive oil is the smell of a proper Italian kitchen before dinner's even started. This one comes from Fratelli Mantova, an Italian ol...

Every proper Balkan table has a bottle of vinegar dressing standing next to the salad bowl, its tang cutting through the richness of the rest of th...

This is the tomato paste stirred into every pot of sauce, soup, or stew simmering on a Balkan stove. Hana makes this tomato paste, 650g (22.9oz) pe...

Royal Basmati Rice — long-grain Indian-grown basmati in the family-size sack. Aged long-grain basmati from the Royal kitchen line — the aromatic, s...

A jar of sour cherry compote like this is the drink Armenian and Russian families pour at the table, served over ice or mixed with water. Polinka, ...

A jug of kompot on the table was as automatic as bread at a Polish family meal, poured for the kids before anyone even asked. This is Polish Garden...

A jar of sour cherries put up for winter meant dessert was covered no matter what else was in the pantry. These are Granny's Farm pitted sour cherr...

Orange fruit spread like this turned breakfast bread into something a little special, bright and citrus-sharp against butter. d'Arbo makes this bit...

Tangy rosehip marmalade in the pantry was grandmother's traditional recipe, spooned onto morning bread. Vitaminka 1947 makes this Šipak (rosehip) m...

The forest-fruit jam jar that always sat on the breakfast table, the flavor of blackberries picked along a countryside path outside Koprivnica. Pod...

Macedonia's cherry pepper in Va-Va's family-size pour — small round red peppers, brined sweet-hot, jewel-bright in the jar. Crisp skin, juicy flesh...

The smell of rose petals boiling down in a saucepan is a smell straight out of a Turkish kitchen in early summer, and this jar brings it to your co...

Spicy ajvar simmered slowly at home is a taste that carries straight back to a Macedonian family kitchen. Va-Va's Hot Ajvar, a homemade-style spicy...

The smell of eggplants roasting over an open flame drifts through backyard kitchens every autumn, turning into this smoky spread. This is Hana's Fi...

Macedonia's somborka-and-carrots from Va-Va — long red somborka peppers with carrot batons in a sharp vinegar brine. Snap-firm, sweet-pepper, brine...

Jars of roasted red pepper ajvar lined up on the balcony each autumn are a fixture of Balkan family kitchens. Jadranka's Hot roasted vegetable spre...