Your selection of pantry staples is every bit as important to your cooking technique as the ingredients you use. Yet, navigating the different brands and varieties can be daunting—especially with so many wonderful brands from which to choose. When it comes to stocking the pantry, nothing works quite as well as a quick reference to use when shopping. Here are some stars in our shelf-stable pantry item constellation, with tasting notes and use suggestions for some of our best olive oils, vinegars and salt.
OLIVE OIL
From virgin to extra-virgin, finishing to cooking, you want to pick the right oil for the right job.
Muraglia
CORATINA INTENSE FRUITY MURAGLIA Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Suggested Uses: Any of the Muraglia extra-virgin olive oils, all beautifully bottled, are ideal finishing oil for meat and pasta.
Origin: Andria, Apulia, Italy.
FRANTOIO MURAGLIA Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Tasting Notes: Intense green with golden shades; this olive oil features unforgettable bouquets of fennel, artichoke, pepper and hay. A “monocultivar” obtained by the “coratina” variety of olives, this cultivar prevails in all the countryside of Andria, where it finds the best conditions to obtain the greatest results, with limy soils and systems of aid irrigation. Expect an abundance of deliciously spicy vegetal tones that last.
Fun trivia: This EVOO is from a fifth-generation family-owned farm that follows the whole process from the harvest to the bottling time.
LEMON MURAGLIA Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Suggested Uses: An ideal finishing oil for fish dishes and soups.
Origin: Andria, Apulia, Italy.
Tasting Notes: Another hit from Muraglia, the fifth-generation family-owned farm, the family waits until December for lemons to be ripe for this oil. It is obtained by simultaneous cold pressing of the “coratina” variety olives and the IGP-certified Lemons from Rocca Imperiale.
Williams Sonoma
WILLIAMS SONOMA HOUSE Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Suggested Uses: Perfect for all your culinary needs.
Origin: California, United States.
Tasting Notes: A delicate oil with notes of butter and almonds and a touch of pepper on the finish.
Fun trivia: A bestseller, hand-harvested in small batches in California.
WILLIAMS SONOMA BOLD & PEPPERY HOUSE Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Suggested Uses: Finishing oil.
Origin: California, United States.
Tasting Notes: A delicate oil with notes of butter and almonds and a touch of pepper on the finish.
Fun trivia: Hand-harvested in small batches in California.
WILLIAMS SONOMA ITALIAN HOUSE Olive Oil
Suggested Uses: Cooking and finishing oil.
Origin: Italy.
Tasting Notes: Medium intensity fresh olive fruit with notes of green grass and leaves. Broad and harmonious with a balanced perception of bitterness and spiciness.
Fun trivia: Hand-harvested in small batches in California.
Ravida
RAVIDA ORGANIC Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Suggested Uses: A natural blend of Biancolilla, Cearsuola, Nocellara olives grown on the Ravida family estate, this is a wonderful finishing olive oil, medium-fruity with a grassy flavor and a long, peppery aftertaste. It will add flavor from the simplest to the most elaborate of foods: over eggs and avocado, fish, green and potato salads, pastas and rice, or pulses. It is an oil for everyday use.
Origins, Italy, Menfi, southwest Sicily.
Tasting Notes: Grassy with a long peppery aftertaste, notes of sun dried tomatoes, freshly mown hay and lemon zest.
Fun trivia: The Ravida family has owned olive groves in this area since 1770. Today, it is a small, mostly female company dedicated to producing an award-winning Sicilian product. Since 1991, they have a produced a product the family has used in its kitchens for generations. Ravida Organic is produced on the family-run olive mill adjacent to the family estate. Olives are pressed on the same day as picking and vacuum-packing of the olive oil, and are bottled to order.
Alziari
ANICOLAS ALZIARI Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Suggested uses: Delicious for salads, vegetables and cooking.
Origin: Blend from the European Union.
Tasting Notes: Light notes of mango but also artichoke and hazelnut; a fresh almond bouquet blooms during the cooking process. Expect a uniquely fruity taste and aromas of incomparable sweetness.
Fun trivia: The house Alziari has been a family owned business for more than 150 years over six-plus generations. For more than a century, this great vintage of extra virgin olive oil has featured a subtle blend of identical, exceptional varieties harvested ripe. Originating from the best European land, this vintage made the house famous.
Altomena
ALTOMENA Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Suggested Uses: Use in vinaigrettes, as a dip for crusty breads, and as a finishing drizzle for grilled meats, mushrooms, bean dishes and crisp-tender vegetables.
Origin: Tuscany, Italy.
Tasting Notes: The bright emerald-green oil is exceptionally fragrant with grassy notes, with a spicy taste and a pleasantly peppery finish. Think: hints of fresh grass, chicory and rosemary. An initial bitter taste is followed by a powerful spice of green chili pepper.
Fun trivia: This exquisite 100% single-estate extra-virgin olive oil comes from the historic Altomena estate in Tuscany. The land has been cultivated for more than a thousand years.
Espuny
ESPUNY Olive Oil
Suggested Uses: Its light, delicate character makes this buttery golden oil an exceptionally versatile pantry staple. Try it in salad dressings, frying chips, sauces, on toast for breakfast, and cooking. Also consider using in preservation of foods, such as tuna, cheeses like Manchego, or sausage.
Origin: Spain.
Tasting Notes: It has a creamy texture and a very fruity smell and taste with soft hints of fresh fruits, such as apple, banana, tomato, and green grass. It is very pleasant because this aroma gently highlights the spicy and bitter characteristics of this variety.
Fun trivia: More than a century of olive oil tradition and five generations have been dedicated to this oil. This oil has the most demanding food safety certifications worldwide in its highest qualifications: IFS, BRC, and Kosher and Halal certifications.
VINEGAR
Williams Sonoma
WILLIAMS SONOMA Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
Suggested Uses: A perfect finishing oil for salads, mixed vegetables, dippings and seasonings, meat, and fish. Drizzle it over everything from salads and grilled meats to artisan cheeses and fresh berries.
Origin: Italy.
Tasting Notes: A well-balanced, persistent, sweet-sour flavor and taste, with fruity notes typical of cooked must and woodsy hints. It has aged for many years in different wooden barrels (oak, chestnut, cherry, juniper, ash, and mulberry).
Fun trivia: This balsamic vinegar is from a 4th generation family-owned artisan closed-loop farm since 1871. All processing steps take place within one facility, starting from the growing of Trebbiano and Lambrusco grape. They go through picking up, squeezing, cooking and aging in more than 3500 wooden barrel, until the bottling and packaging. This oil is 100% natural and free of any kind of chemical agent such as caramel, colorants or preservatives. It also boasts real traceability throughout the production path.
WILLIAMS SONOMA White Balsamic Vinegar
Suggested Uses: This condiment is ideal to dress or marinade white meat such as poultry, duck and pork. It’s particularly pleasant with seafood such as sushi, salmon, abalone, prawns, oysters, crab, and caviar. Also consider it for enhancing fruit salad, vinaigrettes and cocktails.
Origin: Italy.
Tasting Notes: A sweet-tart, golden vinegar with floral aromas, complex flavor and a balanced acidity softened by exposure to oak. Round and delicate and persistent, it has a nice straw yellow color and vanilla flavor.
Fun trivia: This balsamic vinegar is from a 4th generation family-owned artisan closed-loop farm since 1871. All processing steps take place within one facility, starting from the growing of Trebbiano and Lambrusco grape. They go through picking up, squeezing, cooking and aging in more than 3500 wooden barrel, until the bottling and packaging. This oil is 100% natural and free of any kind of chemical agent such as caramel, colorants or preservatives. It also boasts real traceability throughout the production path.
Guisti
GUISTI Dense Balsamic Vinegar
Suggested Uses: Drizzle over fresh pasta, stuffed pasta, risotto, eggs, grilled meats, fresh fruit or dessert.
Origin: Modena, Italy.
Tasting Notes: Think: creamy and sweet; aromas of plum jam, ripe fruit and red fruit; hints of honey, vanilla and wood.
Fun trivia: This balsamic vinegar is dedicated to one of the family ancestors, Riccardo Giusti, who created the recipe at the start of the 20th century.
Villa Manodori
VILLA MANODORI Balsamic Vinegar
Suggested Uses: Unlike Traditional Balsamic Vinegars of 12 and 25 years, this versatile creation can “take the heat” and is suitable for savory and sweet dishes. Use a few drops on a piece of aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, consider as an accompaniment to greens, asparagus, and seasonal fruit, or take a spoonful of delight after a fine meal.
Origin: Modena, Italy.
Tasting Notes: Perfectly balanced with a rich, sweet and tart balsamico flavor and a thick, syrupy consistency. This vinegar is made using Trebbiano grape must and red wine vinegar and aged 9 years in series of oak, chestnut and juniper barrels.
Fun trivia: The name Villa Manodori hearkens to a 16th-century estate in Modena’s countryside where great feasts of local game were often the custom. Their renowned aceto balsamico was served as a digestif at the end of each meal. Chef Massimo Bottura applied his extraordinary culinary skills to this collection for his own use in his three-star Michelin restaurant Osteria Francescana. His spin on “Artigianale” has become the flagship item of Bottura’s collection.
Bona Furtuna
BONA FURTUNA Invecchiato Balsamic Vinegar
Suggested Uses: Consider this smooth, elegant, syrupy elixir over a Caprese Salad, on grilled artichokes, or as a steak marinade.
Origin: Modena, Italy.
Tasting Notes: Inhale the aroma of this powerful vinegar and be greeted with a woodsy, acidic-sweetness. Once it touches your tongue, the taste of sour cherries and freshly picked summer raspberries bursts forward immediately. Soon after, taste the sweetly-bitter flavors of darkly caramelized sugar, with the most subtle aftertaste of freshly ground coffee.
Fun trivia: In collaboration with Pedroni Acetaia, Bona Furtuna brings you a true taste of Italian heritage. Pressed from densely flavorful Trebbiano di Spagna grapes, then aged in select wood barrels in the heart of Modena, this profoundly delicious, traditionally handcrafted balsamic vinegar has two centuries of generational dedication behind its elegance.
BONA FURTUNA 12-Year Aged Tradizionale Balsamic
Suggested Uses: This “tradizionale” balsamic is the perfect accompaniment for fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano or drizzled over roasted meat and vegetables.
Origin: Modena, Italy.
Tasting Notes: Gaining its rich and syrupy consistency over the course of at least 12 years as it ages in oak and chestnut barrels, this complex vinegar still contains the bright acidity of its younger siblings. Paired with prosciutto-wrapped melon or your favorite cheeses, it features the sweet and nuanced flavors of aged Sauternes, followed by the bright citrus notes of lemon peel and grapefruit. It leaves your palate with the smoky, earthy flavors of cigars and tobacco.
Fun trivia: In collaboration with Pedroni Acetaia, Bona Furtuna brings you a true taste of Italian heritage. Pressed from densely flavorful Trebbiano di Spagna grapes, then aged in select wood barrels in the heart of Modena, this profoundly delicious, traditionally handcrafted balsamic vinegar has two centuries of generational dedication behind its elegance.
BONA FURTUNA 25-Year Aged Tradizionale Balsamic
Suggested Uses: A balsamic for the true connoisseur, enjoy with freshly sliced Prosciutto di Parma or drizzled over a hearty risotto.
Tasting Notes: Simply put, this vinegar is the closest thing to velvet that you’ll ever taste. A delicately bold aged balsamic, notes of vanilla and fresh lemon fill out the sweetly oxidized body, while just the tiniest hints of fresh florals hit the back of your palate before finishing with sweetly bitter bites of chocolate.
Fun trivia: In collaboration with Pedroni Acetaia, Bona Furtuna brings you a true taste of Italian heritage. Pressed from densely flavorful Trebbiano di Spagna grapes, then aged in select wood barrels in the heart of Modena, this profoundly delicious, traditionally handcrafted balsamic vinegar has two centuries of generational dedication behind its elegance.
SALT
JACOBSEN SALT X WILLIAMS SONOMA Kosher Salt
Suggested Uses: Perfect for everyday cooking, roasting, brining, pickling, and seasoning.
Origin: Netarts Bay, Oregon.
Tasting Notes: Bright, briny and crisp.
Fun trivia: Our Kosher Sea Salt, harvested from the Oregon Coast, consists of coarser-grained, naturally formed-salt crystals with a delicate, fluffy texture and a clean, briny flavor.
JACOBSEN SALT X WILLIAMS SONOMA Flake Salt
Suggested Uses: Use it to finish any dish, savory or sweet.
Origin: Netarts Bay, Oregon.
Tasting Notes: Briny and bright, with a delicate crunch.
Fun trivia: Our Flake Finishing Salt is our largest grain, with pyramidal-shaped flakes that are bright and briny, with a delicate texture and crunch, harvested from Netarts Bay on the Oregon Coast.
JACOBSEN SALT X WILLIAMS SONOMA Coarse Brazilian Salt
Suggested Uses: Use a grinder or mill for everyday cooking, baking and seasoning.
Origin: Brazil.
Tasting Notes: Bright, delicate flavor, subtle crunch, and mineral-rich crystals.
Fun trivia: This grinding Sea Salt is extracted from Brazilian Atlantic Ocean waters and naturally washed and dried.
JACOBSEN SALT X WILLIAMS SONOMA Pink Himalayan Salt
Suggested Uses: Use a grinder or mill for everyday cooking, brining, and seasoning.
Origin: Pakistan.
Tasting Notes: Mild, delicate, and slightly sweet.
Fun trivia: Sourced pink rock salt is mined from the foothills of the Pakistani Himalayas, where nutrient-rich marine salts from prehistoric oceans formed fossilized crystals.
1 comment
I often use Ravida extra virgin olive oil when I make a spinach salad. It is perfect for meals with spinach and tomatoes and that’s what I use it for.