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Elemental Ingredients

Elemental Ingredients

The absolute foundation of all flavour. The Elemental Ingredients pantry houses the non-negotiable pillars of cooking: salt, pepper, and acid. From the clean, briny crunch of flaked sea salt that finishes a grilled steak to the aromatic, floral heat of freshly cracked black pepper and the bright, piercing acidity of a sharp vinegar, these are the essential tools of seasoning. They do not just add their own taste; they unlock, balance, and amplify the natural character of every other ingredient on the plate. Mastering these elemental forces is the single most important skill in the kitchen.

10 Ingredients
Sea Salt Flakes
Sea Salt Flakes Pure, brilliantly clean salinity with absolutely zero bitter metallic aftertaste. Its defining characteristic is entirely textural—a delicate, shatteringly crisp crunch that bursts rapidly on the palate and immediately dissipates.
Spirit Vinegar (10%)
Spirit Vinegar (10%) Ferociously Acidic, violently Sharp, and completely Odourless beyond the pure, harsh sting of acetic acid. It possesses absolutely zero fruit or botanical background notes.
Sparkling Water
Sparkling Water Neutral, exceptionally Crisp, Bright, with a sharp, aggressively carbonated mouthfeel and a subtle, naturally occurring minerality depending on the source.
Zakwas Pszenny (Sour Wheat Starter)
Zakwas Pszenny (Sour Wheat Starter) Milder acidity than rye, Creamy, Floral, Yeasty, subtly Tangy
Zakwas Żytni (Rye Starter)
Zakwas Żytni (Rye Starter) Sour, Funky, Earthy, Umami, Yeasty, intense Lactic Acid tang
Water
Water Neutral, Clean, Metallic (if hard/treated), Mineral, Refreshing
Ice Cold Water
Ice Cold Water Neutral, Numbing (suppresses sweetness and saltiness), Crisp
Sea Salt
Sea Salt Bright, "Sparkling" Salinity, Mineral complexity, Crunchy texture, uneven dissolution
Salt
Salt Pure Saline, Sharp, Mineral; acts as a flavour magnifier
White Wine Vinegar
White Wine Vinegar Sharp, Acidic (Acetic), Clean, Crisp, subtly Fruity/Floral (unlike harsh distilled vinegar)

Exploring the Elemental Ingredients Pantry

This category is the control centre of your cooking. If a dish tastes flat, heavy, or lifeless, the solution is almost always found right here. Understanding how to deploy salt to draw out moisture, or acid to cut through rich fats, gives you complete authority over the final profile of your food.

  • The Salt Hierarchy: Not all salt is created equal. Fine sea salt is perfect for precise baking, while coarser kosher salt is the chef's choice for seasoning meat and vegetables, as its larger grains are easier to pinch and distribute evenly. Finally, delicate, pyramid-shaped flaky sea salt is strictly reserved for the finish, adding a clean, textured crunch to everything from roasted tomatoes to dark chocolate tarts.
  • The Peppercorns: Black, white, green, and pink peppercorns all offer distinct profiles. Black pepper provides robust, pungent heat perfect for red meats, while white pepper offers a ferociously sharp, earthy bite that blends seamlessly into pale, creamy sauces and light broths without leaving black specks.
  • The Essential Acids: Vinegars (such as sharp white wine, robust red wine, and mellow cider) alongside fresh citrus are the counterweights to fat and salt. A splash of acid right at the end of cooking wakes up sluggish sauces, brightens heavy stews, and brings a dish into perfect focus.

A Chef's Guide to Storage & Prep

Because these ingredients are used in almost every single dish, treating them with respect guarantees a consistently elevated standard of cooking:

  • Season in Layers: The biggest mistake a cook can make is only seasoning at the very end. Salt must be added at every stage of the cooking process—when sweating onions, when searing meat, and when reducing sauces—allowing it to penetrate the ingredients and build a deep, complex flavour profile from the inside out.
  • Grind on Demand: Pre-ground pepper is essentially sawdust; its volatile essential oils evaporate within days of being crushed. Always buy whole peppercorns and grind them aggressively in a mill or pestle and mortar directly over the pan to capture their maximum floral aroma and heat.
  • Keep it Bone Dry: Salt is highly hygroscopic, meaning it eagerly absorbs moisture from the air. Keep your cooking salts in a dry, covered salt pig or airtight container, well away from the steam of the stove, to prevent them from clumping together.

Explore Other Categories

A-Z Index

A +
Allspice Berries Almonds (Flakes) Almonds (Ground) Apples
B +
Baguette Baking Powder Baking Soda Bay Leaves Beef Chuck Beef Mince Beef Short Rib Beef Stock Beef Tenderloin Beef Topside Beetroots Black Pepper Black Peppercorns Black Tea (loose leaf) Blackcurrant Jam Bramley Apples Brown Onion Buttermilk
C +
Candied Orange Peel Capers (In Brine) Caraway Seeds Carrots Caster Sugar Celeriac Chanterelle Mushrooms Chicken Breasts Chicken Livers Chicken Quarters Chicken Thighs Chopped Tomatoes (Tin) Cinnamon (Ground) Cinnamon Stick Clarified Butter Cloves Cocoa Powder Cod Fillets Conchiglie Pasta Cornflour Crayfish (cooked) Crayfish Tails (cooked and peeled) Cucumber Curd Cheese (Twaróg) Curry Powder
D +
Dark Chocolate (70%) Dark Rye Flour Dijon Mustard Double Cream Dried Forest Mushrooms Dried Marjoram Dried White Beans Duck (whole)
E +
Eggs Emmental Cheese
F +
Fine Breadcrumbs Fine Egg Noodles Flat-leaf Parsley Floury Potatoes Forest Mushrooms Fresh Basil Fresh Chives Fresh Dill Fresh Dill Crowns Fresh Lovage Fresh Sorrel Fresh Thyme Fresh Yeast Fusilli Pasta
G +
Gala Apples Garden Peas (Frozen) Garlic Bulb Garlic cloves Gelatin Powder Ginger (Ground) Gouda Cheese Grated horseradish
H +
Honey Horseradish Root
I +
Ice Cold Water Icing Sugar
J +
Juniper Berries
K +
Kajmak (Dulce de Leche) Kaszanka (Polish black pudding) Kefir
L +
Lard Leek Lemon Lemon Juice Ligol Apples Łazanki (Quadretti) pasta
M +
Marinated Forest Mushrooms Mayonnaise Mead Milk Mustard Seeds
N +
New Potatoes
O +
Oak, Cherry, or Grape Leaves Ogórek Kiszony (Sour Brined Cucumber) Olive Oil Orange Zest Oranges
P +
Parsley Root Pate Pearl Barley Pears Peas (Tin) Perch Fillets Plain Flour Plum Butter Plums (Węgierki) Polish Country Lard Spread Polish Smoked Sausage Poppy Seeds Pork Back Fat Pork Belly Pork Loin (boneless) Pork Mince Pork Neck Pork Ribs Pork Ribs (Smoked) Pork Shoulder Potato Starch Prunes (Pitted) Pumpkin
R +
Radishes Raisins Rapeseed Oil Red Bell Peppers Red Kidney Beans (Tin) Red Onion Red Wine (Dry) Ridge / Ground Cucumbers Rustic Bread Rye Bread
S +
Salt Salted Herring Fillets (Matjes) Sauerkraut (Kapusta Kiszona) Savoy Cabbage Sea Salt Sea Salt Flakes Shallots Smoked Bacon Smoked Mackerel Smoked Paprika Sour Cherries Sour Cherry Conserve Sour Cream Sparkling Water Spirit Vinegar (10%) Spring Onions Stale White Bread Strawberries Strong Wheat Flour (Bread Flour) Sweet Paprika (Noble Sweet) Sweetcorn (Tin) Szara Reneta (Grey Reinette)
T +
Tomato Ketchup Tomato Passata Tomato Puree Tomatoes (Vine-Ripened) Turkey Neck
U +
Unsalted Butter
V +
Vanilla Extract Vanilla Pods Veal Loin Vegetable Oil Vodka
W +
Walnuts (halves) Water Waxy Potatoes White Button Mushrooms White Cabbage White Onions White Pepper White Rice (short-grain) White Sausage (Raw) White Wine (Dry) White Wine Vinegar Whole Chicken Wild Blueberries
Y +
Yellow Mustard Seeds Yellow Split Peas Young White Cabbage Young beets with greens (untrimmed)
Z +
Zakwas Pszenny (Sour Wheat Starter) Zakwas z Buraków (Fermented Beetroot Juice / Beet Kvass) Zakwas Żytni (Rye Starter) Zander Fillets