KITCHEN PRACTICE 3 — Building a Spanish Pantry Starter List
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Chapter: Spanish Cookery 1 — Foundations & the Spanish Pantry

TASK
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Build a Spanish pantry starter list — check what you already have
against this chapter's own core staples (olive oil, pimentón,
saffron if your budget allows, sherry vinegar, garlic) and note what
still needs buying before Chapter 2.

WHAT TO DO
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1. Write out this chapter's five core staples as a checklist:
   - Extra virgin olive oil
   - A neutral cooking oil (for higher-heat frying)
   - Pimentón (at least one of dulce/agridulce/picante, smoked or not)
   - Saffron (optional for now — a small amount goes a long way)
   - Sherry vinegar (Vinagre de Jerez)
   - Garlic
2. Go through your own kitchen and mark off what you already have.
3. For anything missing, note it as a genuine shopping-list item
   before starting Chapter 2, which uses garlic and olive oil
   immediately.

WHAT TO EXPECT
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- Olive oil, garlic, and a basic sherry or wine vinegar are common
  enough that many kitchens already have at least a rough substitute
  on hand.
- Pimentón and true saffron are far more likely to be missing —
  neither has a good substitute, so these are worth prioritizing on
  an actual shopping trip rather than skipping.
- Saffron's real cost (covered in this chapter) makes it reasonable
  to buy in a very small quantity at first — a pinch or two is
  genuinely enough for several dishes.

WHY THIS WORKS AS AN ANSWER
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This exercise turns the chapter's own pantry survey into a concrete,
actionable list rather than something to remember passively — and
flags exactly which ingredients (pimentón, saffron) are worth buying
before Chapter 2 begins, since neither has a workable substitute
elsewhere in this course.