This is what it should look like: Pantry

Everyone and their mom has something to say about pantries.  Pantries can be as simple or complex as you want them to be and when you are first starting to get involved with cooking, the idea of a pantry can seem very overwhelming.  This is not good because when you first start cooking, your pantry is likely very small and so cooking seems very overwhelming.  It is exhausting realizing that each recipe calls for an ingredient you don't yet own and trying to figure out what you can do away with and still cook is enough to make you want to give up entirely.  Don't!  A healthy well-stocked pantry will be a joy to behold!  Treat your pantry well and it will love you in return:

Basic Pantry Planning after the jump...




Before you start...
Here are 2 charts from Tipnut that you MUST have:
Kitchen Measurement Conversion Chart (pdf)
Recipe Ingredient Substitution Chart (pdf)

Print them out, laminate them, post them inside your pantry/cupboard/kitchen cabinet doors.  These charts will help your flexibility in the kitchen.  Together they form the single most helpful cooking reference I own (apart from my copy of "The Joy of Cooking" -- thanks, Mom!) and they are FREE!

Ok, now that that's done.  Pantries start small.  This is really all you need:

• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• Vegetable oil
• All-purpose flour
• Granulated Sugar

 (That list was taken from a description of the "bare minimum"pantry from allrecipes.)

That's it.  Not so scary. Six little ingredients that can be purchased for under $15.  Everything else in your pantry is really purchased around what you want to cook.  I can't help you there.  Look at your recipes and take note of what ingredients keep popping up. What I can do is show you how my pantry has evolved...

Here is my pantry (using the divisions provided by All Recipes in the link above):
You may not care about this next bit but I'm including it because I've never really inventoried my pantry before.  I hope to check back in as time goes on and see how things change.
 
A few notes....you can see where my kitchen emphasis is.  I do a lot of specialized breadmaking/baking so I have a goodly specialization in flours/starches/sugars.  I also have access to cheap bulk spices and I have a little balcony kitchen garden so my spice rack is fairly extensive. I don't keep a lot of canned goods or freezer items, those are mostly for quick cooking needs (unexpected guests, for example). This pantry represents around 3 years of tweaking.


Canned Goods:

• Canned Broth
• Canned Tuna
• Coconut Milk
• Condensed Milk
• Corn
• Diced Tomatoes
• Kippered Herring
• Peas
• Sauces
• Alfredo
• Marinara
• Pesto
• Soups
• Cream of Mushroom
• Tomato Bisque
• Tomato Paste
• Veg-All

Starches and Dry Goods:

• Amaranth Seed
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Barley
• Beans
• Black-Eyed Peas
• Fava
• Navy
• Pinto
• Split Pea
• Blends
• Bread Crumbs
• Cocoa Powder
• Couscous, Moroccan
• Flour
• All Purpose
• White Lily (soft wheat for biscuits)
• Gold Medal (hard wheat for breads)
• Self-Rising
• Whole Wheat
• Cake/Pastry
• Corn Meal
• Matzo Meal
• Spelt
• Potato
• Amaranth
• Wheat Bran (Don't you like Bran Muffins?)
• Graham Crackers
• Grits
• Lentils
• Nuts
• Hazelnuts
• Peanuts
• Pecans
• Sunflower Seeds
• Soybeans (roasted)
• Walnuts
• Pasta 
• Angel Hair
• Farfelle
• Quinoa
• Raisins
• Rice 
• Long-grain
• Arborio
• Jasmine
• Basmathi 
• Basic Parboiled Brown Rice
• Short-grain: Koku
• Tapioca, Pearl
• Starches 
  
• Corn
• Potato
• Tapioca
• Sugar
• Light Brown
• Dark Brown
• Granulated
• Powdered/Confectioners
• Honey
• Molasses/Sorghum
• Splenda

Root Cellar:

• Garlic
• Ginger
• Onion, Yellow Sweet
  
• Potato, Yukon Gold
• Shallots
• Miscellaneous in season root veg (winter squash, sweet potato, sugar beets, etc)

Condiments:

• Food Coloring
• Oils 
• Peanut
• Grapeseed
• Canola
• Olive
• Peanut Butter
• Salsa
• Salad Dressing Packets
• Soy Sauce
• Shortening
• Vinegar
• white
• cider
• rice
• balsamic

Spice Rack:

• Allspice
• Almond Extract
• Basil
• Bay Leaves
• Bouillon Cubes
• Coriander
• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Cream of Tartar
• Cumin
• Curry
• Dill
• Garlic Powder
• Ginger
• Mint
• Mustard Seed
• Nutmeg
• Onion Powder
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Pepper 
• Black
• Cayenne
• Chili
• Paprika
• Red Flakes
• Peppermint Extract
• Poppy Seeds
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Salt
• Iodized
• Kosher
• Sea
• Thyme
• Tumeric
• Vanilla Extract
• Vanilla Paste
• Zatar

Fridge:

• Butter
• Cheese
• Cream
• Cheddar/Gouda
• Mozzarella/Brie
• Parmesan
• Eggs
• Fish Sauce
• Ketchup
• Mayonnaise
• Milk
• Kefir/Buttermilk/Yogurt
• Mustard
• Olives/Capers
• Oyster Sauce
• Pickles
• Sour Cream

Freezer:

• Bacon Drippings
• Chicken 
• Chopped Spinach
• Dumplings
• Ground Beef
• Frozen Fruit (grapes/bananas)
• Frozen Juice
• Soup/Stock

Credits
Image: Mann House 2008 a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from CedarBendDrive's photostream