<p>Most restaurant walk-in refrigerators are stocked, half with fresh produce and raw meat and the other half with building blocks like sauces, dressings, condiments, pickles, chilli oils, sauce bases, concentrated stocks, and curry pastes. In addition, spice blends and other dry  preparations are found on the pantry shelves.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>When you place your order, those meals are put together using the building blocks and adding only the final bits - searing the salmon filet or grilling the chicken breast bone at the last minute.</p>

Culinary building blocks

<p>Recipe building blocks vary by cuisine and chef, but they all have an extra-long shelf life and a concentrated flavour. The building blocks allow you to only add last-minute touches. The concept also allows for more efficient planning.</p><p><br></p><p>Thinking about meals in terms of building blocks can free you from recipes. The space devoted to condiments and sauces helps you to pick up something at the supermarket or farmer's market and find a way to serve it.</p>

Freed from recipes

<p>Cooking chickpeas in large batches and marinating them with olive oil, vinegar and garlic, then using them over the course of a week. </p><ul><li>Monday might be chickpeas with cooked farro, shredded raw and pickled carrots, parsley and hard-boiled eggs. </li><li>On Wednesday, combine them with cucumbers, red onions and fresh dill served with sliced lamb.</li><li>On Friday, scoop them over marinated kale, topped with olives, tomatoes and crumbled feta.</li></ul>

Example of using building blocks

<p>To be a faster, more creative cook, take a cue from restaurant chefs, J. Kenji López-Alt suggests, and rely on culinary building blocks.</p><UL><LI><div><button type="button" aria-haspopup="true" aria-label="" aria-describedby="unlockShareTooltip" aria-expanded="false"><span>Give this article</span></button></div></LI></UL><figure><picture><source media="(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/10/07/dining/05Kenji1/merlin_173126460_50bf539e-c8d9-49d6-8e5b-0b9d05eb58ff-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600"><source media="(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/10/07/dining/05Kenji1/merlin_173126460_50bf539e-c8d9-49d6-8e5b-0b9d05eb58ff-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200"><source media="(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/10/07/dining/05Kenji1/merlin_173126460_50bf539e-c8d9-49d6-8e5b-0b9d05eb58ff-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800"><img alt="This pepper-and-onion base can be used to enhance a number of dishes." src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/10/07/dining/05Kenji1/merlin_173126460_50bf539e-c8d9-49d6-8e5b-0b9d05eb58ff-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/10/07/dining/05Kenji1/merlin_173126460_50bf539e-c8d9-49d6-8e5b-0b9d05eb58ff-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 600w, https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/10/07/dining/05Kenji1/merlin_173126460_50bf539e-c8d9-49d6-8e5b-0b9d05eb58ff-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 1024w, https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/10/07/dining/05Kenji1/merlin_173126460_50bf539e-c8d9-49d6-8e5b-0b9d05eb58ff-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 2048w" width="600" height="400"></picture><figcaption dir="auto">This pepper-and-onion base can be used to enhance a number of dishes.
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Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.</figcaption></figure><div><span><button type="button"><span>Get it sent to your inbox.</span></button></span></div><p>When cooking for my family at home, I rarely use recipes. Instead, I’ll pull from a collection of what I refer to as culinary building blocks. And I’m not talking about a mental library of recipes and techniques (though those can help). I’m talking about actual, physical things.</p><p>Open my fridge, and you’ll find a shocking number of plastic deli containers and Mason jars. Homemade and store-bought sauces, dressings, condiments, pickles, chile oils, sauce bases, concentrated stocks, curry pastes — anything that can add a quick, easy boost of flavor to my meals — take up a good 40 percent of my shelf space.</p><p>Advertisement</p>

To be a faster, more creative cook, take a cue from restaurant chefs, J. Kenji López-Alt suggests, and rely on culinary building blocks.

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<p>To be a faster, more creative cook, take a cue from restaurant chefs, J. Kenji López-Alt suggests, and rely on culinary building blocks. </p>

<ul><li><div><span>Give this article </span>  </div> </li> </ul>

<p>When cooking for my family at home, I rarely use recipes. Instead, I’ll pull from a collection of what I refer to as culinary building blocks. And I’m not talking about a mental library of recipes and techniques (though those can help). I’m talking about actual, physical things. </p>

<p>Open my fridge, and you’ll find a shocking number of plastic deli containers and Mason jars. Homemade and store-bought sauces, dressings, condiments, pickles, chile oils, sauce bases, concentrated stocks, curry pastes — anything that can add a quick, easy boost of flavor to my meals — take up a good 40 percent of my shelf space. </p>

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Culinary building blocks

Freed from recipes

Example of using building blocks

Related collections

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