If you are teaching Vegan Cookery, I think you need to have some special ingredients in your store cupboard for flavour, colour and surprise!

Vegan Cookery for Schools will have ideas.

Here’s ideas for herbs and spices, flavourings and ingredients that students use in small quantities to save them bringing in from home.

You can store some frozen extras to add colour and flavour like frozen garlic, chillies and ginger from Iceland.

Flavour, flavour

Spices and herbs

Savoury vegan dishes are often high in carbohydrate if they contain beans and lentils, so the recipes need careful flavouring with herbs and spices to make them taste delicious.  

My school stock cupboard had loads of spices but many of them were so old, they had no flavour and should have been chucked out. Why not buy a spice grinder and whizz up whole spices such as cumin and coriander seeds when you need them?

Useful spices – cumin, coriander, mustard seeds, celery seeds, black pepper – essential, cinnamon, paprika, smoked paprika, dried chilli flakes

Useful dried herbs – mixed herbs, 

Pots of flavour

Keep a supply of large bottles of soya sauce, tomato ketchup – store in fridge when open, mustard, chilli sauce, vinegar such as malt, wine and apple

Store extra ingredients in the freezer to add colour, flavour and nutrition to dishes. Supermarkets sell large, inexpensive packets of frozen vegetables for emergency use if students forget ingredients.

Freezer extras – Iceland does deliveries

• Frozen peas, sweetcorn, mixed peppers, mushrooms, cauliflower, carrots and spinach – much cheaper than fresh and ready prepared!
• Frozen chopped onions – I know it lowers the skill but onions are used in loads of recipes!
• Frozen garlic and fresh ginger – adds flavour
• Edamame beans – use for a lesson on soya

Large packets of essential extras

• Range of dried pasta shapes
• Flour – white, self raising, wholemeal, strong flour
• Cans of tomatoes
• Sugars – granulated, caster and brown
• Cornflour
• Rice – long grain, easy cook, risotto
• Couscous, Quinoa, 
• Dried pulses and beans – lentils, butter beans, kidney beans