What is your one ingredient you don't skimp on??

[JessicaS]

What is the one staple food item you don't skimp on, even when you are trying to be super frugal?

Mine is balsamic vinegar, even if everything I am buying is the cheapo version (which is almost always ) nothing can replace a nice balsamic.

[Storm Bride]

hmm...I'll skimp on almost any staple, but not on my coffee. I like a really nice dark roast, and buy a shade-grown, organic, fair trade brand that I adore. I buy it on sale whenever possible, but I'll fork over the $17.00/pound if I run out. It's sooooo good. (I can't believe I actually used to drink the cruddy, sitting-on-the-element-for-two-hours coffee at the office.)

[Starflower]

Originally Posted by Storm Bride

hmm...I'll skimp on almost any staple, but not on my coffee. I like a really nice dark roast, and buy a shade-grown, organic, fair trade brand that I adore. I buy it on sale whenever possible, but I'll fork over the $17.00/pound if I run out. It's sooooo good. (I can't believe I actually used to drink the cruddy, sitting-on-the-element-for-two-hours coffee at the office.)

I'm with Storm Bride on this one. Mine is usually available at a decent price around here if I go to the natural market. (Of course, if I buy much other stuff there, it gets really expensive.) I even have a coupon for my next bag o' beans.

The other things I had originally thought of was fresh garlic, but I buy the conventional type and it's usually pretty cheap. I just don't skimp on the garlic when I cook - but that's a matter of personal taste rather than economics.

[sanguine_speed]

Organic canola oil. I will not buy the bulk containers of vegetable oil--they're almost always GMO.

[Pinoikoi]

Real vanilla. Years ago I had a boyfriend that regularly vacationed in Costa Rica and he would always bring back big jugs of real vanilla. Imitation vanilla (which I see all the time around here) just does NOT compare.

I am not with him any more but thankfully my classroom is RIGHT next to the Spanish teachers' room- and guess where the school trips go? Yep. Costa Rica.

[SeekingJoy]

Eggs. Free-range-in-a-neighbors-backyard real eggs. Before I switched to baking and cooking with them, I thought all eggs tasted the same. Nope!

[Fi'sMom]

Originally Posted by abimommy

What is the one staple food item you don't skimp on, even when you are trying to be super frugal?

Mine is balsamic vinegar, even if everything I am buying is the cheapo version (which is almost always ) nothing can replace a nice balsamic.

Hmmm.... Good question! Okay, I'll be honest.... Every single night I have a pint of either Stoneyfield Farm's Dark Chocolate frozen yogurt or So Delicious' coconut milk mint chip ice cream. My addiction is why we don't have a lot of money.

[Chamomile Girl]

Eggs. Free range organic. If I could find pastured I'd be over the moon. I'll pay whatever it takes because it is one of the few things I eat every day.

Butter. Organic locally produced butter is soooooo good. Sweet, creamy, delicious. Growing up the butter was always stale (and at my mom's house it still is). Bleah.

[Princess ConsuelaB]

Olive oil.
Or coffee, even if I can only have one cup every other day I will not buy cheapo coffee.

[zinemama]

Organic canola oil.

[Collinsky]

Butter. Although we have skimped due to absolute necessity at some points... but in general, we do not skimp on butter. Lots of other things get cut first!!!!

[tinybutterfly]

Good whole wheat bread. I like either Rudy's organic or Great Harvest, which is not organic, but is stone ground and freshly baked.

Organic butter.

[rainbowmoon]

maple syrup and good cheese!

[caiesmommy]

I don't really have one, I guess the closest is like pp and is maple syrup BUT Im lucky and live in the great white north and my family makes maple syrup so it's FREE most of the time

Salsa is actually one!!! We buy cheapo salsa if its being cooked BUT if its being eaten with chips we buy yummy fresh salsa. Jack's is our outright fave but I dig the name brand type too.

[Storm Bride]

Oh - people mentioned vanilla and maple syrup. Those. I don't use artificial vanilla. We do have faple syrup in the house, but that's because dh and the kids insist on using it.

[ledzepplon]

Maple syrup, and really good bread.

[Masel]

My first thought was parmesan cheese. You don't need nearly as much of the good stuff and a block will last us a long time.

After reading the other responses though I'd give up the cheese before I skimped on olive oil.

[Magelet]

Hmmm, I don't have just one, but several for sure.

butter-the nutrients in pastured butter are just so incredible, we'd cut down on a lot of things before we'd cut down on our butter consumption (quantity or quality, 1/2 lb a week per person.)

balsamic-I don't get the 60 dollars a bottle stuff(had that once on someone else's tab, OMG it was divine!), but aged for 5-10 years, high quality stuff. it goes so far with so little anyways, that a bottle lasts us maybe 6 months.

eggs-pastured, always. (I will admit to occasionally in the winter getting organic for baking purposes, but not because of money, simply for sheer availiblity. But 90% of the time, we go without rather than buy non-pastured. they cost a fortune (7-8 dollars a dozen), but again, they are nutritionally worth it. We just use them sparingly in winter when the chickens molt and they are hard to get.

Salt-because I get an employee discount real sea-salt isn't THAT expensive, but we always use the real unrefined seasalt. it tastes better and is so much healthier. (and we go through that stuff FAST. I mean a pound lasts maybe 1.5 -2 months)

[ursusarctos]

Organic free range eggs. They are 5 euros a dozen as opposed to the 1 euro a dozen of conventional, and we are poor students, but I will never buy conventional because they are just anemic and tasteless (and inhumane) compared to the free range organic ones.

Organic honey. DP never liked honey until I introduced him to organic raw honey and now he absolutely refuses to buy conventional.

Organic/wild meat. We decided we just wouldn't eat conventional anymore for ethical and health reasons. This has resulted in me now trying to learn how to identify and prepare cheaper, less well known cuts of meat because it's way too expensive for us otherwise.

Organic cultured butter when we can get it That's the one I have the most trouble with though - it's 10 euros a pound compared to the 1 to 4 euros of conventional And we also go through it fast.

[velochic]

Truffle oil. I love this as a small finishing drizzle on so many dishes.