The Perfect Pantry®

Saffron (Recipe: lamb tagine with prunes and apricots)

In numerology, three can be lucky or unlucky.

Bad luck comes in threes, they say, but the third time's a charm.

For saffron, three is an auspicious number -- the number of stigmas, what we recognize as saffron threads, in each crocus flower.

Only three. Which is why it takes more than 70,000 flowers to yield one pound of saffron. Which is why saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.

Dry bread crumbs (Recipe: chipotle meatloaf)

Updated February 2011.

If fresh herbs are better than dried, why are dry bread crumbs sometimes better than fresh?

Dry bread crumbs, made from dry or toasted bread, are used to add bulk to meat dishes (think meatballs and meat loaf) and crunch to casserole toppings, which is why most of us have them in the pantry. They're easy to make, but even easier to buy, and they have an incredibly long shelf-life.

Limes (Recipe: lime curd)

Persian limes (also known as Tahiti limes) come from Mexico.

And Argentina.

And India and Brazil and Spain and Turkey and Chile and, yes, from Iran (also known as Persia).

Talk about an identity crisis.

Other People's Pantries #4

From Mary (Sweet Mary) in Providence, Rhode Island:

My current apartment is in a house that is almost a hundred years old and has a lot of character. The big old sink and glass cabinets are actually separate from the rest of the kitchen in a small room that feels like a pantry unto itself. Nothing but shelves and drawers in there. So, I have tons of space for all of my stuff, as well as incredible light all day long. It's a funky old kitchen that I really enjoy working in.

On Saturdays, we peek into Other People's Pantries.

Come on -- show us your pantry! Here's how.