This is Starter Kit , a series where our editors share the food, drink, and kitchen essentials they recommend when you’re setting up from scratch. Here, Alaina Chou writes about everything you need to stock a pantry—whether you're a first-time cook, just moved, or finally did that long-overdue cleanout…

Believe it or not, before my pantry shelves devolved into a sprawling mess composed of seemingly every consumer packaged good known to man (which is what happens when you write about said goods for a living), there was a time when they were entirely empty. That time was nearly four years ago, when I first moved into my current apartment and had nary a spice jar or condiment to my name.

Building a pantry from the ground up may feel like a daunting task—it certainly did to me.…