Kitchen & Bar

On this phone

How to get around

The bar under the name is the map. Swipe it sideways if a destination sits off-screen. On Tonight, the button pinned to the bottom cooks the lead dish.

  1. Tonight — What you can cook first, plus drinks that fit the same shelf.

  2. This week — Five dinners from the shelf, urgent things cooked first.

  3. Shelf — Edit what you actually own.

  4. Written methods — Every dish and drink with a method somebody wrote out.

  5. The pantry — Start from one ingredient: what it does, and everything built on it.

  6. Out of it — What to use instead, judged by the job the missing thing was doing.

  7. Photo review — Review a demo shelf photo and confirm every item before adding it.

  8. Flavor Lab — Pairings with a track record: classic matches and the mixology behind them.

  9. Wild cards — Combinations with no tradition behind them, only shared aroma notes.

  10. Send to Occasion OS — Prepare confirmed shelf availability for Occasion OS.

  11. The field — The gap this layer owns.

Keep it on the home screen

  1. iPhone — tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.
  2. Android — open the browser menu, then Install app or Add to Home screen.

After that it opens as Kitchen & Bar, not a browser tab. Inventory stays on this device.

Substitutions · 13 dishes here use it

Out of panko

Larger, drier and shatterier than ordinary breadcrumbs, which is why it stays crisp when a fine crumb goes soggy. Toast it dry with a little oil and it works even on things that never see a fryer.

Everything below is judged against that job. A swap that covers it is a swap; one that only looks similar is not.

3 of the 13 dishes here that mention panko list it as optional — 23% of them. In those, the correct substitution is nothing.

What to reach for

Instead · 1

torn stale bread, blitzed or grated

one for one, loosely packed

What it gets you
Breadcrumbs, which is what panko is, and a coarser crumb browns beautifully.
What it costs you
The airiness. Panko is dried without crust and shatters; homemade crumbs are denser.

Instead · 2

crushed cornflakes or crackers

one for one

What it gets you
A crisp coating that stays crisp longer than breadcrumbs do.
What it costs you
Neutrality. Cornflakes are sweet and crackers are salty, so season accordingly.

Instead · 3

ground nuts or seeds

one for one

What it gets you
A crunchy, gluten-free crust with more flavor.
What it costs you
Heat tolerance. Nuts burn well before the food is cooked, so the oven comes down and the pan runs cooler.

Where you can just leave it out · 3

These dishes list panko as optional. They were written to work without it, so no ratio is needed and nothing has to be bought.

Where the swap will be tasted · 2

These need it and are short enough that nothing hides: 4 required ingredients or fewer, which makes panko a quarter of what is in the pan. Make the swap a decision rather than a repair.

Check what else is in the pan

The company panko keeps in this library, counted off required ingredients. A swap that argues with the top two is the wrong swap, whatever a chart says.

What to make with pankoRank what I can actually cookAll substitutions