Good morning. We’re continuing our year-long journey through the top ingredients you should shop for and keep on hand. So far we’ve covered gochujang and anchovies, and today we’re continuing with another versatile pantry favorite: panko.

INGREDIENT DEEP DIVE 🍳

Panko breadcrumbs

What is it?

Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb made from crustless white bread that’s processed into larger airy flakes. Unlike traditional breadcrumbs, panko stays lighter, crispier, and crunchier—even when baked or deep fried. The texture is much coarser and distinct than finely ground traditional breadcrumbs.

• Nowadays, you can find it in nearly every major grocery store, typically near the Asian ingredients or in the baking/breadcrumb section.

What’s its flavor?

Texture: Ultra-light, crisp, flaky

Sight: Large, irregular flakes instead of fine crumb make fried foods more appealing

Human: Panko usage is signature to Japanese style fried katsu cutlets, although it’s becoming a standard option in other cuisine dishes (like chicken parm, for example)

Why should you buy some?

Panko is one of the easiest ways to add reliable crunch to dishes.

Once you get into dredging & frying, breadcrumbs become an essential pantry staple. Traditionally breadcrumb texture might be better for certain dishes like a light Schnitzel coating, but Panko’s large flakes perform just as well in pretty much every other application. Use it as your go-to coating, topping, or even binder.

• It’s a cheap, long lasting pantry staple. You’re gonna have to buy breadcrumbs at some point, so you might as well buy panko.

What else can you make with it?

• Make crispy chicken cutlets, tofu, or fish katsu

• Toast in butter and sprinkle over pasta, veggies, or casseroles for instant crunch

• Mix into meatballs or meatloaf for a lighter, fluffier texture

• Top mac and cheese, baked eggs, or roasted broccoli

• Use as a binder in crab cakes, salmon cakes, or veggie patties

RECIPE RECS ✅

Try panko on these recipes

Check out our collection of cutlets and other crispy-golden brown dishes that use a breadcrumb coating:

READER Q&A 🧠

Storebought vs freshly made tortillas

Answer: Store-bought tortillas are designed to survive weeks on a shelf, which means added stabilizers and preservatives. Those extras make them chewier, thicker, and less flavorful.

• They also lose moisture & retrograde over time (think: staling), so you really have to add moisture & warm them up properly to revive them.

Restaurant and homemade tortillas are the opposite:

• Made with fewer ingredients (like pure masa for corn tortillas, or only 4 ingredients in flour tortillas)

• Pressed and cooked fresh (or rewarmed) often minutes before serving, which makes them softer, more aromatic, and much more flexible

If you want a middle ground at home, look for par-baked or “half-cooked” tortillas. You finish them in a hot skillet for 30–60 seconds per side, and the difference is huge — better aroma, better puff, better texture, without the whole process of making the dough from scratch.

Or, you can accept the staling that happens with mass produced corn tortillas, and fry them up into different textures and applications, as Ethan demonstrated in this video.

Have a culinary question? Reply to send it in for a chance to be featured and get your question answered.

WINNING READER SUBMISSION 🏆

Gnocchi

This week’s dinner winner is Alison M., who made butternut squash gnocchi in a browned butter sage sauce with collard greens.

Reply with your best home-cooked food photos for a chance to win & be featured!

EXTRA HELPINGS 🍽️

A read: Does soda without corn syrup taste better?

In a minute or less: How to make anything a pretzel

What we’re watching: The internet's new favorite bread

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