It starts with a twist of the wrist, or so says chef Nancy Silverton in her new book of the same name. For Silverton, who squeezes orange juice for her son every morning, using canned and jarred items was not a concept she came to naturally. So what motivated this leading proponent of organic and sustainable produce to change her only-from-scratch standards and to go as far as to write a whole cookbook about it?

"I was alarmed that people were forgetting what to do in the kitchen," Silverton answers. "Everybody's so busy, they are turning to home-replacement meals to get dinner on the table. Even if they are forsaking fast food, they're buying takeout from supermarkets and gourmet stores. I wanted people to get in touch with the joy in preparing good food that fit within the parameters of their life."

RELATED Help for homemade meals can come from a bottle or can  Recipes for the new pantry  PHOTOS • Shortcut items to splurge on

It's a theme many high-profile cookbook authors are echoing lately. In "Rocco's 5 Minute Flavor" (Scribner, $26.95), Rocco DiSpirito, of TV's "The Restaurant" fame, freely uses boxed flavored couscous, packaged hummus and jarred sauces. The Food Network's "Quick Fix Meals" host and author Robin Miller also embraces pantry shortcuts like tubed polenta and canned chipotle peppers.

In preparation for her book, Silverton started hitting the supermarket and ethnic groceries looking for ingredient shortcuts and was surprised to see what was available. "There are now such high-quality convenience products that I feel even top chefs would not be able to tell the difference in a blind tasting."

A closer look at many new pantry items proves Silverton's point. Gone are the days when packaged necessarily meant heavily processed. Today's convenience foods are just as likely to contain organic ingredients as yesterday's were to be loaded with high-fructose corn syrup and modified cornstarch.

Silverton advises brightening the flavor of canned beans or tomatoes with fresh herbs, a squirt of fresh lemon juice or a dash of good olive oil. And don't overlook the capabilities of other staples like capers, canned anchovies or tuna packed in oil, high-quality oils and vinegars and even mayonnaise, which she easily turns into a restaurant-worthy aioli.

Sara Foster, author of "Sara Foster's Casual Cooking" (Clarkson Potter, $35), shares Silverton's enthusiasm for cooking with high-quality convenience items and embraces them in many of her delicious and easy-to-use recipes. A pork tenderloin is coated with hoisin sauce and Thai chile paste and served over quick-cooking rice noodles flavored with other Asian pantry staples, including mirin (Japanese cooking wine), Asian fish sauce and rice wine vinegar.

"There are so many new great food products," she says. "I see today's pantry having three components — the cupboard, the freezer and the refrigerator. Having the right stuff on hand can mean the difference between ordering a pizza and being able to make a satisfying meal, even at the last minute."

In Foster's book, canned artichoke hearts and beans are the foundations for easy dips. Frozen purchased puff pastry is the base for a tomato tart with goat cheese and fresh rosemary. She also gives the option to use jarred pasta sauces and roasted peppers, in addition to providing instructions for making the recipes entirely from scratch.

Foster, who also owns two successful gourmet takeout markets in Durham and Chapel Hill, N.C., straddles the line between cooking for people and encouraging them to cook at home, with this, her third cookbook. "I believe people do want to cook and eat better. The Food Network has created a lot of excitement for cooking with fresh and flavorful ingredients," she says.

Foster realizes that busy lifestyles often stand in the way of serious cooking. Her solution: "I encourage people to try to at least incorporate one homemade item in their meal. If you are making a main course, go ahead and buy a pre-made salad. If you are getting takeout, make a great side dish or dessert."

While many new products offer more convenience and flavor, they also come with a higher price tag. Alisa Berry, owner of Atlanta-based Bella Cucina Artful Food, a Mediterranean-inspired line of specialty foods, sees her role as an educator as much as a food manufacturer. "There is a difference in experiencing specialty food items, and there is a reason they cost more," she says. Her passata (nearly $8 for a 24-ounce bottle), a pureed tomato sauce, is made with San Marzano tomatoes grown in Italy especially for her line. The pure tomato flavor adds richness to soups, pasta sauces or bean dishes. Berry also uses it for an easy appetizer by baking it with fresh garlic, mozzarella and basil to spread on bread. "I believe people really want to eat better if there's an easy, convenient way to do it," she says. "Unfortunately, we have gotten so dependent on processed food with added salt and fat that many of us almost need to relearn how to taste real food."

Restocking your pantry with high-quality, timesaving products could be the first of many delicious lessons.

Top Shelf Shortcuts
20 pantry musts for time-stressed chefs who still demand quality

• 1 Capers - Add to tomato or butter sauces.
• 2 Canned beans - Toss with tuna or add to salads.
• 3 Hummus - Use as a dip, or as the base for a broth for mussels (see recipe on K9).
• 4 Swanson's Organic Chicken Broth - Use instead of water to brighten rice or couscous.
• 5 Rice noodles - Quick no-cook noodles say, "I'm exotic!"
• 6 Arborio rice - Can you say "risotto"?
• 7 Extra-virgin olive oil - Thanks to Rachael Ray, everyone knows EVOO.
• 8 Good-quality balsamic vinegar - Drizzle on berries or make into dressing.
• 9 Hoisin sauce - Transform a stir-fry pronto.
• 10 Peanut sauce - Add zip to steamed veggies.
• 11 Canned San Marzano peeled tomatoes - Pasta sauce must-have.
• 12 Thai chile sauce - Can you say HOT??? Gone are the days of depending on Tabasco and red chile flakes to tingle the tongue.
• 13 Sweet chile sauce - Great dip for fried shrimp.
• 14 Unsweetened coconut milk - Homemade curry in a flash.
• 15 Pasta - Boo Atkins, yea carbs.
• 16 Polenta - A change of pace from grits or pasta.
• 17 Couscous - 5 minutes; could a side dish get any easier?
• 18 Basmati rice - No more gooey rice.
• 19 Curry pastes - Add to coconut milk and you're a Thai chef.
• 20 Panko - Japanese bread crumbs give fried or baked food real crunch.