515923 Mon May 05 05:27:57 -0700 2008 26 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 3656913 Now, I have to confess to being somewhat of a food hoarder. I have a horror of running out of anything. Result: my cupboard's are full to overflowing and I could feed an army in an instant! At all times I have to have: EVOO (one for cooking, one for salads etc) Rapeseed oil and walnut oil Tinned tomatoes Passata and tomato puree Tinned beans (kidney, cannellini, borlotti, Heinz baked, chickpeas) Sherry/balsamic/red wine/rice vinegar Tuna in olive oil Tinned sardines Bottled artichokes and other antipasti Several types of mustard and other condiments including pesto Ketchup and brown sauce Horseradish Various types of flour including bread flour Coconut milk Fish sauce Oyster sauce Soy sauce Basmati/jasmine rice A zillion different types of pasta (De Cecco brand) Ditto but with noodles Crackers Spices (I just had to buy a large box to put the overflow in from the spice drawer) Porridge oats Nuts Quinoa Bulgar wheat Couscous etc etc I really need to stop buying things on impulse and because we might have run out - we never have! But frankly I think I am beyond help. So what's in your pantry, Chowhounds? Mon May 05 05:27:58 -0700 2008 110146 greedygirl 1 3657007 Mustard Mon May 05 06:19:48 -0700 2008 3656913 12630 beevod 1 3657737 I made an word document of my pantry one cold winter day in hopes of not buying things I already have, and this was before Dunlop's COTM which added a good 20 ingredients or so, and I was up to about 250 items or so. I tend to have 5-6 olive oils at a time, plus several nut oils and grapeseed oil, 6-7 vinegars, various mustards, numerous kinds of rice (arborio, jasmine, basmati, brown basmati, Bomba, instant rice for the dog, etc.), too many kinds of salt, tons of dried chilis that I've not used, same with honeys, random odd things that pique my interest that I've done nothing with, about 15 bags of spices and spice mixtures that my husband brought me from Jordan, and jello and packets of chicken soup for when I'm not feeling well! Mon May 05 09:58:05 -0700 2008 3656913 10985 MMRuth 2 3657798 Has it worked? I need to do something about my storecupboard obsession before it's too late and I can no longer get in the kitchen! Mon May 05 10:12:22 -0700 2008 3657737 110146 greedygirl 3 3657812 No, it has not worked. Hadn't looked at it again until today! My two above the sink cupboards have branched out into large grocery bags of ingredients, arranged by ethnicity (loads of Asian noodle products, rice paper etc., also a bag of grains for Flexitarian), a stockpot full of bottles of Dunlop ingredients, and baskets hanging inside my coat closet with Indian and other less used ingredients. Mon May 05 10:16:47 -0700 2008 3657798 10985 MMRuth 2 3662414 I *should* do this for my pantry (I have a small printed version for the freezer downstairs). I know I've probably got 10 or more mustards, at least 4-6 honeys, various spices I haven't moved to my spice cabinet (because there's no room), and lord knows what. Next rainy weekend.... :-) Tue May 06 13:38:30 -0700 2008 3657737 10532 LindaWhit 3 3662417 I do have three jars of the exact same Maille coarse grain Dijon mustard, as I always think that I've run out. The key, I guess, is to actually use one's list! Tue May 06 13:39:50 -0700 2008 3662414 10985 MMRuth 4 3662982 I do actually use the downstairs freezer list - it's the pantry one I'm afraid of not using. But then again - by making one, I'll probably find things I forgot I had! LOL Tue May 06 16:35:21 -0700 2008 3662417 10532 LindaWhit 1 3657837 I, too, have a tendency toward the excesses of the pantry. I don't even want to make an accounting, but my guess is "many of the above, and some others, with still more on that dratted list." :-) I do, however, have two secret weapons in my pantry that serve to keep me (somewhat) reined in: One, the seasonal (and detested) influx of grain miller moths. They keep me down to a reasonable stash of grains and other things-beloved-by-moths; Two, my Hub, who in his Super Hero guise is known as "Inventory-and-Rotation Man." I can't say enough about this wonderful service! I think I need to get him a special cape. Good luck, pantry-hoarders. I feel your pain. And covet your wares. Cay Mon May 05 10:23:51 -0700 2008 3656913 49525 cayjohan 2 3658101 My super hero is known as "The Man Who Can't Find What He Wants in the Pantry Even When It Is Staring Him in the Face". When I lived in Miami, I found that keeping grains in the freezer helped with the moths etc. Mon May 05 11:22:33 -0700 2008 3657837 10985 MMRuth 3 3658353 I've got one of those too. Also known as The Man Who Gets a Takeaway Because He Can't Find Anything to Eat". Mon May 05 12:14:42 -0700 2008 3658101 110146 greedygirl 3 3659516 Sad fact of the matter is this: my freezer "pantry" is stuffed as well! Perhaps this the grim price of preparedness! Although I will rationalize and say that a fuller chest freezer operates more efficiently...I hope. :-) Still, I have some great jars that work extremely well in defeating the wily moth. It's the dang "crisp' plastic wrappers on Asian noodles that the moths seem to eat through. Hmm...perhaps more jars. The Hub needs more to Inventory and Rotate to keep up his certification!. Cay Mon May 05 17:12:18 -0700 2008 3658101 49525 cayjohan 3 3662307 "My super hero is known as "The Man Who Can't Find What He Wants in the Pantry Even When It Is Staring Him in the Face"." I hadnt realised we'd met. J Tue May 06 13:14:25 -0700 2008 3658101 154102 Harters 4 3662315 Email me if you like - address in profile - in case my husband is leading a double life of which I am unaware - maybe he is Thermoman! Tue May 06 13:15:55 -0700 2008 3662307 10985 MMRuth 2 3658349 I had an infestation of pantry moths once - I didn't realise until I found maggots crawling up the cupboard wall! Totally grim. As MMR says, freezing your grains will help. I can't fit anything else in my cupboards at the moment. Can I borrow your hubbie? Mon May 05 12:13:38 -0700 2008 3657837 110146 greedygirl 2 3659004 Seriously like that super hero guise; tell Inventory-and-Rotation Man how coveted his powers are on CH. My super hero is Pizza-ordering Man. Mon May 05 14:45:19 -0700 2008 3657837 13416 ElissaInPlaya 1 3660093 I think we need to rename this thread "What Superhero is in your pantry?" I'm loving it! I will not add in a Superhero joke, as I am married to a true saint who is a complete enabler in the kitchen, and turns into reality my every whim (with a few suggestions for menus and a few technique notes from me... I'm the idea person in the relationship!) But my Superhero tends to motor through anything chocolate, it's hard to keep this in the pantry as a result. My pantry resembles MMRuth's pantry in may ways. I am a terrible hoarder. Most of the stuff in our pantry will get used up in good time, but I am having some trouble with the dried Korean ingredients (do ddok, anyone? Mum just sent me 3 large packages of dried). I don't cook enough Korean to get through the large quantities of ingredients my mum is kind enough to send me... But the nice thing is that these dried ingredients are very long-lasting. I was also given a couple of very lovely gifts of canned abalone from some Chinese patients, but I have not yet found a good way to use them... Toying with an abalone in clay pot dish, but it calls for a dried frog, and I have not yet located this item, and frankly I am a little nervous to try using this. I saw a picture of the dried frog, and it kind of gives me the heeby-jeebies (I am very fond of live frogs - not to eat, but to look at, and for some reason don't feel compelled to eat them. Whereas yummy little piglets....) I also got a gift of some unidentified Chinese dried herbs. I've identified a few, like the dried lotus seeds, and something that may be a type of dried gland. It is clear that these are the basis of a chinese herbal soup. I have a recipe (same source as the abalone/pig foot/dried frog in clay pot), but again, I am nervous about trying to make this based on my previous experience with Chinese herbal soups, which can be very strongly flavoured. As well, the ingredients have a very strong odor, and they have been relegated to the stinky corner (along with some baccalao - whew, very strong odor corner). I may not get the courage to try the soup. But I feel too guilty to toss out what is a very thoughtful gift (the lady also gave me some wonderful Asian pears ad other fruit!), so I may be forced to try and make it. Anyone who wants to come and help eat it is welcome!! Mon May 05 20:40:05 -0700 2008 3656913 89969 moh 1 3660143 Your pantry sounds a bit like mine (minus the Ketchup). We have a flea market with a grocery. I get good Italian pasta for .50 and can't resist when I find organic, whole wheat. Spices don't go in my pantry--I have 4 cupboards full of spices, vinegars, etc. I order a pound of peppercorns at a time (Penzy's). We also check the bargain baskets at our local discount grocer and recently found premium tamari (large size) for .30 and bought 5 or 6 and jars of pine nuts also for .30 (we bought all they had). Can't you tell that we are major bargain hunters?? If I did a list of my pantry, it would take all night. LOL . No matter what happens, we won't go hungry. We also have a large freezer that we keep filled. Mon May 05 21:12:34 -0700 2008 3656913 123710 pepperqueen 1 3660426 I am the same way. I am always worried about running out of something while cooking or baking so I tend to overload on staples. For example I was making homemade cinnamon rolls last week and I used up what I thought was the last of my sugar. Of course I looked thru every cabinet and my pantry and my island and nope. was out. Made a point of going to the store the next day to make sure I had enough sugar on hand for my next project. LOL I go to put it away and there right in plain sight is an unopened bag of sugar I knew I had but couldn't find for the life of me. My cupboards are over loaded with: flour semolina flour sugar powdered sugar brown sugar spices olive and reg oils vinegars salt 3 kinds pepper 3 jars rice worchestershire sauce mustard ketchup oatmeal It would take a month of sunday's to list everything. I also keep my extra freezer well stocked with chicken and beef stock, ginger root, you name it. We wouldn't have to go shopping for prob a few months if need be. We don't drink milk and I make our bread and rolls so we all set. I have to wonder what I did at my old house with half the cupboard and pantry space.. Tue May 06 03:45:01 -0700 2008 3656913 180068 Smileelisa 1 3660903 I don't share the same issues of many who have posted they have too much. Generally we eat to the back of the cabinets before we replenish. I do always have basic baking supplies on hand as I bake more than any human has a right to, probably at least three days a week. This includes AP Flour Whole Wheat Flour Whole Wheat White Flour Sugar Dark Brown Sugar Light Brown Sugar Baking Powder Baking Soda Salt Vanilla and other extracts Unsweetened Applesauce (I always sub this for oil) The other items I am never without are Canned Tomatos (various incarnations) Garbanzo Beans Black Beans Artichoke Hearts Sweet and Hot Salad Peppers Sundried Tomatoes Dried Cranberries Old Fashioned Oats Peanut Butter (we panic if we have less than half a jar) The pantry is also loaded with my husbands protein powders. Bleck! I did have a rather large spice collection until a few days ago. When I got married recently i was stoked as my husband came with a HUGE array of spices. I had used several of them, but noticed they seemed a tad stale and some were clumped up. I asked him about it and he told me that they'd been in storage in VA for the past three years while he was in Germany and he was unsure how long they'd been around before that. I ended up going through them one by one and tossing probably 25 different jars. The selection is a bit smaller, but I know everything I have is good. Tue May 06 07:41:05 -0700 2008 3656913 82243 ArikaDawn 1 3662295 Self discipline, GG. 'tis all that's needed. I used to have a serious mustard-purchasing addiction. But I'm on programme for that now. Just allow myself English, Dijon and coarse grain (and Mrs H insists we also have that brown one that's called "French mustard" in the UK but you can't get in France as its all she likes with her steak). The big discipline came last autumn. We had the builders in to completly rebuild/refit the kitchen and create a utility room. Meant we had to pack everything up - but what we actually did was throw away all the half empty packs of pasta, jars of chutney, out-of-date spices, etc. Now I only buy for stock when I need something. I am resisting a trip to Lidl as I know I'll find stuff so cheap I gotta have it - just in case, like, you know. Oh, yeah. And as the weather's getting better that means we'll be able to eat outside. Which means middle-eastern food. Which means I've got to go to the ethnic shops. Which means I won't have enough cupboards.......... What I'd really like, though, is a proper old-fashioned pantry. A real separate room. My sister in law had one when she lived in Mallorca (phonetically, it's a "riboste" in Catalan). Well ventilated and cool little room designed into houses in the time before fridges. Tue May 06 13:12:29 -0700 2008 3656913 154102 Harters 2 3662450 No, no, no Harters! A mustard-purchasing addiction is a GOOD thing to have! LOL One can never have too many kinds of mustard! Dijon? Check. Gulden's Spicy Brown? Check. Stoneground/Coarse? Check. Roasted Garlic and at least 5-6 other flavored mustards? Check. Go forth and resume your addiction. Join the rest of us. It really is a fun, mustardy world. :-) Tue May 06 13:46:18 -0700 2008 3662295 10532 LindaWhit 3 3662923 Saffron mustard Check Pesto mustard Check Cranberry Mustard, why yes. lol... Tue May 06 16:07:30 -0700 2008 3662450 13416 ElissaInPlaya 1 3663283 Moths. They are really hard to get rid of. Tue May 06 18:32:00 -0700 2008 3656913 87837 RGC1982 1 3665930 Wait. This sounds almost identical to my pantry, plus my pantry has Japanese food, several types of liquor, and several types of rice. Actually, I'm pretty sure my pantry has more stuff, b/c I also keep on hand several types of nuts (heaven forbid I run out of pine nuts! Or cashews. Or toasted sunflower seeds. Or slivered almonds. Or walnuts. Omg. I will stop here, lest people think I'm a nut freak.), different types of flour (cornmeal, whole wheat and regular, rye, buckwheat, and sooji coarse), and several types of sugar. I blame this hoarding on the recipes that call for 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar (so now I'm stuck with a damn box) or 2 tablespoons of brandy, etc. But you call your pantry hoarding? I just thought I had a reasonably-stocked pantry in case a)I am stuck in a blizzard (in Northern California where it never snows, mind you) and can't get to a store and I need to throw a dinner party with just the ingredients I have or b)(a more reasonable concern) an earthquake hits, and I need to survive on sundries for a few days or c)I want to have enough food options for the days I feel lazy and don't feel like going to replenish my food supply. I wonder if I have a hoarding problem, too. . . Wed May 07 14:23:32 -0700 2008 3656913 116395 anzu 2 3666011 LOL. You've all made me feel better about my obsessive food hoarding now. The thing is, I live in London and it's ten minutes walk to practically anything I might want to buy, so I don't really have an excuse! Wed May 07 14:47:34 -0700 2008 3665930 110146 greedygirl 1 3667473 I always have stocked in my cabinets the basic condiments, sauces and oils for an Asian stir-fry, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, Spanish olives, hot sauce, couscous, various kinds of rice, various pastas, udon and soba noodles, canned tomatoes, canned soups for casseroles and last minute lunch, polenta, capers, Balsamic vineger, Japanese Mirin, Trader Joe's Marinara sauce, canned tuna, bouillon cubes and/or veggie stock, lots of spices, flour, sugar and other baking supplies, ketchup, HP sauce, Birds Custard powder, Fox's and Jacob's biscuits, and Bisto instant gravy from the UK, Wheat Thins, lots of bulk nuts, pretzels and lots of other snacks in unopened plastic bags, packets of instant Japanese curry sauce, dried nori seaweed, bonito flakes, canned beans, cereal, oatmeal and ground peanut and almond butters. Whew! I am a total food hoarder. And don't even get me started on the alcohol shelf. Thu May 08 03:50:51 -0700 2008 3656913 124476 FoodieKat