I've been told I'm disgusting. I am actually feeling quite smug! (Lighthearted)

[AuntMatilda]

My Mum manages some properties as a part time job, her boss is an old friend. One tenant had left and returned to his home country (Egypt) and I went to help her clear the flat

He had left LOADS of food. Mostly sealed, in packets, some dried food (lentils, grains, pasta etc) in jars or huge tupperware containers.

Lots of (sealed) huge bags of herbs and spices.

I've taken the lot.

My opinion is, I hate food waste, the stuff that has already been opened and decanted into another container is dried stuff that will need to be boiled before consumption anyway, and the other stuff is sealed.
So I'm feeling smug about having lots of free food (I love cooking)! and also happy to be 'recycling'.
My Brother and some of my friends I've told have told me things like this is disgusting having someones 'second hand food' and that I should have chucked it all.

My only issue is, I don't know what some of it is. I am currently making a 'risotto' with some grain type thing -looks a bit like a cross between rice and bulgar wheat! So a few surprise dinners to come I think.
Am I gross or economical?

Rice is grown in paddy field flooded with sewage, spread on bamboo mats at the side of the road to dry, processed in factories in developing countries and packaged. It's a good job it's cooked before we eat it, and I don't think being placed in a sealed container in a clean kitchen suddenly makes it 'disgusting'

And if you read the instructions on lentil packets they advise you to rinse and check for stones before cooking.

Do people think packets of dried foodstuffs actually grow on trees untouched by human hands? Most of its pretty grim.

Sealed and labelled absolutely not a problem. Things I could identify (raw rice or pasta fine as well. I wouldn't personally take the opened spices, they go off easily. I wouldn't take anything I couldn't identify.

I don't see what's weird about it at all. It's no different from someone in a shop, farm or factory touching your dried food.
I don't really like eating biscuits made by snotty kids who scratch their bums, but I generally enjoy homemade gifts from adults!
Hope you enjoy your treasures OP.

I'd do the same. As would DH and are kids.

Sounds good, I'd have taken it too.

I would be delighted with such a loot

I think part of the 'disgust' is the unfamiliarity. Too forrin innit. If it were packets of crisps or the like I'm sure you wouldn't get the same reaction.

If the balls are quite big (lime sized) in the second pic... they could be dried limes. You can nibble a corner to find out...

The first pic, I think, is caraway? Could be Fennel.

Could the woody stuff be cassia bark?

I don't think the foreign-ness is a factor as much as people's hang-ups about germs and bacteria. I'm quite relaxed about germs and don't antibac the fuck out of th kitchen every 5 minutes.

Whenever we do a cottage rental holiday we always leave leftover kitchen stock neatly arranged so the cleaners can choose if they want it. I see this in the same vein. If you're happy to use it then enjoy your find!

The first pic looks like either fennel
Or caraway .

Sparkling I stayed with my friend who lives in Trinidad years ago, we were driving along and he ran over a manacou (sp) a bit like a possum. He put it in the boot of the car , I thought he was taking it home to give it a nice burial.

Guess what was served up for dinner < vom!

dudsville we once had a guest leave literally $100 of in date, unopened BBQ meat /veg etc . Can only assume they planned a final night BBQ, then got drunk and CBA

Creme that's awful.

This programme I saw the man was wondering if he could get the 'musky scent' out of a squished badger or something.

OP I hate food waste too and see no problem with you taking the leftover food supplies that would have been thrown out. A lot of dried goods basically never go off. Tins are good for yonks. Nothing disgusting about it. There's a food sharing app I use (to give and receive) called Olio you might be interested in x

Our neighbour used to clean a holiday cottage and the few times she wasn't around on the Saturday DP and I would do it for her. We arrived one day to find the fridge and cupboards full. We couldn't leave it so took it home with us.

I'm glad someone does this. We often leave unopened food behind at the end of the holiday, simply no room in the car or it's unsuitable for an 8-hr journey home. It's a waste to throw it away, so I always hope that the owner/cleaner takes it and uses it themselves.

In post-apolcayptic dramas I'm always surprised they don't have a scene where people are saying ' shit man, I can't believe I threw out that duck pate that was only a day out of date' as they chew on a dead rat.

I'll have a look at that app.
:)
I got some other things too, kitchen items and a garlic press. And a huge metal fan :)
I think he may be an exception because he was moving back to Egypt but it does annoy me the stuff some people abandon or throw out (as some other poster said earlier on the thread). We're a wasteful society.

I think it's fine OP! :) I completely agree with you about the food waste and would've done the same. I also think, as you've mentioned, that it's not too bad, as the grains will need to be cooked anyway before they're eaten.

Bon appétit! :)