To have a whole fridge shelf for condiments/jars?

[bumchic]

DH thinks I have a problem. I think they’re all used fairly often. Moving house and he’s adamant they’re not all coming with us.

mustard - whole grain, Dijon, hot dog
ketchup
chili sauces - Nando’s x2, sweet chilli, chile crisp, gochujang
jams - marmalade, lemon curd, strawberry, seedless raspberry
pickles - Branston, red onion chutney, cornichons, pickled onions, sliced jalapeños, capers, black olives, green olives, picalilli
misc - BBQ sauce, tamarind paste, mint sauce, cranberry sauce, horseradish, mayo

They are all different. If you had multiples of the same thing, that might be a problem, but they're all different and delicious.

Have you checked the dates?

Can you post a photo of this shelf?!

Sounds like my fridge. Add wasabi, ginger, sundried tomatoes, anchovies ... I love a full top shelf!

I have a whole drawer and a few on the shelves.

Yes I would destash to move. But otherwise - who gives a fuck.

Half of those things live in the cupboard here. I still have a whole shelf of jars.

Sounds a lot like my fridge!

I have 2 shelves in the fridge and a pull out corner cupboard for dry spices and stock cubes etc

Yes, post a photo OP.

It does seem a lot, but if you use them all then I don’t see a problem.

Who checks dates?! Surely you just open and check for mould and then grumble when the tahini you opened three years ago now isn't usable and you have a hankering for houmous!

But if you don’t take them, what does he propose? Throwing them away? That’s so wasteful and silly.

Sounds like our fridge with a load of various chutneys too. Red onion, apple and pear, tomato, chilli jam etc

Half of those can be in the cupboard. I'd have no room for any fresh food in mine with all that!!

Most of those go in the fridge door shelves rather than in the main body of the fridge in our house. For most, if they’ve been open for more than 6 weeks, they need to be binned. That said, we have one chilli sauce, one type of mustard, and none of the pickles (can see that those might take up a full shelf!)

We do have an entire shelf dedicated to beer, wine, mixers for drinks though

For most, if they’ve been open for more than 6 weeks, they need to be binned.

That is so wasteful. Most of them are literally the way food is preserved and don't even really need refrigerating.

This is exactly like my fridge!

This actually feels like the perfect thread to ask something that’s irking me…

Does anyone follow the ‘use within…’ instructions on the back of those jars? Do you throw out mustard if you haven’t finished it in 4 weeks? And does everyone get through a jar of jalapeños in a week?
I’m pretty cautious about use by dates, but some of these seem crazy.

Sounds entirely normal. From memory in my fridge I have...

Ketchup
Mayonnaise
English mustard
Dijon
French
Whole grain
American
Lime and lemon juice
Sun-dried tomatoes
Strawberry jam
Damson jam
Apricot jam
Gherkins
Chilli jam
Mango chutney
Fig chutney

Every single one of them serves it's own purpose. I only throw things away when they are mouldy or all dry. I used some sun-dried tomatoes today, no idea when I opened them but they tasted fine so it would be a waste not to use them. I generally don't look at dates for anything, if it looks ok and it smells fine then I'll eat it.

I try and consider the pastes that are use within four weeks so I can make sure I use them up. I do tend to chuck out the ones that say chuck after four or six weeks as it feels like they probably do go off.

I bloody love a condiment!

YANBU. I have two.

Top shelf of our fridge is like this.
One of the door shelves too.

And I have a separate fridge for booze!

I have all of that plus those herbs paste tubes, salad dressing, kimchi, and we keep the ketchup in the fridge as we like it cold.

I am pretty lax on the use by dates when opened tbh. I know it's not recommended but I haven't had food poisoning yet

As long as they're used (and slightly sticky) it's quite acceptable 😀

Nope, some of mine are probably years old. Open up, check for mould or a bad smell. The high salt/sugar/acid content preserves them.

We have a condiments fridge. Condiments and about 37 types of milk alternatives. But predominantly it contains condiments.

This is me. And no, I'm not checking any use by dates. I'll throw it out if there's mold on it.

You're missing alioi and tatare sauce but otherwise seem well supplied. Hope there are unopened back up chutneys in the cupboard!