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

My fridge is the same. Add in 3 half used reggae reggae sauce( I’m looking at you son). But why is it when I go to use the one I need for that meal it’s either almost empty or mouldy? Apple sauce being the worst offender.

Same.
Two shelves in the door of the fridge and one shelf in the cupboard. Ketchup, mustards, chutneys are all in the cupboard and kept long past by their best before dates with no issues.

Oh god me too! I think I need a condiments fridge, not a condiments shelf 😂
Good point that someone made about checking the use by dates though...

2 door shelves and almost the full top shelf here 🤷🏼‍♀️
And no, no date checking here. Occasionally ill unscrew a lid to check it if I haven't used it for a while and look for fur. No fur, back in the fridge.
Pesto drives me nuts though, that stuff always goes mouldy before I finish a jar 😑

I have three fresh Sainsbury’s deliveries/week ( I look for the green van icon so someone else on my road has already scheduled a delivery at the same time) as our very large fridge is half full with lots of long term items (those you listed but also ground coffee, tonic, white wine, beer, maple syrup, Siracha mayo, kimchi, home made fermented salsa, cordials, monin syrups etc. etc.). We also have a manky cellar fridge with nam pla and other rarely used things that it feels safer to keep chilled.
I cook all our meals pretty much from scratch so use the sauces etc. to add depth of flavour and interest etc.. Plus fussy teens and us all want different versions: eg we have three types of crispy chilli. I do dream of a rationalised fridge but figure if I really wanted it to be clear of condiments I’d already be there.

Snap. I thought yes yabu, because lots of this could be in a cupboard and there would be more room for other jars 😁

Everyone always jokes that our fridge is 90% condiments. You never know when you are going to need them though! I vote keep them all!!

We have shelves.... And a cupboard for the yet to be opened / unrefrigerated ones. If you don't have a full shelf what do you eat with your cheese and crackers?

I don’t get keeping ground coffee in the fridge. We get through 250g a week so it has no time to go stale?

Also I get it about some going in the cupboard but I feel like with my lax attitude towards use by dates (v glad to have found my sisters on this thread) maybe fridge over cupboard is helping me out a bit.

And totally agree on pesto - mould within hours! I hate the jarred supermarket stuff but it is good for kids’ quick teas.

I also keep soy sauce, mirin, fish sauce and Shaoxing in the fridge but not sure I need to? Thinking of it they’re prob sugary/salty/fermented enough as it is.

Chuckjng them all out and starting again is exactly what DH is proposing ahead of our move btw. What a waste! I do all cooking and meal planning and am not hugely keen on his helpful tips like this.

I did go through my shelf and chucked out the dubious stuff, dh cheered!

You need a big cool bag. Maybe ditch any that only have a few teaspoons left in them to prune them back a little?

We write the date they've been opened in Sharpie on the jar/lid, and ditch anything that's seriously well over the time limit suggested.

Many of those things don’t need to be in the fridge if they are “preserves” of any sort. Just make sure you use a clean spoon when serving. We never keep mustard to ketchup in the fridge or pickles etc. Mayo should go in the fridge

My fridge is very similar... most of the top shelf and one shelf in the door 😂

We’ve recently started this system too. I used to forget how long things had been open and then randomly panic after a bit and throw a jar away. Now we have a roll of masking tape and a pen in the kitchen and stick a little date label on. I don’t follow the dates religiously at all, but at least I now know if things were opened this year. I was starting to wonder if I should be more strict, but it sounds like I don’t need to bother.

I have a full jar shelf too. Pickles, dressings, jams, spreads, spice pastes etc. I have done for probably more than ten years!

What you have is perfectly normal but much of it doesn’t need to be stored in the fridge.

Soy sauce, mirin etc definitely NOT in the fridge

On a slight tangent, cold ketchup is rank.

We have the full top shelf and two door shelves devoted to condiments, pickles, chutneys etc. It’s an under-counter fridge so small to start with. If I ever get one of those mega fridges I’ll dedicate half of it to stuff in bottles and jars. A lot of it is homemade and not properly labelled which adds a bit of fun peril/opportunity to the day.

Sounds like my fridge

Snap! Same exactly.
This is my herb and spice drawer, alphabetised more or less

Checked the dates? CHECKED THE DATES?

In my day, we didn't have dates on things, and everything was fine, and it came in a brown paper bag or waxed paper.
Yes, we had dysentery and cholera and bombsites but we were happy.

If only we could turn the clock back (sigh).

Who does the cooking?

I also keep soy sauce, mirin, fish sauce and Shaoxing in the fridge but not sure I need to? Thinking of it they’re prob sugary/salty/fermented enough as it is.
Chuckjng them all out and starting again is exactly what DH is proposing ahead of our move btw. What a waste! I do all cooking and meal planning and am not hugely keen on his helpful tips like this

I also think it's a waste of money and resources to throw them away to then just need to buy them all again. That said, the rice wine etc can be stored on a shelf, that's where mine are along with various vinegars, soys and the Worcestershire sauce. Though keep the fish sauce on the fridge.
We have a shelf full of condiments, and I keep our ketchup etc and jams in the fridge too

🤣