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

If you use them all, it's fine.

Jams, pickles chutneys etc were made specifically because they didn't go off. They are a way of preserving fruits and vegetables and were never even kept in fridges not many years ago.

I reckon it is the reduced salt and sugar content that means needing to be stored in fridge. That and generally higher room temperatures and companies covering their arses.

The problem is not your fridge it’s your husband. Can you identify something he has lots of but doesn’t use. Then the conversation can go Hey I’m the cook in this house and I use these items and throwing them is wasteful. If you want to reduce the amount we have to move why don’t you start on your stuff Give examples 27 screw drivers, 5 drills, 50 golf balls, light bulbs from the car before last etc Then offer to compromise and say you will reduce the number of jars by the time you move if he does the same. Point him at I love Freegle to get rid so his stuff doesn’t go to waste. Meanwhile identify the jars with the least in and make sure to cook something with them. Every time you empty a jar make huge production disposing of it in front of him. If there is no progress on his disposals make a point of asking how it’s going. Ps don’t forget to make an After the move shopping list. Pps grrr pesto fur - anyone tried freezing remains? Or flooding top with olive oil?

Sort of. My mums fridge is like this and I can’t imagine for one second everything is in date and used.

Most things are use within 6 weeks and I just can’t see how someone has 15/20 jars of items they will used all within 6 weeks 🤣

but if you do.. fair enough! I’m a chronic fridge de-clutterer and can’t stand having jars of stuff that’s unused 🤣

The trouble with suggestions of putting things in ice cube trays is that not only do I have upward of about 20 jars and bottles floating around the place, the suggestion is also made for left over fresh herbs as well

Ice cube trays hold barely anything. My whole freezer would be full of these trays

Jars, bottles, pastes etc, dont go off. Pesto sometimes, but not chutneys, pickles, sauces. I certainly dont put things like soy sauce or harrissa or chipotle sauce in the fridge, thats in the spice cupobard. Jam, ketchup, mustard, mayo, thats in the cupboard. Chutneys and pickles are in the cupboard, olives in the cupboard. I think I have other jars in the fridge which I delve into from time to time. But its a whole shelf yes.

Snap! I’m adding as I go! Need rosemary and nutmeg next.

@bumchic theres loads of those items that definitely do not need to be in the fridge. I keep soy, ketchup, mustard etc in the cupboard. Opened jams go in the fridge and other opened jars and mayonnaise etc.

But they are absolutely crammed with salt. I’ve got a whole shelf of condiments etc too. I’d be bankrupt if I threw them away after 29 days.

@CAMHShelpdo you throw your tomato sauce etc out after twenty nine days?

That sounds like a shelf in my fridge. All of those are useful and are regularly used. I don't see an issue.

Branston and home made chutneys don’t need to go in the fridge.

Home made jam is more likely to go mouldy if it’s in the fridge. Soy sauce, chilli sauces, like Tabasco and Sriracha don’t need to go in the fridge either.

Your husband is a monster. Of course you need all those in your fridge. What is a fridge for if not for condiments, opened jars of preserves and cheese?

Re: pesto - if you wipe the empty top of jar clean with a bit of kitchen roll and cover the remaining pesto with a layer of olive oil it doesn't spoil.

Re: harissa - if you've got an open jar mouldering away, you aren't using it nearly enough! I go through buckets of the stuff. It's great in scrambled eggs

Jams and chutneys don't need to go in the fridge, that's the whole point of them. The vinegar or sugar preserves the fruit or veg so they can be stored at room temp. And yes I know jam gets mould on it sometimes but that just means you should be eating it faster. Never had mould on marmalade.

Our top shelf of the fridge is almost entirely condiments as well...but there are also several bottles in the door as well!

I check them when I clean the fridge, but dont stick rigidly to best before dates. Ive just checked the ketchup, it says consume within 8 weeks. Im the only person in the house that eats it (not particularly regularly) , I'm sure a bottle easily lasts me a year!

If you have the cupboard space. Things that are used less often work their way to the back of the cupboard then sit there going mouldy.

Jams these days need to be refrigerated after opening.

DH takes up half the fridge with his condiments. It drives me nuts. they are preserved in vinegar and oil and brine precisely so they don't need to be refrigerated. Meanwhile I have to stack meat and fish and veg and butter and cheese and leftovers into tottering piles

Mostly not. Obviously look carefully at them and give them a sniff, but I would say you can trust your eyes and nose better than a date on a label

Jams these days need to be refrigerated after opening.

@sashh This is true, I think it is because they try to put in less sugar.

Thank you for this thread. I have found my people.

If he doesn’t do the cooking, he has no say whatsoever. Tell him you will get rid of them if he prepares a two week meal plan which shows you don’t need them.

That said, I do think a house move is a great opportunity for a clear out. Start with his mancave/garage/shed/office wherever he stores all his crap important things.

Yes if it lasts that long

Do people write on the date when they open a product?
We very occassionally do for passatta, when we put in the fridge but I wouldn't for eg tomato ketchup, or jam, or condiments. I couldnt tell you how old most of them are. Even in months and certainly not days!
I know there's a bottle of teriyaki sauce thats probably a year old because DD brought it back from uni, having bought near the beginning of term last year

I have a colleague that follows these religiously. If she opens biscuits in the break room, she’ll label the date they were opened and has a weekly clear out of any such items.

She told us about throwing out a wheel of speciality cheese she was gifted at Christmas because one of her children had unwrapped it to have a look without telling her and she “just couldn’t risk it” because it was use within 3 days.

Seems crazy to me.

Here i have found my people.

My friend has 4 condiments in her fridge and no sauces, jars, pastes, spreads . . . and she thinks i'm the weird one.

At the last count I had 35.