Hoarding Ingredients - suffering from Allgoneophobia?

[Tropicalsenior]

30 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Today's loot. Not exactly ingredients as such but definitely edibles

You are not alone! This is what is left of a ten bag stash of butterscotch caramels that I hadn't seen on the shelves for about a year. my housemate has a terrible sweet tooth and I buy them for him on the nights that we don't have dessert. My weakness is also ginger candy but I make my own. In large quantities of course. I think I have about a quart and a half left.

[Tropicalsenior]

9 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

This is what is left of a ten bag stash of butterscotch caramels

Hmm, four doesn't seem like very many, maybe I better stop writing and go see if they have anymore.

[lindag]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

Today's loot. Not exactly ingredients as such but definitely edibles.

 

 

First I found my favourite seaweed crackers in a different supermarket after doing without for weeks  I know I have some in my place in the countryside, but getting there and back involves a 36km round trip  (and I will need them there later). Picked up 4 packs. Would have taken more, but I already had a load of other stuff to carry.

 

The small yellow boxes contain ginger chews which, despite having no sweet tooth, I rather like. They are sugar-free. I haven't seen those for about a year, so I picked up 8.

I'll get more of both later in the week.

In your hot and steamy weather, how is it you are able to store things like crackers without them  going stale?

[liuzhou]

46 minutes ago, lindag said:

In your hot and steamy weather, how is it you are able to store things like crackers without them  going stale?

 

They are well packed by the manufacturer. Never had a problem with them.

 

Anyway, they are never stored for long. No matter how many I buy, I seem to get through them far too quickly.

[Heartsurgeon]

We've all made a quintuple reduction duck stock, ending up with an elixir "too precious to use"

 

kinda like that rare bottle of wine you keep, waiting for a real special moment that never comes....

[Anna N]

49 minutes ago, Heartsurgeon said:

We've all made a quintuple reduction duck stock, ending up with an elixir "too precious to use"

 

kinda like that rare bottle of wine you keep, waiting for a real special moment that never comes....

Ah you are understanding the TRUE nature of this affliction!  

[Tropicalsenior]

10 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Ah you are understanding the TRUE nature of this affliction!

Thank you, everyone. I am so relieved to know that I am not alone in this affliction. Now I just need to know what I can do to cure it. I read the topic, Cooking Your Freezer, but it didn't help. It seems like everything in my freezer is "too precious to use". I'm quickly running out of room, I need help.

[chefmd]

11 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

My name is Martin and I'm also a compulsive hoarder!!! 

eGullet chorus: Hi Martin!

[Thanks for the Crepes]

2 hours ago, Heartsurgeon said:

We've all made a quintuple reduction duck stock, ending up with an elixir "too precious to use"

 

kinda like that rare bottle of wine you keep, waiting for a real special moment that never comes....

 

I did exactly that, but was afraid I would get kicked out of eGullet if I admitted it! Back in March of 2016 I did use half of the duck broth I had made from a roasted duck for a very good ramen soup, and had used a bit of the duck fat here and there. Along with the ancient Trader Joe's butter puff pastry, there was a pint of aged duck broth and nearly a pint of duck fat I have been saving for a special occasion that also took a ride to the town landfill. 

[Tropicalsenior]

Finely, something I can feel lucky about. I can't get duck here. But... I do have a 12 lb turkey in the very bottom of my chest type freezer. I bought him just before my husband passed away two years ago. Do you think it is safe to revive him or should he, too, take a ride to the landfill?

[lindag]

If it's in the original shrink wrap I'm sure it's fine.

[Martin Fisher]

Yes, it's fine in terms of food safety. If it's vac backed, freezer burn shouldn't be a an issue.

To my taste, poultry sometimes develops off flavors when frozen a long time.

I would give it a try.

YMMV

[Thanks for the Crepes]

7 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Finely, something I can feel lucky about. I can't get duck here. But... I do have a 12 lb turkey in the very bottom of my chest type freezer. I bought him just before my husband passed away two years ago. Do you think it is safe to revive him or should he, too, take a ride to the landfill?

 

It depends on what type of freezer it's been in and how good said freezer is at preserving. I grew up with manual defrost deepfreezes that that would keep summer garden produce, unbaked apple pies from the fall apple harvest just down the road, and the beef we raised and slaughtered for two years just fine. These frostless fridge freezers I have now are not very good at their job. I had read several times that that type of freezer would only keep things good about three months. I think at this late stage, I'm finally getting that through my head.

 

And yeah, I agree with DiggingDogFarm. It would be safe to eat. Whether it still tastes good is another story. I was also left with some larger pieces of meat in the freezer when my husband had to go to the nursing home. I got rid of them and now I only buy smaller portions, except whole chicken which are easy enough to cut into parts and freeze the individual pieces.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

12 hours ago, Heartsurgeon said:

kinda like that rare bottle of wine you keep, waiting for a real special moment that never comes....

 

Thinking of my bottles from the '40's, '50's, '60's, '70's kinda makes me want to cry.  Anyone up for a party?

 

My nineteenth century Madeira finally dried up.

 

[BeatriceB]

Oh, yes, I too suffer from allgoneophobia. I don't have any excuse because I live in NYC with all the food sources anyone could want within a few miles or even a few blocks. Mine manifests itself as to the "precious" things that are actually pretty replaceable -- I cling to my imported digestive biscuits like there aren't more on Amazon (but they take so looooong to coooome!), the little jars of reduced chicken stock and things like pork skin and duck fat I keep in the freezer, and special spices (which grow stale). I'm also weird in that I'm obsessive about having a back up for certain foods available at any supermarket. I'm working on this, but, like others, I must have a back-up jar of Hellman's mayonnaise or I get panicky about it. Cornichons, Dijon mustard (Maille, always), at least three kinds of Progresso soup (although I hardly ever eat them), cucumbers (although they usually rot before I get to eating or preserving them), etc. I won't even start on the hoarding of paper or household cleaning products.

 

For me, the cleaning out your freezer topic has been invaluable. The key is to steel yourself ahead of time and then be ABSOLUTELY RUTHLESS. And, with that statement, I finally realize that I've been a wimp about the pork skin. The next time I go into the freezer, it's out!

 

[chromedome]

My ex-wife was a big help with things like that. Usually she left the kitchen to me (quite happily) but occasionally she'd have a fit of domesticity, and I'd come home to hear her say brightly that she'd "cleaned up." That often meant a carefully-hoarded Mason jar of duck or goose fat had gone bye-bye. She also once used my first-ever batch of goose stock to make a quick pot of "chicken" noodle soup, when my young 'un brought home a couple of friends at lunch time. 

[Tropicalsenior]

My ex, thank God, mother-in-law had an obsession with bacon grease. She saved it in 3 lb coffee cans which she stored in her pantry. As I recall, she always had at least six. She very scrupulously always used the oldest can first, which meant that it was always rancid by the time she used it. And she used it in everything! She used it to make pancakes, fry chicken, and to make pie crust, cookies, and cake. It's been 50 years and I still shudder at the memory. The one thing I don't save is bacon grease.

[andiesenji]

1 hour ago, Tropicalsenior said:

My ex, thank God, mother-in-law had an obsession with bacon grease. She saved it in 3 lb coffee cans which she stored in her pantry. As I recall, she always had at least six. She very scrupulously always used the oldest can first, which meant that it was always rancid by the time she used it. And she used it in everything! She used it to make pancakes, fry chicken, and to make pie crust, cookies, and cake. It's been 50 years and I still shudder at the memory. The one thing I don't save is bacon grease.

I save bacon grease and in fact, I buy the boxes of "bacon ends and pieces" to render down into grease for cooking but I use it up quickly.

Same with duck fat.  I am fortunate in that I have a friend who will usually provide me with a duck if I need one.  But if I have to buy one, I use up every bit so as to get my money's worth.  Even the bones.

 

I have a stash of jarred items that don't deteriorate with age.  I have honey that is probably 10 years old, in a jar that I vac sealed in one of the heavy-duty vac bags.  

Same with ghee - I got a deal on some several years ago and vac-sealed all the jars.   I opened one last week and it is still good. There was no expiration date on the jars.

 

[Tropicalsenior]

58 minutes ago, andiesenji said:

2 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

 

I save bacon grease and in fact, I buy the boxes of "bacon ends and pieces" to render down into grease for cooking but I use it up quickly.

I do know that in some dishes the flavor of good bacon fat is indispensable. However, for me it is just a personal distaste connected with a terrible memory. Here, I can buy an excellent fresh lard, which I prefer. I do love bacon and for some things it is irreplaceable.

I have been reading your blog and it is mesmerizing. Your knowledge and expertise is astounding. Thank you for sharing it with us. After reading about Aston I now understand your username.

[Shelby]

I'm way worse about this since pandemic.  Yeast.  Yeast is available now, but I must have been super traumatized when I couldn't find it before.

[liuzhou]

I'd forgotten this topic.

 

For some reason (pandemic?), all my sources of my favourite Portuguese canned sardines in olive oil have dried up. I normally buy them in batches of 30 and when I'm down to the last ten start to panic and re-order. Now I'm down to seven and can't find any more, so I have stopped eating them, because if I do, I'll run out! I'm saving those seven until I don't need them any more.

 

Edited December 15, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

3 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

so I have stopped eating them, because if I do, I'll run out!

I do that too. If I have something and I can't find it anymore in the store I stop using it because I will run out of it and not have it again. I have a can of water chestnuts that has to be 4 years old. But it's the only one I have ever seen down here and if I use it up I will never find it again. Can that be normal?

[Katie Meadow]

I hoard sardines and cans of Italian tomatoes. I try to  buy multiples of things we use often, like pasta, rice, etc. One problem I'm up against is that my husband often fails to let me  know when he has used the last of something, so I'm in offensive mode. The other problem is that he often balks at buying multiples when shopping. With staples, "buying it when you need it" often backfires. Is it so awful to have a few pounds of linguini on hand? I don't have a big enough freezer to hoard anything except home made stocks of various kinds, but I wouldn't know what it's like to have an empty freezer, or what I might do if I had more space.  

[Shelby]

2 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

I hoard sardines and cans of Italian tomatoes. I try to  buy multiples of things we use often, like pasta, rice, etc. One problem I'm up against is that my husband often fails to let me  know when he has used the last of something, so I'm in offensive mode. The other problem is that he often balks at buying multiples when shopping. With staples, "buying it when you need it" often backfires. Is it so awful to have a few pounds of linguini on hand? I don't have a big enough freezer to hoard anything except home made stocks of various kinds, but I wouldn't know what it's like to have an empty freezer, or what I might do if I had more space.  

Yeah, I'm a pasta hoarder too.  That was a shortage around here.  Even Ronnie joined in the fun bringing home bags of it when he could find it.

[Shelby]

One more to add that I can't believe didn't strike me sooner.  A few years ago @suzilightning, after I said that I can't find Mexican Rice-A-Roni around here sent me several boxes.  SUCH a sweet thing to do and so out of the blue.  I've saved those for a long time.  Last night--and I didn't take pictures ugh-I made the last box to go with venison taco salads.  So, now I'm out....and I am sure I can order or find some again, but not the same as the sweet gifts she sent.