What's the Oldest Thing in your Pantry?

[daniellewiley]

As we de-clutter our house in preparation for an upcoming move (we hope), I started thinking about all the crazy things in my cupboards. I have some really old stuff that I'm too stubborn to throw out.

The oldest, by far, is a can of squash pie. We never intended on eating it. Michael and I bought it on our first overnight trip together. We were visiting my friend in New Hampshire, and saw this can in a crummy little grocery store. It looked very retro and it made us laugh. In NY, it sat on our window sill. This was early 1996. It's now in my corner cabinet. I don't really know what to do with this can of squash pie. I'd be sad to throw it out, I'm afraid to eat it, and so it sits there, amusing me and taking up space.

Second oldest is a can of escargot that I purchased in Ann Arbor in 1998 or so.

What ancient items do you all have lurking in the recesses of your pantries?

[jsolomon]

I am the oldest thing in my pantry.

When I am not in my pantry, I think I have some jams that are fairly elderly. Mostly road-ditch plum jams.

[tejon]

A can of Spam, tucked into the back corner of the pantry. It was a wedding gift of sorts, given by a slightly demented (but in a good way!) friend who insists that every house must have a can of Spam, even if it is decorative. We have been married for almost eight years now, so you can do the math.

(Like Danielle, we don't intend to actually eat the Spam. To do so would leave our home Spam-less, incurring the wrath of whatever gods are in charge of pork products. Instead, it will remain a kitchen design feature of sorts. When exactly will 1997 become vintage?)

Edited October 14, 2005 by tejon (log)

[Pontormo]

Urad dal, whole, purchased in St. Louis (two hometowns ago) circa 1996.

[rooftop1000]

your all too late on this one...I had pantry moths. Boxes cans jars didnt matter I threw it all out last month. But I did have a coffee cup of white pepper I snagged from work in 2002.

tracey

[Jenny McClure]

My Mum has some food colouring in the pantry that still have the price on them. The price is in schillings. That was the currency before sterling!!

[SuzySushi]

A bottle of peppermint extract that's been around since before my daughter was born. She's 9 now, so go figure! I only use it for Christmas cookies, so one bottle goes a long way. (Just sniffed it and it's still potent.)

[Badiane]

Last night I discovered peanut butter from 2003 in my fridge...came with us from our old apartment! We clearly aren't big pb eaters.

My mother has a can of cayenne pepper that she bought for 10 cents a month after she got married. In 1948. She won't throw it out and it is still half full. She says 'it's still good, we just don't like it'. Alrighty then. She's not the least bit senile, so I trust that she isn't using it...although the devilled eggs at the last gathering were a little spicy

After I got married two years ago, I bought a can of cayenne pepper...same brand as Mom's...I intend to keep it all the days of my married life, as a keepsake and remembrance of my parents long and happy life together.

[Sugarella]

Mine would have to be decorative jars of dried things like juniper berries...I haven't really got a clue what to do wth them. They were all purchased in the late 80's. (

I've also got a lot of really old tea.... used one teabag and didn't like it so just kept the rest, the idea being I might eventually use it all for special occasions or guests but they're not good enough for either.

Edited to say: I've also got a big glass jug of opened maple syrup in my fridge that I've been carting around from apartment to apartment for years. I came across an old jar in someone else's fridge once that'd turned to vinegar and it made a really super vinaigrette......I'm still waiting for mine to turn to vinegar though. Wonder what I'm doing wrong?

Edited October 14, 2005 by Sugarella (log)

[andiesenji]

I have a half-gallon can of sorghum molasses cooked and canned on the family farm in Kentucky in 1985.

I opened the next-to-last can last year - the stuff keeps practically forever as long as the seal is not broken.

The next oldest thing is a sealed stone jar of kimchee that was given to me by my hair stylist who brought it back from Korea when she visited her family in 1990. She says as long as the wax and clay seal is not broken, (and it will be obvious when it is), it will keep for years and just gets better with age. I am going to take her word for it. I do not intend to open the jar anytime soon. It is well protected in case of a major quake!!!

The third oldest is a jar of aged ghee that I purchased in 1991, is dated 6/5/90 and has an expiration date of 2050. I am keeping it for the design on the jar which has a picture of a blue Lord Krishna, and the part of the label that is in English, indicates this is good for many illnesses and promotes long life.

Edited October 14, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[srhcb]

My mother has a can of cayenne pepper that she bought for 10 cents a month after she got married.  In 1948. 

In the back of my cupboard are some cans of spices that belonged to GF's late mother. I have no idea how old they are except that instead of zip codes the companies' addresses read like Chicago, 2, Ill!

We keep them for sentimental value, but use somewhat fresher spices from Penzeys.

SB (thinks zip codes were put into use in the late 50's?)

[jvictor930]

A bottle of Seagram's 7 from 1986. It was my from my grandmother's retirement party and since no one in my family drinks it, it's been around ever since.

I keep daring people to take a shot from it...there hasn't been any takers!

[andiesenji]

A bottle of Seagram's 7 from 1986.  It was my from my grandmother's retirement party and since no one in my family drinks it, it's been around ever since.

I keep daring people to take a shot from it...there hasn't been any takers! 

←

Liquor keeps practically forever. I have a bottle of dark rum, Hudson's Bay, 151 proof, purchased in the late 60s. I don't think this has been available for many years.

I also have an even older bottle of scotch. (I don't drink.)

[chappie]

My father is an infamous packrat, so much so that when he remarried in 2000, part of the contract stipulated side-by-side, his and hers refrigerators in the redesigned kitchen.

His habits have changed somewhat, but I used to see bottles of salad dressing in the fridge at least a decade old. The real treasures, though, my friend Willie and I relegated to a top shelf in the late 1990s — what we admiringly called "The Food Museum."

Let's see, there was a box of 1981 Chef Boyardee Pizza Mix; several packets of 1970s Jell-Well (a Jello knockoff); a container of corndog batter mix so old it had a cents symbol; Pillsbury Microwave Cake Mix from about 1983; and finally, the crown jewell: A mid-1980s, freeze-dried NutriSystem burger, complete with a petrified bun sealed in plastic and a packet of reddish "sauce." Mmmmmm.

I will either bury him with that one, or I'm inheriting it.

[patti]

Six unopened bottles of Jolie Blonde beer, in original carton, from 1984. I figured it wouldn't last and might become a collector's item. The artist for the beer label was George Rodgrigue, now (in)famous for his Blue Dog paintings. I was right that the beer didn't last, but I've never researched the collectibility of the bottles.

Edited October 14, 2005 by patti (log)

[andiesenji]

Six unopened bottles of Jolie Blonde beer, in original carton, from 1984. I figured it wouldn't last and might become a collector's item. The artist for the beer label was George Rodgrigue, now (in)famous for his Blue Dog paintings. I was right that the beer didn't last, but I've never researched the collectibility of the bottles.

←

I forgot about the beer! I have a can of "Billy Beer" from the late '70s - forget when it was given to me as a joke, however it has been in my pantry for at least 25 years. It isn't worth anything. There was a lot more of the stuff distributed than one might think. The only thing unusual about it is that it is a steel can, not aluminum.

[petite tête de chou]

My husband has been schlepping around a large can of Bush baked beans for over ten years. He's still not sure why.

[Rinsewind]

A metal canister of cloves. I grabbed it when I moved out of my parent's house to go to college. In 1984. It was already old by that point, as my mother stopped cooking sometime around 1978. Now I can't bring myself to throw it out!

**edited because I seem to be incapable of proofreading unless something has actually posted. *sigh*

Edited October 14, 2005 by Rinsewind (log)

[Mottmott]

Paprika in my freezer from a 1970's trip in Europe. At that time it was hard to find really good paprika here, so I bought LOTS. Interestingly, it has not lost it's zip! Also, I've long ago forgotten why it was so special then or exactly where I bought it.

Can you guess that I haven't moved in a long time?

[Katie Nell]

The oldest, by far, is a can of squash pie. We never intended on eating it. Michael and I bought it on our first overnight trip together. We were visiting my friend in New Hampshire, and saw this can in a crummy little grocery store. It looked very retro and it made us laugh. In NY, it sat on our window sill. This was early 1996. It's now in my corner cabinet. I don't really know what to do with this can of squash pie. I'd be sad to throw it out, I'm afraid to eat it, and so it sits there, amusing me and taking up space.

←

Could you remove the label and frame it? I think that could be a kind of cool, kitschy piece of art, if the label is retro like you say! Plus, it's a fun memory! Not the point of the thread, but just a thought!

I think the oldest thing in my pantry is a box of taco shells that I'm sure are beyond cardboard!

[daniellewiley]

The oldest, by far, is a can of squash pie. We never intended on eating it. Michael and I bought it on our first overnight trip together. We were visiting my friend in New Hampshire, and saw this can in a crummy little grocery store. It looked very retro and it made us laugh. In NY, it sat on our window sill. This was early 1996. It's now in my corner cabinet. I don't really know what to do with this can of squash pie. I'd be sad to throw it out, I'm afraid to eat it, and so it sits there, amusing me and taking up space.

←

Could you remove the label and frame it? I think that could be a kind of cool, kitschy piece of art, if the label is retro like you say! Plus, it's a fun memory! Not the point of the thread, but just a thought!

I think the oldest thing in my pantry is a box of taco shells that I'm sure are beyond cardboard!

←

I love that idea! I'm going to explore the removeability (?) of the label.

[browniebaker]

A small jar of peppercorns dating from 1989. I can bring myself neither to use them nor to throw them out! Not owing to sentimental value or anything like that, just my inertia.

Edited October 14, 2005 by browniebaker (log)

[saltylicious]

Knorr Pesto Sauce Mix (circa 1994) !!!

Yes, it’s so old that the front pesto pic is faded to a drab olive/khaki shade… just like real pesto!

DH protested when I tried to toss this back in 1999, when we moved in together. Claimed it would be great earthquake food, would never get stale with the high salt & chemical content.Earlier this year I threw it into the trash can, but he fished it out again.

He stuck this on the tallest shelf in our editing studio/2nd bedroom, just so I can’t reach it and finally throw it away! Also, he thinks the rusty cruddy 6 pack of Harley Davidson Beer could someday be a very valuable Ebay treasure.

um, yeah, right…

[snowangel]

I've been accompanying Paul up to the cabin since the summer of 1978. There is a jar of King Syrup that has been there longer than that. I have left it, but I did pitch a box of macaroni that had a price tag on it of $.30.

I moved recently, so my horrors are in some landfill.

[Little Frog]

A boxed set of three small bottles of chocolate liquor that I bought on my first trip to Berlin. It was in 1997.

I have no idea why and how it made it through a transatlantic move and regular pantry purges. I am a bit of a minimalist and I usually get rid of clutter on a regular basis but somehow these bottles escaped my vigilance.

Time to get baking and put them to good use, at long last!