What’s in My Fridge

So, the ol’ fridge had not been cleaned from top to bottom for a while. Today I went through the stuff that would last for months or years, and decided whether to keep it. As a result, I got rid of:

• 1 bottle umeboshi (Japanese picked plums) which Link was dying to try, but were clearly for refined or at least acculturated tastes
• A few pickled beets from a 1 litre bottle that seemed to sit there forever. I didn’t know it was possible for pickled beets to look mushy?
• ¼ bottle old sauerkraut which Rom neither finished nor threw out
• ½ bottle madras sauce which never got made into a second meal
• ½ tube of prepared dill paste – did not like

I was thinking how many bottles and jars there are in the fridge, ensuring the fridge always looks full! Here is the extensive list of condiments, preserves, and bottled things in the fridge:

• Ketchup (about to try organic ketchup with no HFCS in it; wonder how it will be?)
• Yellow mustard
• Honey mustard
• Whole-grain brown mustard
• Relish (green pickle relish)
• Branston pickle (UK condiment, seems to be a vinegary brown sauce with pickled veg in it?)
• Curry paste (adds a lot of oil to the curry; have recently bought a garam masala mix  to use instead)
• Red pepper jelly (fabulous with cheese and crackers)
• Antipasto in a jar (same as above)
• Capers (used once)
• Jalapenos (for nachos)
• Salsa (ditto)
• Bottled green olives
• Kalamata olives
• Salad cream (UK substance; seems to be somewhat comparable to coleslaw dressing?)
• HP sauce (steak sauce we in Canada like instead of A1, actually a UK product too)
• Worcestershire sauce
• Stir fry sauce (will be making my own in an effort to avoid HFCS; at least I know how to make sweet n’ sour!)
• Chili sauce
• 3 bottles & 2 envelopes prepared salad dressings (will not be making my own; don’t use enough)
• Lemon juice
• Lime juice
• Marmelade
• Blackberry jelly (always have a fruit jelly of some kind, homemade scrounged from relatives when possible)
• Raspberry jam (always have a fruit jam of some kind, likewise always try to get homemade)
• Mint jelly (used once)
• Lemon curd (another UK thing; I adore it with popover pancakes – aka “Dutch Babies”)
• Maple syrup  – homemade by my brother 🙂
• Applesauce (I bought apples to make applesauce, but they were so good I kept them for eating instead)

We are actually out of a few things which would normally be there: chutney, pesto, and 2 or 3 kinds of pickles (pickled cucumbers) such as sweet, bread & butter, and dill.

At my mom’s house, she would have mustard pickles and green tomato chow. Back in the UK, Rom would have had horseradish, tartar(e) sauce, pickled onions, and piccalilli. He used to put mayo on everything, but got over it! I don’t usually buy barbecue sauce, but every once in a while I daydream about President’s Choice Peach Habanera barbecue sauce over chicken, yum! I also love tapenade (OK, now I am getting hungry). Also, we don’t have any Tabasco or hot sauces, but  we eat chili and curries with plenty of spice. So far I have not bought fish, oyster or oishi sauce.

In the cupboard, unopened, we have soy sauce, plum sauce and strawberry jam, plus we store peanut butter, honey, and marmite in there! There is also rice vinegar, cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, canola oil and sesame oil, not in the fridge.

I am thinking we have close to 50 items which are intended to be served on or with other foods!

I am curious about others’ must-have condiments and savoury foods…what do you hate to run out of?