One of the posts I've been meaning to write and not got round to, is the story of the.day.I.tackled.the.condiments.cupboard. This was last week (either Tuesday or Thursday, can't remember exactly) but I still have the photo and the notes, so here goes.
The condiments cupboard provides a home for our wine and, by association, anything else that comes in a bottle. It is in the least accessible corner of the kitchen, next to the washing machine, and never gets tidied. I've long suspected that it is the toilet of my kitchen: things go in and never come out. Until now, that is.
I was dreading emptying it, but it wasn't so bad after all. Or rather, it could have been much worse. These were my findings:
2 small bottles olive oil
1 large bottle groundnut oil
2 small bottles groundnut oil (one almost empty, both expired)
2 bottles white wine vinegar (one of them looking manky)
1 bottle cider vinegar
1 large bottle vegetable oil
1 bottle rice vinegar (expired 2007)
1 bottle rice mirin
1 bottle balsamic vinegar (expired 2009)
2 bottles sesame oil (both expired, one since October 2005)
2 pots of olives
1 jar Madras curry paste (expired)
1 small bottle malt vinegar
2 small bottles red wine (for cooking)
1 bottle balsamic dipping oil (expired)
2 bottles chilli garlic dipping oil (one expired August 2004)
1 bottle hot peri peri sauce (expired February 2005)
1 bottle hot Tabasco sauce (expired August 2009)
1 bottle Jamaican jerk sauce (unopened and expired August 2006)
1 bottle soy sauce (expired December 2007)
1 bottle lime and coriander marinade (not expired)
2 bottles frying spray
My observations as follows:
The previous clear-out of the condiments cupboard must have been ca. 2003. Ouch.
I have a "thing" for vinegar. Any and all types.
I must stop buying fancy oils and sauces on a whim (the only possible explanation for the Jamaican jerk sauce).
It's amazing how much space you can create in a small cupboard by binning foodstuff that's no longer fit for consumption.
