Have you noticed that we are being flooded with tips and strategies on how to organise our pantries? I get it. Seriously, I got it a loooong time ago. I have a system in place that works well for me. I do NOT need more information. I do not need expensive, pretty, see through labeled containers that cost more than the entire contents of my pantry.
I especially do not need to be told by the beautiful young things on how to manage my household. OK. I admit it. I’m a grumpy old woman.
Have you noticed that invariably they seem to neglect mentioning the obvious. How long it is safe to keep that stuff sitting in the pantry?
If you’re anything like me, when you shop, you take advantage of specials. My pantry cupboard has a pretty good stock of canned and dried goods. Most of which have expiry or use by dates. Contrary to what my kids seem to think, it will not self destruct on that date. It will not suddenly become toxic and poison us all. It will just continue sitting there quietly until it is used. Those dates have an enormous range of flexibility to them. You just need to be sensible about it.
Even a lot of perishable foods can be safely eaten well past their use by date if properly stored. And not turning green or smelly….
Here’s a few tips –
RICE
Brown rice is best used within 6 months. White rice, however, will keep up to four years.
FLOUR
If stored in a sealed container in a dry, dark cupboard, it will keep for a year or two.
PASTA
An open packet will still last up to twelve months unless it has turned soft.
SEMOLINA
is a tricky one. I keep it in the freezer. It stops the mealy bugs from growing. And it keeps in there for years.
© Raili Tanska
Steps for Peace
Peace is not the absence of conflict,
it is the ability to handle conflict
by peaceful means.
Ronald Reagan
soulgifts - Telling Tales 
Nice to hear a refreshing, practical approach to food Raili and perhaps I am a grumpy old woman too. likewise I think there are too many rules and regulations regarding food generally these days which I think can literally, as my late mother would say, ‘scare the life out of you’ which seems to defeat the objective.
Thanks Margaret 🙂 It leads to unnecessary waste and expense when the issues are not well understood and information is lacking.
very informative Raili, the young kids should know about this as they throw out EVERYTHING 1 day past its use date. Came home from hospital and there was absolutely nothing left in the pantry save for a few things they had bought. Was an expensive exercise to stock it up again.
Tell me about it Janet! I regularly had those very same arguments with my kids 😦 Education about food safety is not well understood or very well done in the schools
You a grumpy old woman 🤔 Nah!
Trust me, Elaine, I can be 🙂
Trust me I know 😉
Hahaa!
But…there is an end. My mother hasn’t learned this yet and you would not believe some of the things we discover in her pantry.
I would. I remember vividly looking in my mum’s pantry and fridge !!!
Oh how I agree!
My son-in-law bought me a huge bag of semolina recently. It never occurred to me to put it in the freezer – thanks for the advice.
It’s the only way I have found to keep it fresh. Mum used to do it.
Great! Now I can have semolina. I’ve been afraid to open the bag, since I knew I couldn’t use it all up in time…