# Have you ever lost food?



## Claire (Jan 23, 2011)

I just went to find some sugar of a certain type (I think it is called demera, but it is a large grained, brown sugar I've used for years, since introduced to it in Hawaii).  I don't use it often.

Took out a tupperware container that looked like it, and opened the top, and whew!  Looked a second time and realized it was granulated garlic that I'd bought at Penzeys, and I cannot remember when.  It's still good, and thank heaven my sniffer is still working!  

Have you ever "lost" food in your pantry or freezer?


----------



## garlicjosh (Jan 23, 2011)

I forgot about a block of tofu in my freezer for a few months, then went and did massive grocery shopping and went to organize everything and found this super freezer burnt block of tofu


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 23, 2011)

Claire said:


> I just went to find some sugar of a certain type (I think it is called demera, but it is a large grained, brown sugar I've used for years, since introduced to it in Hawaii). I don't use it often.
> 
> Took out a tupperware container that looked like it, and opened the top, and whew! Looked a second time and realized it was granulated garlic that I'd bought at Penzeys, and I cannot remember when. It's still good, and thank heaven my sniffer is still working!
> 
> Have you ever "lost" food in your pantry or freezer?


 
All the time...took me a good 30 minutes to find the bag of Panko I wanted to use for Shrek's talapia today...it turned out great!

I tend to buy things in threes, if it's something we use often.  I always seem to lose the last of the three.


----------



## Kayelle (Jan 23, 2011)

I "loose" stuff in the kitchen all the time....mainly because my DH likes to "help" me in there.  I'm *so not used to help* in the kitchen, I sure don't want to complain.  Sooner or later it turns up in the strangest places.


----------



## pacanis (Jan 23, 2011)

Is it really lost if you don't remember you have it? 
That's the category I fall in 

Is demerara like turbinado?


----------



## Zhizara (Jan 23, 2011)

Claire said:


> I just went to find some sugar of a certain type (I think it is called demera, but it is a large grained, brown sugar I've used for years, since introduced to it in Hawaii).  I don't use it often.
> 
> Took out a tupperware container that looked like it, and opened the top, and whew!  Looked a second time and realized it was granulated garlic that I'd bought at Penzeys, and I cannot remember when.  It's still good, and thank heaven my sniffer is still working!
> 
> Have you ever "lost" food in your pantry or freezer?



I lose things in the freezer.  I need to get better about marking packages.  I've thawed things out with a specific plan for food A only to find out that it is food B instead just before cooking.


----------



## Zereh (Jan 23, 2011)

pacanis said:


> Is it really lost if you don't remember you have it?   That's the category I fall in



^^ haha Me too. I'm often pleasantly surprised by what I find ...


----------



## Claire (Jan 23, 2011)

Pacanis, I don't know.  I've seen it marketed as "sugar in the raw" or some such, but it's quite coarse, light brown in color.

When I had a chest freezer I was always losing stuff.  Ironically, it was a good thing when I lived in Florida, Hawaii and Virginia.  In all three places I lost power because of hurricanes and was just thrilled to find surprise food!


----------



## Robo410 (Jan 23, 2011)

I have a front fridge in the kitchen, a back fridge in the laundry, and a deep freeze in the basement. I keep a log book so I know what is where, what gets used etc. Also helps me use things within a year.


----------



## chopper (Jan 23, 2011)

Robo410 said:


> I have a front fridge in the kitchen, a back fridge in the laundry, and a deep freeze in the basement. I keep a log book so I know what is where, what gets used etc. Also helps me use things within a year.


 

I want to be that organized when I grow up.


----------



## Rocklobster (Jan 23, 2011)

I found my sunglasses in the freezer with the food.  I also drove to work one day with a fried egg sandwich on the roof of my car. I placed it on there to open the door and got in and drove off with it still on the roof. It fell off at the end of the driveway. My wife noticed it when she looked out after I had just left.


----------



## pacanis (Jan 23, 2011)

I was pleasantly surprised by something I pulled out of the freezer last week. It was red. I figured it for spaghetti sauce or something... maybe chili, but it was shredded beef in a deep reddish brown sauce of some sort. It was thick like a stew, but not nearly the ingredients, just onion (that I noticed). I ate it for lunch, the whole time wishing I had labeled it so I could make it again. I still don't know what it was I ate for lunch that day, but it was delicious 

Claire, the sugars sound very similar from what I've read.


----------



## babetoo (Jan 23, 2011)

my biggest problem is forgetting fresh vegs. don't ever want to the money total of slimy brown things that had to be thrown away. just found a can of crisco in among the baking pans. no clue how it got there but it was no good. has to have been there for several years. i recently put all the indg. for baking in one cupboard. it is working well that way.


----------



## silentmeow (Jan 23, 2011)

I have that happen too.  I thought I was going crazy.  We ran out of peanut butter so i went to the pantry to get the second jar from a package of two.  Lo and behold it was not there.  Upon closer examination quite a few backup items were missing.   I was very confused, I remember buying them last time we were at the grocery.  It took me two days to realize that my visiting daughter had abscounded with my pantry items!  I have a meat freezer and a veggie/berry freezer in the basement so I'm somewhat organized, I hope.  She really threw me for a loop!


----------



## Nicholas Mosher (Jan 23, 2011)

My first year in college the student in the dorm next door used up all my food and cooking supplies while I was working through the weekend.  The following Monday I threw away all his underwear.


----------



## Kayelle (Jan 23, 2011)

Nicholas Mosher said:


> My first year in college the student in the dorm next door used up all my food and cooking supplies while I was working through the weekend.  The following Monday I threw away all his underwear.



  Sounds reasonable to me!


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 23, 2011)

Nicholas Mosher said:


> My first year in college the student in the dorm next door used up all my food and cooking supplies while I was working through the weekend. The following Monday I threw away all his underwear.


 
Perfect!


----------



## mrs.mom (Jan 23, 2011)

I always forget food in my freezer. I then discover them when I rearrange the freezer.


----------



## Constance (Jan 24, 2011)

Yes! I finally found out that one of my trusted employees was a kleptomaniac. She stole a rolled rump roast, canned crab meat and chocolate chips to name a few. I couldn't imagine what happened to these things until one day she said, "You've got so much food you don't even know what you've got." 

Needless to say, she is no longer my employee.


----------



## DaveSoMD (Jan 24, 2011)

Nicholas Mosher said:


> My first year in college the student in the dorm next door used up all my food and cooking supplies while I was working through the weekend.  The following Monday I threw away all his underwear.



I like your way of thinking! 

I loose things all the time in the fridge.  They usually get shoved to the back.  I keep the pantry pretty organized.


----------



## roadfix (Jan 24, 2011)

One reason we got rid of our chest freezer.  Often times we had no idea what was buried under the bottom half of the freezer.  We often found frozen meat over a year old.  We used to throw out more food because of that freezer.


----------



## joesfolk (Jan 24, 2011)

I try to keep my chest freezer organized, pork in one spot, beef in another potatoes etc in another.  You get the idea.  But dh thinks everything should be all mixed together so that he doesn't have to dig for any one thing.  So after I clean out the freezer (I do it twice a year) it is all nicely organized and I can put my fingers on anything I need.  But once Dh goes in there it's anyones guess where something might be so of course we forget what is actually in there.  Totally ticks me off.


----------



## roadfix (Jan 24, 2011)

The problem with these chest freezers is you tend to pile food on top of one another and the next thing you know you have no idea what's buried 2 feet under.  We definitely had a problem with over stocking.


----------



## jabbur (Jan 24, 2011)

I just did a stint in my pantry and FOUND 8 (count 'em - 8!!!) cans of mushrooms.  I'm the only one who likes them so they don't get put in many dishes.  What am I doing with that many? Had 2 stashed here, 2 stashed there and 3 more over on the other side and one that fell off the shelf at some point and ended up behind a box of macaroni!


----------



## Skittle68 (Jan 24, 2011)

My kitchen is too tiny to lose anything


----------



## babetoo (Jan 24, 2011)

Skittle68 said:


> My kitchen is too tiny to lose anything


----------



## Zhizara (Jan 25, 2011)

I'm glad I'm organized, small kitchen or no.  

I finally decided against buying a small chest freezer.  I just need to use up what's in the one I have now!

It's hard sometimes because there are so may new recipes I'm trying now and I get a lot of inspiration for changing old recipes too.


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 25, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> I'm glad I'm organized, small kitchen or no.
> 
> I finally decided against buying a small chest freezer. I just need to use up what's in the one I have now!
> 
> It's hard sometimes because there are so may new recipes I'm trying now and I get a lot of inspiration for changing old recipes too.


 
I wonder sometimes if I should ditch the chest freezer.  It's full and it doesn't get opened for weeks at a time.


----------



## Skittle68 (Jan 25, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I wonder sometimes if I should ditch the chest freezer.  It's full and it doesn't get opened for weeks at a time.



How many people do you cook for? I only cook for two, and sometimes I feel like I would like to have one because I like to freeze leftover chili, soup, have hamburger and chicken on hand... Stuff like that


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 25, 2011)

Skittle68 said:


> How many people do you cook for? I only cook for two, and sometimes I feel like I would like to have one because I like to freeze leftover chili, soup, have hamburger and chicken on hand... Stuff like that


 
There's just me and Shrek...I cook 3 days a week, work 10 hour shifts the other 4.  I don't have time to cook on my work days, barely have time to eat some days.  I do make extras on the days I do cook and make up my lunches for work.

I do have the extra on hand, but it often gets lost in the shuffle or just plain forgotten until it's no good anymore.


----------



## Skittle68 (Jan 25, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> There's just me and Shrek...I cook 3 days a week, work 10 hour shifts the other 4.  I don't have time to cook on my work days, barely have time to eat some days.  I do make extras on the days I do cook and make up my lunches for work.
> 
> I do have the extra on hand, but it often gets lost in the shuffle or just plain forgotten until it's no good anymore.



I heard someone else saying they do this, and it works really well- my mom dates everything in the freezer, but she also has a log with everything in there and the date it was put in there written down. She has everything organized in boxes, so that it's easy to move whatever is on top to get to the stuff on the bottom. Nothing ever gets thrown out, because she can see exactly what is oldest, and knows exactly where to find it. It's uncanny. She'll send me down to her freezer to grab something and give me the most ridiculously specific instructions you would think she was giving me driving directions. I would definitely try to emulate her system if I had a deep freeze. I think one of the things that makes it work is the clip board taped to the top of the freezer, with a pen on a string lol. No excuses for forgetting to write something down


----------



## Claire (Jan 25, 2011)

I had a small chest freezer for years.  Heck, decades.  The smallest they make (8 or 9 cubic feet).  There are still times I miss it.  I always meant to buy a new one when we moved here, but the need never really became that important, and the two places I could put one in this house would be very inconvenient.  So I just have the top of the fridge freezer, and let me tell you, it is no-man's land.  Literally.  My husband couldn't possibly find anything in it.  It's like a 3-D puzzle.


----------



## Claire (Jan 25, 2011)

Oh, and I, too, "only" cook for two.  But when I get up in the morning and decide on the day's meals, I like options, not having to get in the car to go get dinner.  When we lived in Florida, I fed my extended family a lot, so the freezer was a necessity (for example when turkey would go on sale during the holidays for next to nothing, I'd buy one every time I hit the grocery store and usually had one in the freezer, I couldn't do that now).


----------



## Zhizara (Jan 25, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I wonder sometimes if I should ditch the chest freezer.  It's full and it doesn't get opened for weeks at a time.



Which leads to:  

I found this 5 year old roast.  Do you think it's safe to eat?


----------



## Nicholas Mosher (Jan 25, 2011)

> I found this 5 year old roast. Do you think it's safe to eat?



It depends on how long you left it on the stove after cooking it...


----------



## Zhizara (Jan 25, 2011)

Nicholas Mosher said:


> It depends on how long you left it on the stove after cooking it...



Plus how long it sat in the refrigerator before freezing it


----------



## CookLikeJulia (Jan 25, 2011)

That's why I don't bought a huge quantity of food that we rarely eat. it happened to me before and still sometimes today.


----------



## Rocklobster (Jan 25, 2011)

Claire said:


> Oh, and I, too, "only" cook for two. But when I get up in the morning and decide on the day's meals, I like options, not having to get in the car to go get dinner. When we lived in Florida, I fed my extended family a lot, so the freezer was a necessity (for example when turkey would go on sale during the holidays for next to nothing, I'd buy one every time I hit the grocery store and usually had one in the freezer, I couldn't do that now).


 
I am with you.  I live about 30 miles from the nearest grocery store. I probably have over 50 lbs of meat in my freezer at all times. It is so nice to be able to decide what you want to have that day and just go and get it. Almolst every item in my freezer was bought on sale. And, I have the room to buy lots when they do go on sale. Like last month whole chickens were on for 5 bucks each, so I bought 8. I'm good to go until summer.  I would hate to live without it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 25, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> Which leads to:
> 
> I found this 5 year old roast. Do you think it's safe to eat?


 
ROFL!!!  Exactly...except I would be too embarrassed to ask...I'd just throw it away.


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 25, 2011)

Rocklobster said:


> I am with you. I live about 30 miles from the nearest grocery store. I probably have over 50 lbs of meat in my freezer at all times. It is so nice to be able to decide what you want to have that day and just go and get it. Almolst every item in my freezer was bought on sale. And, I have the room to buy lots when they do go on sale. Like last month whole chickens were on for 5 bucks each, so I bought 8. I'm good to go until summer. I would hate to live without it.


 

Mine is treated more like an oubliette...stuff things in and forget them.  Until I open it to stuff more and nothing will fit.  I think my shopping habits have changed and it's time my storage habits changed, too.


----------



## Rocklobster (Jan 25, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Mine is treated more like an oubliette...stuff things in and forget them. Until I open it to stuff more and nothing will fit. I think my shopping habits have changed and it's time my storage habits changed, too.


I have been in the habit of going to the freezer for meat now for years. It is a huge chest freezer that is still there from when I had my restaurant in my house. I still have that mindset, I guess. That probably explains the 16 racks of baby back ribs in there.


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 25, 2011)

Rocklobster said:


> I have been in the habit of going to the freezer for meat now for years. It is a huge chest freezer that is still there from when I had my restaurant in my house. I still have that mindset, I guess. That probably explains the 16 racks of baby back ribs in there.


 
I think, I've finally gotten over those lean times when I shopped and cooked on short rations.  Especially when I was a student and was only able to shop once a month.  Now that I shop every week, I don't need to stock up like I used to. 

I do have a the habit of buying in threes.  It used to make sense, but now it really doesn't.


----------



## Skittle68 (Jan 25, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I think, I've finally gotten over those lean times when I shopped and cooked on short rations.  Especially when I was a student and was only able to shop once a month.  Now that I shop every week, I don't need to stock up like I used to.
> 
> I do have a the habit of buying in threes.  It used to make sense, but now it really doesn't.



I like to pick generic stuff I know I would buy anyway like hamburger, noodles, spaghetti sauce, canned/frozen vegetables when it's on sale, but then you really do need to keep track of how old stuff is, and you need space


----------



## pacanis (Jan 25, 2011)

Rock, "16 racks of babybacks"?! 

 Rock on. I'm not worthy. I only have two left after last week's ribs.

I use my freezer the exact same way, and I only cook for one. I buy on sale, cut up loins or portion roasts, the same with foods I've smoked, freeze them, vacuum bag them, and am good to go for quite a while. My runs to the store are for produce or something else on sale. When my 25 year old freezer finally dies I'll run right out and buy another. I'll _have_ to


----------



## Zhizara (Jan 25, 2011)

I am able to have chicken, pork, beef to choose from plus planned leftovers.  I just have to make myself use the leftovers on a regular basis.  It's too easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new recipe, or a new idea for an old recipe.  I had 5 containers of chili.  I took out the largest two, joined them and had a bowl then put back only one container.  Every bit helps.  It looks like I finished the pork butt meat, so I'll be on the lookout for another one.  It goes directly in the oven when I get home, when done I put it in the refrigerator until the next morning when I tear apart the braised meat and package in in meal size packages (zips) and stack them.  I save the slicing and dicing for when I'm ready to use the meat.


----------



## Rocklobster (Jan 25, 2011)

pacanis said:


> Rock, "16 racks of babybacks"?!
> 
> Rock on. I'm not worthy. I only have two left after last week's ribs.
> 
> 7


 
Yeah, that's quite a few, but I can't resist sales and they just seem to have accumulated in there. A few years ago you couldn't buy a rack of ribs around here for less than 12 or 13 bucks. So every time they went on sale I would grab a few. Now, I guess things have changed and the pork producers have ratcheted up the supply so they seem to go on sale more often. I keep buying them when they do because old habits die hard. But, when the demand goes up during the bbq season, you can never find them at a decent price. So I stock up in the winter. I also have some larger back ribs that I use for braising recipes.
My wife has a big family and when they get togther it is usually potluck. I can use up 4-6 racks in one go.


----------



## Rocklobster (Jan 25, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> I just have to make myself use the leftovers on a regular basis. It's too easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new recipe, or a new idea for an old recipe. .


I know the feeling. Sometimes leftovers seem so ho-hum. There are three of us here so I can justify not eating leftovers using the excuse that there isn't enough of them to feed everybody.
Then eventually they turn blue and fuzzy and go in the garbage.


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 26, 2011)

Rocklobster said:


> I know the feeling. Sometimes leftovers seem so ho-hum. There are three of us here so I can justify not eating leftovers using the excuse that there isn't enough of them to feed everybody.
> _*Then eventually they turn blue and fuzzy and go in the garbage*_.


 
When they go blue and fuzzy, I make them walk themselves to the garbage can. I hate it when you open the fridge door and things shrink away from the light.


----------

