With the high cost of food, it is important to know how to store the foods we purchase so we do not end up throwing anything away.
I just threw away several containers of nuts stored in the pantry for at least a year that were rancid tasting and stale. I even placed the nuts in small bags, but they still went bad. If you are not going to eat them right away or if you purchased too much, place them in the freezer where they will last at least one year.
Christopher Kimball advises the following, especially when buying large quantities from a box box store in hopes of saving money:
Maple syrup keeps in the refrigerator for up to one year. When unopened, it keeps in the pantry for several years.
Honey and molasses will last indefinitely. Do not put honey in the refrigerator or it will crystallize. Over time the lids may be very difficult to open so before closing the lid, use a paper towel dipped in vegetable oil and wipe the threads of the jar with the oil.
Do not expose oils to light and heat. Olive and toasted sesame seed oils will become rancid after several months, so keep sesame oil in the refrigerator and don’t buy more olive oil than you can use in several months.
Neutral-tasting oils like canola and vegetable oils are at their optimum for only 6 months. You can smell the oil when it goes bad and check the cap — it will become sticky.
Hilo is known to be humid and the biggest enemy of flour is humidity! So find an airtight container, wide enough to dip a measuring cup into, to store your flour.
The natural oils in whole-wheat flour and cornmeal go rancid in just a few months. Place them in zip-lock bags and store them in your freezer.
Do not store eggs in egg trays in the refrigerator. The paper carton protects eggs from picking up odors. Keep the eggs on a shelf and not in the door.
Keep butter in the freezer and transfer it into the refrigerator when you are ready to use it. In the refrigerator, even if it is stored in its wrapper, it will pick up odors and turn rancid in a few weeks.
Never place chocolate in the refrigerator or freezer. Wrap opened bars tightly in plastic and store them in a cool pantry. Milk and white chocolate will keep for six months; semisweet, bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate last one year.
Place ground coffee in the freezer. Before brewing, allow the coffee to come to room temperature to make a better-tasting coffee.
Whole spices last twice as long as ground spices. Ground spices last on the shelf no more than one year. I just bought a large (1 pound 8 ounces) container of taco seasoning that I keep in the freezer. Even if I made tacos every week, I would use only 3 tablespoons for every one pound of ground meat. If left in the spice rack, I would probably end up throwing the last one quarter of the seasoning.
Granulated sugar will keep indefinitely in an airtight container but make sure it is ant proof!
On the other hand, brown sugar will get hard in a few months, especially with our humidity.
If the brown sugar gets hard, place the hardened sugar in a bowl, add a slice of sandwich bread, cover the bowl and microwave for 10 to 20 seconds.
If you buy a large bag of lemons, squeeze what you can’t use in a couple of weeks, and place them in small ziplock bags. I measure them out one-half cup portions, which is what I need for my recipe for lemon meringue pie.
A rotisserie chicken can be made into some creative dishes like enchiladas, or a wonderful chicken soup with the carcass.
Here is a recipe for sweet curry chicken salad using rotisserie chicken:
Sweet Curry
Chicken Salad
Serves 6
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon mild curry powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups cooked diced chicken
1 cup red grapes, cut into quarters
1/4 cup diced celery
1 apple, peeled, cored and shredded
Pita bread for a sandwich, or lettuce to make a chicken salad
Whisk yogurt, sour cream, honey, curry powder, and salt in a small bowl until smooth; set aside. Mix chicken, grapes, celery, and shredded apples in a medium bowl. Pour the sauce over the chicken mixture and stir to combine. Place filling in pita or on lettuce.
