Starting over...

Ok, so I've given up hoping and purged the dark recesses of my rapidly warming fridge. All condiments and savory stuff except for ketchup and hot sauce are in the trash. Olives? I wasn't sure, in the trash...capers, are they like olives? Are they ok for extended periods at RT? And I got to thinking, what do you all think are essential condiments? If the power ever comes back on I'll have to start from scratch. What must you have in your fridge?

Mary Anne on Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:27 pm

Ok, so I've given up hoping and purged the dark recesses of my rapidly warming fridge. All condiments and savory stuff except for ketchup and hot sauce are in the trash. Olives? I wasn't sure, in the trash...capers, are they like olives? Are they ok for extended periods at RT? And I got to thinking, what do you all think are essential condiments? If the power ever comes back on I'll have to start from scratch. What must you have in your fridge?

Assorted mustards (Dijon, brown, wasabi), soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mayonaise, Angostura bitters, orange marmalade. (I can do without catsup.)

what do you all think are essential condiments? What must you have in your fridge?

I will 2nd what Gayle said.....and will add ketchup, vinegars,and relish.Not sure if you consider it a condiment but I always like to have a couple types of pickles in there.

[Robin Garr]

Ok, so I've given up hoping and purged the dark recesses of my rapidly warming fridge. All condiments and savory stuff except for ketchup and hot sauce are in the trash. Olives? I wasn't sure, in the trash...capers, are they like olives? Are they ok for extended periods at RT? And I got to thinking, what do you all think are essential condiments? If the power ever comes back on I'll have to start from scratch. What must you have in your fridge?

This may seem surprising (and no lawsuits, please ) but in much of Europe, people do not refrigerate butter, cheeses or eggs. I would not worry (and indeed DID not worry) about any of these during the outage. I'm keeping our olives, capers, mustards and other goods packaged in brine or vinegar as well.

There is no ketchup in this household. <snobby sneer>

Will Henry Bain's keep? GOD I hope so, I just opened a new jar on Saturday.

Eggs should be ok?

My hubby is at home, as we speak, throwing away everything that was in our fridge.

[Robin Garr]

Eggs should be ok?

My hubby is at home, as we speak, throwing away everything that was in our fridge.

Eggs won't stay fresh as long, but they do not require refrigeration. Or at least I can attest to Italian and French people keeping them out in baskets at room temp.

Butter, too ... keeps it nice and soft, but it is understood that you buy a little and use it soon. At worst, though, it might turn unpalatable but not unhealthful.

The vast majority of condiments (mustards, relishes, catsup, jellies, oil-based salad dressings, etc) will all keep just fine for a week of more without refrigeration. Most of them say "keep refrigerated after opening" only to cover legalities and to extend shelf-life. They might spoil faster now that they've been warm for a while, but if you don't open them while not refrigerated, and keep them in a cool closed refrigerator they should be fine. Robin's right: in many less litigious societies, many of these would not be refrigerated. Mayo -based or meat-based anything obviously needs to be tossed immediately. Cheeses and butter should be fine as long as you keep them loosely covered and out of the heat.

Deb

Mayo -based or meat-based anything obviously needs to be tossed immediately.

This is one of the things that took some getting used to while we were in the caribbean. It was common to see jars of mayo sitting out in the hot sun. The locals told us that as long as you used a clean knife the mayo would keep. You would have to take what you needed with one pass of the knife and hope you got enough I guess. I am not a big mayo guy so this wasnt a big concern to me, but I know Anne had some stuff with mayo in/on it and never got sick.

There is no ketchup in this household. <snobby sneer>

This coming from the guy that started the White Castle thread. Not big on ketchup either,but I like it fries. Do you go Euro and top yours with mayo??

[Robin Garr]

There is no ketchup in this household. <snobby sneer>

This coming from the guy that started the White Castle thread.

Busted!

Not big on ketchup either,but I like it fries. Do you go Euro and top yours with mayo??

A good question, and a fair one. I often eat them nekkid, just with salt. Mayo is nice in a bistro setting, but I don't do it at home. At BBQ joints, I love to dip them in barbecue sauce. Sometimes if mustard is available, I'll use that. Or Horsey Sauce at an Arby's. At a fried-fish joint, the hot cocktail sauce is fine with me. (It may be ketchup-based but it's not so sweet.) Also, I don't keep ketchup at home, but I do keep Heinz Chili Sauce, which again is more than a little like ketchup, but to me it's more flavorful and doesn't have that sweet, candy-like corn syrup taste in it.

I love my whities dipped in ketchup, lol

Mayo -based or meat-based anything obviously needs to be tossed immediately.

This is one of the things that took some getting used to while we were in the caribbean. It was common to see jars of mayo sitting out in the hot sun. The locals told us that as long as you used a clean knife the mayo would keep. You would have to take what you needed with one pass of the knife and hope you got enough I guess. I am not a big mayo guy so this wasnt a big concern to me, but I know Anne had some stuff with mayo in/on it and never got sick.

That's so funny to me. I used to work for a guy who owned a restaurant that kept open/used mayo at room temp. I think it was a space issue. When I first noticed, his defense involved preservation by means of salt, vinegar, and sugar. It looked really grody (gelatinous around the edges), but noone ever got sick, and plenty were served out of the gallon container.

I always keep a stick of butter on the counter. Have done it all my adult life and never get sick. Athough I do keep eggs in the frige, I wouldn't worry if they got to room temp - we used to keep them out too, just find the coolest part of the house. (cellar)

PS: got side tracked and posted too soon; I only eat mayo or tartar sauce on french fries. If I am going to eat fried food, it's going to be REALLY unhealthy!!! LOL