Pantry Inventory

We're doing a section topic post.

No one likes to do inventory.  Not at work, and not at home.  After the recent Southern California fires, I went around the house and took pictures, in case I ever need to itemize for insurance purposes.  Probably will never happen, but everyone should have some idea of what they own.

Kitchen inventory, for me, gets done before Passover.  Once a year is generally all you need, assuming fresh foods are rotated before they get scary.  Frozen and dry storage commonly are designed to last between a year to 18 months.  A few items, like whole wheat flour and brown rice, tend to spoil after only six months if you live in a warm and/or humid climate.  Canned meats are often dated as long as five years.

I don't write down what's in the dry pantry.  I just keep it neat and avoid stacking things that are not alike.  The fridge is not crammed full, so I can see everything.  The chest freezer, on the other hand, gets a post-it list.  I only itemize the meat, though I should probably write down the mini pie shells I've had in there since December.  I was going to do thumbprint mince pies and never got around to them.  Some people with cellars or exceptionally large pantries do make a written inventory or computer spreadsheet of everything, and their best-by dates.

When I was clearing one shelf at a time to do the Passover sorting, I realized that I have a LOT of food in there.  It's the beans.  I count them as shelf-stable proteins and have more of a variety of them than of meats.  A pound of dry beans is roughly 12-14 servings, so a pound each of 8 or more legumes is about a four month supply if I suddenly went vegan.  Well, less if I was also using them for breakfast and lunch.  In addition to the dry beans, I have over a dozen cans and jars ready to use, at 3-4 servings each.  But there were no surprises, no spoiled foods, nothing I had forgotten, and I could remember why I had bought everything.

It's a good idea to look through what you have on hand when meal planning or making a grocery list.  It prevents over-buying or forgetting an item until it is no longer good to eat.  For me, it can spark creativity or a new recipe.  And these days, whatever you spent on the food you have on hand is less than what it is going for now.