Annabel Langbein

Now’s a prime opportunity to clear out your cupboards and revitalise stocks of ‘fixings’

At the beginning of the lockdown, the friend we have staying in the cabin sharing our little bubble asked me if I wanted her to get rid of the expired food she had found in the pantry.

“Like what?” I asked, slightly affronted. “Well things that are ... maybe, like 4 years old ... there’s sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, fish sauce. There are even crystals in the bottom of the fish sauce”

I could tell she was horrified.

“Ahh no, that stuff’s fine, it never goes off,” was my reply. “There’s so much sugar in the chilli sauce. Vinegar just gets better the older it is and all the salt in fish sauce preserves it indefinitely. If you don’t use it very often it forms crystals on the bottom of the bottle.”

I’m not talking about eating anything that could make you sick or recommending eating food that’s full of weevils or has gone rancid, but most pantry items last for a lot longer than their “best before” dates. Use-by dates indicate when a product may no longer be safe to eat. You shouldn’t eat, cook or freeze it after the date displayed, even if it looks or smells okay. Best before dates, on the other hand, are an indication of quality, rather than safety. You can still eat food after its best before date but its flavour and texture may not be as good as before the date (this doesn’t apply to fish sauce or vinegar, both of which you will pay a premium for if they are “aged”). Products very high in salt, sugar or vinegar will generally keep for years.

Food that has freezer burn (the result of air coming into contact with food), doesn’t look appealing, will be dry and often has an odd flavour. If you find freezer burn on the corner of a piece of meat or chicken, simply cut it off before cooking. If the whole item is freezer burnt you are best to biff it.

If the past few weeks have taught me one thing, it’s how inventive you can get with what’s in the pantry, in the back of fridge and the freezer. Those wild ducks that have been loitering in the freezer for the past year are rendered to succulent tenderness in the slow cooker with a can of coconut cream, half a cup of chutney, a slug of fish sauce, chopped chilli and a dried-up-looking kaffir lime leaf (also from the back of the freezer). Marmalade mixed with a couple of spoonfuls of balsamic vinegar creates a tangy, citrusy, sweet and sour sauce that’s great for pork duck or chicken.

Warm up old jam with a little water or fruit juice and use in place of sugar to sweeten apples or pears before stewing or in a crumble or pie. If you find ripe blackberries or any other pip or stonefruit (nectarines, peaches, apples, pears, etc) in the backyard or out on your neighbourhood walk, put them in a clean jar (chop if needed) and cover with white or wine vinegar. In a few months you’ll have a lovely, fruity vinegar to use in dressings and sauces.

As we head deep into autumn, now’s the time to replenish the pantry. Having some tasty fixings at hand is a great way to brighten up simple, everyday meals.