What’s In YOUR Refrigerator?

Continuing on from my “What’s In YOUR Pantry?” and Pantry Inventory — Things I Forgot articles, here is a rundown of what is in my refrigerator today. It’s a little sparse in there right now because I had a good clean-out yesterday in anticipation of having enough room for Thanksgiving leftovers!

• Milk… I have strong feelings against the bovine growth hormone and I won’t buy milk unless the container states that it is hormone and antibiotic free. Happily, over the last several months more and more brands are offering the hormone and antibiotic free milk, so there is a better price choice now.
• Orange juice… the kind in the box that ISN’T made from concentrate (and with pulp :o) although my husband always insists that I don’t like the kind with pulp and I have not been able to convince him otherwise). When that gets too expensive, I buy frozen concentrate.
• Grape juice… usually made by me from the frozen concentrate.
• Other juice… I love V-8 Juice but even the reduced sodium is more salt than I want us to consume on a regular basis, so this is a sometimes thing, and there is only one small can in there right now! I liked the idea of the V-8 Fusion vegetable and fruit juices, but we tried several flavors and didn’t like the “aftertaste.”
• Butter (lightly salted)… I buy butter in quantity when there is a sale, like now when butter is $1.75 a pound, and I freeze all but the pound we are using. Also a small container of the soft butter spread I make.
• Eggs… Until recently we kept a few hens and always had our own eggs, so we never had to think about E. coli or salmonella. Since I have been buying eggs (locally), I do have concerns, but the price of organic eggs is more than I’m willing to pay. However, I don’t let anyone eat raw eggs any more (like licking the beaters when I’m mixing up a cake or cookies), and I am careful when handling raw eggs and any dishes or areas they have come in contact with.
• Dried eggs… I buy these in an 8-ounce container (the Deb El Just Whites brand) for when I make mayonnaise or anything else that requires eggs but no cooking. These dried eggs are 100% dried egg whites and are salmonella negative and are “pasteurized for safety.” The dried eggs mix up easily in warmish water… results are the same as with fresh eggs.
• Mustard… plain yellow type mustard and a spicy brown mustard. I prefer Grey Poupon and watch for sales. When I find one, I buy several jars.
• Mayonnaise… I used to be able to buy one type of mayonnaise that did not contain soy, but when that brand became unavailable I started making my own. I have tried cooked mayonnaises but we like the uncooked types better. I make a simple mayonnaise using olive oil, lemon juice, dry mustard, dried egg, and small amounts of sugar and salt. I use an immersion stick blender and the mayonnaise makes up in a matter of minutes… quite unlike the lengthy process when I was using the larger mixer. I usually double the recipe and keep a small container in the refrigerator, but we don’t use mayonnaise very often so I don’t make large amounts.
• Ketchup… 36-ounce bottles with the most natural ingredient list I can find.
• Honey
• Vinegar, cider and white
• Carrots, celery, cabbage, peppers, and lettuce… I store this unwashed and wash and prepare only as much as I’m going to use because I have found that vegetables last longer this way. (And supposedly keep more of their nutritive value.)
• Always bananas and apples… I don’t refrigerate the bananas but they seem to belong in this category. :o) I have to admit I do buy by price so any other fruits I buy besides bananas and apples are usually the ones that are in season.
• Oranges, tangerines… whichever is less expensive. Right now we’re enjoying tangerines.
• Cheese… cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack in blocks (uncolored), cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, cream cheese, and sliced cheddar cheese.
• Yeast
• Pickles and relish… another item that is hard to find that doesn’t contain some form of soy, but there is one brand of tiny gerkin dill pickles and tomato relish that we buy (Berkeley’s and Jensen’s). Both are delicious and greatly appreciated because so much of this type of thing is off limits to us.
• Salad dressing… I can’t buy the ready made, again because of the soy, so I make our own in small quantities and usually have a couple of types in the refrigerator. Right now there is a tomato-based Italian type dressing and a sour cream garlic dressing.
• If you’ve noticed I didn’t list any deli meats or packaged luncheon meats, it’s because we don’t buy them… partly because of the soy issue but mostly because of the high salt content and the nitrites, nitrates, and other additives, all of which I try to avoid. VERY occasionally for a bit more variety I do buy the natural-type low-salt turkey hot dogs without additives and occasionally the same type of ham.
• Also missing… soft drinks, and this one really hurts because I do love anything fizzy! We drink ice tea occasionally but mostly we drink water… LOTS of water.

I guess that’s it. I’ll save the freezer contents for another time. I have received a lot of e-mail about my pantry articles… thanks to everyone for the great response, and if I haven’t gotten back to you yet… I will!

Filed Under Organization, Grocery Shopping, Cooking & Baking from Scratch, Frugality