Condiments and Expiration Dates: Pantry Cleaning Tips

Faith Durand
Faith DurandSVP of Content
Faith is the SVP of Content at Apartment Therapy Media and former Editor-in-Chief of The Kitchn. She is the author of three cookbooks, including the James Beard Award-winning The Kitchn Cookbook. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband and two daughters.
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updated May 11, 2022
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Are you deep into cleaning your pantry during this week of the Kitchen Cure? I confess that I haven’t started yet, but I have a lot of things to work on in my cupboards and pantry! I am looking forward to pushing through old spices, nearly-empty packages and greasy jars. Time to consolidate and clean! Here are a few tips and helpful ideas from our archives on some of the issues that come up when cleaning the pantry, fridge, and freezer

All about the ingredients
• How long can you keep opened condiments? – A rough guide to whether you should pitch the jars in the fridge or not.

• What are processed foods? – Are you trying to judge whether you want to keep ultra-processed foods in your pantry or freezer? Here is an overview of some of the ways that food is processed, and the pros and cons of different sorts of processed food.

• Along similar lines, here are the basic arguments on why corn syrup should be avoided. This might be a good time to clear out ingredients like this.

• How long can I leave butter out?

The pantry
• Finding fruit flies? How to get rid of fruit flies, and repelling fruit flies with rue.

• More pantry reorganization tips.

Fridge and freezer
• How to organize your fridge.

• What is freezer burn, and how to prevent it.

• How to freshen a smelly fridge.

• How to keep veggies crisp in the fridge.

• Organize your fridge with six-packs!

What NOT to throw away
• Use up brown bananas!

• Don’t throw away…?

And when you’re all done…
• Is Your Kitchen an A, B, or C? Take the Los Angeles County Health Grade Test (and Get a Grade Magnet) – And finally, when your pantry is all cleaned up, take this kitchen health quiz!

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