# Do you have a food or drink or condiment that you HAVE to have in your home at all times? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2015, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220 "2015-08-07T05:57:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/21 "2015-08-07T17:00:01Z")
Tabasco sauce. I use it all the time when cooking. As for spices: red pepper. I like things hot. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/22 "2015-08-07T17:21:13Z")
Hard to say… I’m a firm believer in a well-stocked pantry. Perhaps too well-stocked. What I really want is a microcosm of an entire grocery store, with one of everything on hand waiting to be used. So on the one hand, that means I can easily substitute one thing for another. But on the other hand, it means there’s a list of probably 100 things that I’d immediately want to go out and stock up on should I run out. Maybe the best thing I can think of for this thread is some kind of fruit-flavored candy. Skittles (though less so now that they ruined green), gummy bears, jelly beans, Sweet Tarts, that kind of thing. I rotate through the specific type over a year, but I like to be able to grab and handful of something with that kind of flavor profile. When I don’t have any, I find myself wishing I did… certainly more than I miss anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/23 "2015-08-07T17:27:04Z")
I found myself making a special run to the store the other day because we had run out of popcorn and I just knew the dog wouldn’t understand… ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/24 "2015-08-07T17:29:17Z")
Coffee Mocha Mix Truvia Diet Pepsi Bottled Water Onions Sugar Free cookies of some sort ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/25 "2015-08-07T17:59:10Z")
[QUOTE=Stoid;18581156 Now my thing is citric acid; I prefer tart drinks no matter what the flavor (I even add lemon to Coke), and there is no drink I have ever come across which is sufficiently tart for me, especially if I’m drinking zero calorie. And a teaspoon of straight citric acid added to any fruit or lemon or squirt or whatever makes almost any stupid soda totally refreshing and delicious. And I like to have a libation almost constantly during summer. So when I run out of the stuff, I go a little nuts, particularly since it’s not easy to find locally and I generally have to order it online and wait for delivery. [/QUOTE] Citiric acid is generally available in home brew stores. Fruit Fresh is available in the baking aisle of most grocery stores as is RealLemon and RealLime powder. I keep those at work to make a quart of cold brew lemon or lime iced tea. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/26 "2015-08-07T18:12:13Z")
Ice! I could have dozens of different stuff to drink on hand, but if there is no ice, the party is over! I covet those refrigerators with ice in the door. Maybe I will have one, one day. Fortunately, the ice factory is just two blocks from my home. And at .70 cents a bag, it is a bargain. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/27 "2015-08-07T18:15:32Z")
Peanut butter. Preferably natural (Smucker’s or store-ground). ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/28 "2015-08-07T19:40:37Z")
Cans of either Coke Zero or Pepsi One. I have one a day as my “morning coffee.” I can forgo almost any other food or drink (I drink water out of the tap) for quite a long time. But when my pop is gone, it’s time to go shoppin’. Ketchup is pretty important but if I didn’t have any at home I’d be able to pick some up from wherever I am getting the ketchup-needing food. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/29 "2015-08-07T20:40:29Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Ice! Should have included this. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/30 "2015-08-07T20:56:19Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > For me it used to be coffee, but it wasn’t just the coffee itself, it was the coffee and the cream or creamer as well. Had to have both or I’d just be completely out of sorts. > > I weaned myself off coffee in the last year, though. I will have it occasionally but I know longer feel totally weird without the taste of coffee in my mouth first thing. > > Now my thing is citric acid; I prefer tart drinks no matter what the flavor (I even add lemon to Coke), and there is no drink I have ever come across which is sufficiently tart for me, especially if I’m drinking zero calorie. And a teaspoon of straight citric acid added to any fruit or lemon or squirt or whatever makes almost any stupid soda totally refreshing and delicious. And I like to have a libation almost constantly during summer. So when I run out of the stuff, I go a little nuts, particularly since it’s not easy to find locally and I generally have to order it online and wait for delivery. > > I also consider my pantry as good as empty if I’m out of butter, but that’s generally easier to deal with. > > And you? Salsa and coke (I prefer the made in Mexico variety in the glass bottles, since they are pure cane sugar and IMHO taste better when ice cold) are the must haves in my house …that and cigars. Used to be single malt scotch as well, but I’ve given it up. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/31 "2015-08-07T20:59:43Z")
> [@BeeGee](#): > > Citiric acid is generally available in home brew stores. Fruit Fresh is available in the baking aisle of most grocery stores as is RealLemon and RealLime powder. I keep those at work to make a quart of cold brew lemon or lime iced tea. They also sell citric acid in a lot of grocery stores with the canning stuff; it’s used to tweak the pH when canning things. Ball makes it. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/32 "2015-08-07T21:47:34Z")
Milk. My sister and I drink a lot of it. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/33 "2015-08-07T22:10:33Z")
There is no short supply of members of the genus Allium in _my_ house. Sometimes it is even home grown. Apart from that: teabags, milk, cheese, nice bread, and some kind of preserved sausage. If civilization collapsed I’d be able to exist on my larder for up to three days I reckon, before I was eating raw onion and trying to make tea with rainwater and a bit of sunshine to heat it up. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/34 "2015-08-07T22:11:48Z")
Ginger ale. I have a little fridge in my bedroom that gets super cold, and it’s full of ginger ale in cans. Also, ice cubes, I can’t drink soda without ice. If you use ice from the tray, you better fill it back up. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/35 "2015-08-07T23:03:17Z")
Regular Coke and chips and salsa. Everything else is negotiable. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/36 "2015-08-07T23:11:25Z")
Onions, garlic, and tea. Not all at the same time though. I bought a jar of the most wonderful sweet, tangy, very garlicky dipping sauce at a craft fair last weekend and that has to go right to the top of the list. I could just eat it with a spoon. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/37 "2015-08-08T02:45:20Z")
> [@bump](#): > > They also sell citric acid in a lot of grocery stores with the canning stuff; it’s used to tweak the pH when canning things. Ball makes it. An Armenian grocery near me sells it, I don’t know what they use it for. I thought of giving them a try because I was first introduced to having it at all when I bought “sour salt” from the Jewish section of my big market a billion years back. I don’t know what they use it for either, but I know there’s a lot of cross over in terms of supplies between certain cuisines, and I was right. But it’s much more expensive there. I buy a couple of pounds at a time from [nuts.com](http://nuts.com). ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/38 "2015-08-08T03:51:06Z")
Louisiana hot sauce. Sambal Oelek chili paste. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/39 "2015-08-08T04:01:42Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > but I always want to have eggs. I throw away a lot of eggs. > [@Stoid](#): > > :eek::eek::eek: Is this so weird? Maybe I should have phrased it better. I always want eggs _available_ even if I rarely finish a dozen eggs before they expire. And by expire, I mean 2-3 weeks after the expiration date on the carton. I know some people think eggs last forever. I’m not one of those people. Earlier this year (like February or March) some people at work were doing a breakfast thing. I didn’t participate, but afterwards, I saw a carton of leftover eggs with an expiration date of July. **JULY!** Talk about :eek: ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220/40 "2015-08-08T04:12:48Z")
Bourbon Hot sauce Mustard [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-food-or-drink-or-condiment-that-you-have-to-have-in-your-home-at-all-times/727220.md?page=3)