# How much of a pantry do you maintain? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 6, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681 "2011-01-06T23:50:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/41 "2011-01-07T18:48:01Z")
The snowstorm thing baffles me too. I grew up in upstate New York and then in South Dakota, a blizzard both places could be serious and getting literally ‘snowed in’ for days at a time happened several times. It was understandable that people always did a quick grocery run for milk and such, before a major storm. But now I live in the Philadelphia area, where people panic and dash to the supermarket like the world is ending when we’re supposed to get a foot of snow in 2 days (which melts within the week). It’s just silly - even with feet of snow (which we almost never get), unless you’re in a bad neighborhood in the city roads are in good shape within 12 hours after snow stops falling… I picked ‘slim’ as I eat mostly highly perishable food, so I go shopping every 6-7 days in order to have fresh eggs, dairy products, meat, fish, fruit, veg. I don’t eat dry goods like grains, beans flour, sugar, or even bread/crackers/cereal. But I do always have some meat, veggies, broth, and berries in my freezer, and some cans of sardines, and some extra potatoes and onions. So I’d have enough to eat for a couple weeks without shopping - as long as I had power to keep my fridge and freezer cold. I just wouldn’t get to have my usual breakfast (eggs, fruit and cream, yogurt) or lunch (fresh salad greens with cheese and meat or fish). A lot of people I know keep barely any food in the house. Or they have a lot of stuff like crackers, pasta, chips, cookies - but very little fresh food. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/42 "2011-01-07T18:51:04Z")
Honestly, about 1.5 to 2 months; longer on half rations. We used to keep close to 2-3 months worth but we’ve been steadily trying to reduce inventory. We also typically keep enough essential toiletries and chemicals (toilet paper, paper towels, laundry soap, dish soap, etc.) to last for 2-3 months. We have about a year’s worth of wine and beer (we could have the equivalent of one bottle of wine a day for more than a year). The vast majority of our food is dried or tinned, and thus not subject to electrical outages (such as frozen/refrigerated items), and we have the means to indefinitely cook anything without gas or electricity. And because we live in the “inner suburbs” we have two large supermarkets within short walking distance. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/43 "2011-01-07T18:53:41Z")
Absolutely a month, but it would get monotonous pretty quickly - basically whatever pallet-o-foodstuff my wife picked up at the warehouse store most recently. We never go near the supermarkets when snow is forecast. ---
**Author:** ![Tracyfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f14d63/32.png) [@Tracyfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracyfish)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/44 "2011-01-07T21:12:23Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > I voted slim. I’m a fan of having more in a pantry, but \*\*Tracyfish \*\*does not. She’s odd about food, though. If she magically ran out of food tomorrow and I wasn’t around, I think she’d chew on flour or something. It’s not that I don’t want food in the pantry. I just don’t want to buy a bunch of food and have it go bad before it gets eaten. As long as the food is nonperishable, and we’ll eat it eventually, I don’t mind stocking up. We usually have enough that we could make it a few days if there was a snowstorm. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/45 "2011-01-07T21:21:34Z")
I have a limited food budget so I buy what I need for a few days. I can’t be wasting money on something that I don’t want to eat soon. I also like fresh bread and other short life products for my meals, thus I buy food the day before a major storm. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/46 "2011-01-08T05:33:39Z")
other = more than a week / less than a month ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/47 "2011-01-08T06:23:21Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Hahaha really? I thought this was unique to our house! (Un-married female and un-married male) > > We will always be ready to fend off an army of monkeys and ducks. Hi-Five! _munches on bread_ ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/48 "2011-01-08T18:45:04Z")
I keep a big pantry – single male, 34 y.o. I don’t have any real reason, but I like to have the option of not having to run out to the store for bread (flour+yeast+salt) or any imaginable sort of dry or canned goods. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/49 "2011-01-08T19:13:44Z")
> [@Tracyfish](#): > > It’s not that I don’t want food in the pantry. I just don’t want to buy a bunch of food and have it go bad before it gets eaten. As long as the food is nonperishable, and we’ll eat it eventually, I don’t mind stocking up. We usually have enough that we could make it a few days if there was a snowstorm. Exactly. There’s a balance between buying lots because it’s on sale and buying as much as we can reasonably eat before it goes stale/bad/gets mealy worms/whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/50 "2011-01-09T03:50:14Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Exactly. There’s a balance between buying lots because it’s on sale and buying as much as we can reasonably eat before it goes stale/bad/gets mealy worms/whatever. She eats like a bird. Even then, she could still get frozen foods and nonperishables. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/51 "2011-01-09T05:13:59Z")
We live in NYC and have limited storage space in our small kitchen, plus we have that frustrating problem where it is only my husband and I, so often the smallest available size of a perishable item isn’t used up before it perishes. I really make efforts not to buy any “extra” at all. At this point, I’ve been living this way most of my adult life, and I’m not sure my shopping habits could change even if we suddenly had an enormous increase in storage space. We could _probably_ go a week, but the end of the week would be a lot of dry cereal. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/52 "2011-01-09T06:15:27Z")
I like to be able to make almost anything I like to eat if I’m in the mood for it at any time, so we tend to be _stocked_. It drives my spouse crazy. Go on: put in an order, I’ll tell you if I could make it for you right now. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/53 "2011-01-09T06:51:14Z")
> [@jellyblue](#): > > I like to be able to make almost anything I like to eat if I’m in the mood for it at any time, so we tend to be _stocked_. It drives my spouse crazy. > Go on: put in an order, I’ll tell you if I could make it for you right now. French fries made from russett potatoes deep fried in duck fat. With maple-glazed, cedar-planked salmon. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/54 "2011-01-09T07:09:19Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > French fries made from russett potatoes deep fried in duck fat. With maple-glazed, cedar-planked salmon. 🙂 I’ll take that, plus dover sole a la meuniere, roast duck, and more French Fries, this time with half Yukon Golds made into cubed hash browns. And a few crusty slices of baguettte with a side of glazed carrots (NOT cut into coins, but on a bias). Also a glass of wine, s’il te plait. The scary thing is I could pretty much make this with my pantry, minus the fish, which I don’t find freezes too well with my little rental refrigerator. Do your worst, **jellyblue** , i don’t think you have the STUFF. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/55 "2011-01-09T07:10:56Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > French fries made from russett potatoes deep fried in duck fat. With maple-glazed, cedar-planked salmon. 🙂 Well, I don’t get many hankerings for duck fat or salmon myself, but how about we fry them in bacon fat and grill you up some nice marinated mahi mahi? Side of roasted zucchini and a cream cheese-filled chocolate cupcake for dessert? ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/56 "2011-01-09T07:13:38Z")
> [@jellyblue](#): > > Well, I don’t get many hankerings for duck fat or salmon myself, but how about we fry them in bacon fat and grill you up some nice marinated mahi mahi? Side of roasted zucchini and a cream cheese-filled chocolate cupcake for dessert? Now you turned up the heat! That’ll do, good woman, that’ll do. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/57 "2011-01-09T07:16:00Z")
> [@Jaledin](#): > > I’ll take that, plus dover sole a la meuniere, roast duck, and more French Fries, this time with half Yukon Golds made into cubed hash browns. And a few crusty slices of baguettte with a side of glazed carrots (NOT cut into coins, but on a bias). > > Also a glass of wine, s’il te plait. > > The scary thing is I could pretty much make this with my pantry, minus the fish, which I don’t find freezes too well with my little rental refrigerator. Do your worst, **jellyblue** , i don’t think you have the STUFF. > > 😉 What is it with you people and the duck, eh? What did duck ever do to you? I have flounder, the hash browns, the baguette (spousette bakes that from scratch) and the carrots are no problem. I have 2 cabs, a red Zin or champagne. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/58 "2011-01-09T07:17:29Z")
> [@Jaledin](#): > > Now you turned up the heat! That’ll do, good woman, that’ll do. 😛 You’re going to need a brisk jog around the block or two after that one! ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/59 "2011-01-09T07:19:10Z")
not saying anything…I like duckling, and I’m French, so blame my people, not me. I’ll happily drink your wine, though, toujours modestly. I think I’m the only one I know who buys many many pounds of carrots and cuts them properly, though, so I’ll keep that secret to myself (sharp knife and a food processor!) ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681/60 "2011-01-09T07:27:52Z")
> [@Jaledin](#): > > not saying anything…I like duckling, and I’m French, so blame my people, not me. I’ll happily drink your wine, though, toujours modestly. I think I’m the only one I know who buys many many pounds of carrots and cuts them properly, though, so I’ll keep that secret to myself (sharp knife and a food processor!) Ah! Le canard! I made your a la meuniere with champagne - don’t tell anybody :D. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-pantry-do-you-maintain/566681.md?page=4)