Overstocker or Understocker?

The Sweeper

I spent the weekend in the lake districts of cumbria with my sis in law, who's an avid tree hugger, for want of a better description. There's never anything in her cupboards and she only buys local produce. She also goes mental if anyone buys food in when there's already a few things in the fridge. As a result, cooking in her house is like Ready, Steady, Cook - you find yourself picking up about four things and going "right, what can I make with these..."

Now me, I hoard dried and tinned goods like there's a nuclear war due. Still, they do get used, 95% of the time. (And I have been known to rotate tins to make sure the oldest things get used first etc.)

However it strikes me that in the good old days, people only hoarded what they'd made themselves, and then it was for the Winter - canning, jam making, pickling and salting food throughout the bountiful Autumn for the cold months ahead. So why do I hoard now? I've no idea. I'd love to get out of the habit, but I'm only ever happen when there's a few days of stores in the larder.

So what are you, an overbuyer or an underbuyer? A hoarder? A waster? I've allowed the selection of more than one option in the poll, in case you go through phases...

Blub2k4

I used to buy fresh stuff with the best on intentions and end up throwing it out the week after, but have stopped that habit and began to change the way I would cook with it and just make something with what was about to go off and then freezing it. We eat totally differently to what we used to since doing that whole Paul Mckenna thing and as a result I have become a lot more conscious of not wasting the food as the portions we eat are a third of what they used to be and I make up big pots of stuff and freeze it for work dinners, quite organised that way these days.
It also means we normally have a selection of pretty good frozen meals in storage, I like getting it to the stage where I have 4-5 different things in the freezer to give the work lunchtimes variety.
The only fresh food as such that we eat is when I prepare the large pots at the weekend for freezing. Sometimes during the week I will cook fresh but it's rare that I have the inclination and evening meal is normally only a sandwich or something light. Previously we would have eaten a hot meal in the evening time as well as the midday dinner, the portion sizes of what I freeze means we can share one if wanted these days.
I have some stuff in storage but it's really only for end of the month style cooking pre pay-day.
Hmm did I answer the question?
Store cupboard is well enough stocked to get through 2 weeks possibly, it would mean using jarred sauces and stuff and the rest is fresh cooked from scratch and then frozen off.

The Hill Billy

I'd be a hoarder too.
I'd always have plenty of spices, sauces & tinned/dry food stocked up.
However, I try to buy my meat & veg on an "as needed" basis = pretty much every day.

Like Blub2k4 I'd also have a freezer full of pre-made meals from occasions when I'd made to much to be eaten at the time. The lack of labels can make for some interesting meals - we had pheasant a couple of weeks ago after the missus though she had taken out a leg of lamb to defrost. I still have turkey giblet soup in there from last Christmas - roll on the cooler days of autumn!

catspring

i chose the 'shop every few days, and only buy what's needed' option.
this is because
1. i rarely have the car when i'm going shoppin and there's only so much i can carry.
2. there's just my boyfriend and myself in the house so it's easy to plan how much food we'll need.
3. i have a crappy job that pays crappy money (it's only temporary) and can't afford to overspend on food

i also tend to cook in advance and freeze meals for the days when i'm working. just makes life so much easier.

rsta

I have loads of spices and jars of sauces, pickles, garlic and all that jazz. I tend to cook more than can be eaten and use it for lunch or dinner over the next couple days. I buy veg every week really and then use it up. Only buy raw meat when I need it that day.

Overall I'm pretty good with my food and use everything up before it goes off, I rarely throw food out. I would sooner cook up some strange combo of stuff so as to use it up, which is why I come up with some interesting 'meals'. For example today i only had a heal of bread, and egg, a few slices of turkey and some cheese left among some other stuff.. times are tough, tis payday soon.. The date on the turkey is up tomorrow, so I soaked the bread in the egg and fried it up and put the turkey and cheese on top and with a sprinkle of worcester sauce. Now that was tasty but I wouldnt have thought of it only for thats all I really had to work with!!

CJhaughey

I have more stuff in my cupboards than you could find in any given asian market.
Seriously I have everything from Asafoetida powder to gungo peas.(Tip:don't keep asafoetida powder in a sealed cupboard it is foetid)
I would have enough spices and tinned tomatoes etc that generally I only need to buy fresh fruit/veg and meat.
Right now I have Summer herrings(Maatje), Lamb chops 6 cobs of fresh corn and Chicken wings all ready to be cooked and eaten.
I usually have at least a tray of lidls tinned chopped tomato and tinned kidney beans on hand at all times it makes life easy and other miscellaneous tinned goods will usually be, Chickpeas, Duck Confit, Sweetcorn and sardines.

The Hill Billy

CJhaughey wrote:

Right now I have Summer herrings(Maatje)

Where did you get the Maatjes?
Brings back fond memories of food & drink by the Rhine...

Blub2k4

Hill Billy wrote:

Where did you get the Maatjes?
Brings back fond memories of food & drink by the Rhine...

Nicest maatjes I had was a brootje in a small truckstop at Rotterdam Europoort years ago with maatjes and sliced onion, deadly, but then part of it may have been the hunger and the lack of funds by the time I got there.
Hausfrau maatjes were quite nice too with some boiled salted spuds.

CJhaughey

I am lucky enough to have access to fish straight from the boat.
So I have a bag of fat herrings in my fridge ready to be salted and eaten as Maatjes.
I actually think that I will make some as pickled rollmops as I really like pickled herrings.
They are actually at their peak at this time of the year fat content of around 20% or so
.

Shabadu

See here for what my larder normally has.