ChefTalk.com › ChefTalk Cooking Forums › Cooking Discussions › Food & Cooking › Is your pantry organized like your mother's?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Is your pantry organized like your mother's?

post #1 of 13
1/18/10 at 9:59pm
Thread Starter 
As I was reaching for my vanilla extract above the stove, something struck me as funny...I realized that I keep it here because that is where my mom kept it when I was growing up. I keep a number of items that I use frequently near the stove (oils, certain seasonings, etc.). But really, I use vanilla so infrequently that it doesn't make sense to keep it in that particular spot.

And yet, despite this realization, I will probably keep it right where it is since that is where my mom used to keep it.

How about you? Any parent-induced cooking or storage habits that you will probably never break free from? :smiles:
Reply

Featured Stories on ChefTalk.com

A clinical look at how a restaurant runs
The Making of a Chef Innovator, without the Pomp
Follow ChefTalk on Pinterest!
post #2 of 13
1/19/10 at 12:02am
Hmm both my home kitchen and my section at work is organised in a pretty bizarre way only I can understand...
Some things are sorted alphabetically (herbs etc), some by type (veg, meat, etc), the more important things are surrounding me in all directions in arms reach, and most importantly my knives in a spot that can't be used by anyone unless they physically move me out of the way first ;) .
Tried sorting by colour once, wasn't a good idea...
Reply
post #3 of 13
1/19/10 at 4:56am
What makes you think my mother's pantry was organized? :rolleyes:
They have taken the oath of the brother in blood, in leavened bread and salt. Rudyard Kipling
Reply
post #4 of 13
1/19/10 at 10:32am
Upon thinking about it, yes, mine is prob, like mum's. Starches together Tinned veg togetherm sauces in a basket.


Another parent habit I have - really annoying too, for some - I am a Grammar Sheriff. Annoys me too...
 Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy.
Robert A. Heinlein
 
Reply
post #5 of 13
1/19/10 at 10:50am
What makes you think my pantry is organized? :)
At weddings, my Aunts would poke me in the ribs and cackle "You're next!". They stopped when I started doing the same to them at funerals.
www.kyleskitchen.net
Reply
post #6 of 13
1/19/10 at 12:30pm
lol....

nope, I took a short course on kitchen organization years ago at BYU summer school.
Everything "pays rent" in the kitchen.......a pot used once a year is religated to an obscure place not in a prominent space.....
There's a baking section with all the shtuff necessary for baking.....flours, leavenors, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, decorating shtuff, vanilla, warm spices used only (mostly) in baking.....
etc.
Mom has her glassware in 3 different places, shtuff used regularly across the eating area....

But biggest difference is I'm not afraid to throw out old spices/herbs, condiments that have been in the fridge for oh so long......
But then I also have multiple fridges and freezers with all kinds of shtuff mom would never dream of having.:thumb::lol:
cooking with all your senses.....
Reply
post #7 of 13
1/19/10 at 2:53pm
I also am annoyed by bad grammar. However I restrain myself from correcting people (except for my kids when they were young). The way I see it, they are showing their ignorance, but if I correct them, I will reveal a lack of good manners. To me, that would be much worse. A couple of times I have been "corrected" when actually I was not in error, and then I did speak up in my own defense. On both occasions, it was in the matter of "to he and I" vs. "to him and me".

However, this has nothing at all to do with useless kitchen gadgets. :look: So, getting back on track---that pancake batter dispenser may not be very useful in a home kitchen, but I've seen how handy it is in commercial settings. A local group puts on a monthly pancake breakfast, and the volunteer on pancake duty uses one. He puts out dozens of pancakes of uniform size, with very little waste, and lots faster than if the batter were being ladeled out. Of course, the uniform size is a function of the person pulling the trigger.

Ooops! My bad! I forgot what thread I was responding to. :eek: So anyway...no, my pantry and kitchen is lots different than Mom's. She only knew 7 recipes, with variations on each (it must be Wednesday, we're having meatloaf). So she also had only a few spices and just the necessary cookware.
"The pressure's on...let's cook something!"
 
Reply
post #8 of 13
1/19/10 at 5:31pm
Is my kitchen organized like my mom's? Absolutely. Hers was not at all organized. Mine is a little better organized. And like Shroom, I'm not afraid to toss old stuff. When I cleaned out Mom's place after she died last February, I found a tin of mustard powder with an expiration date sometime in 1979. :lol:
Moderator Emerita, Welcome Forum
***It is better to ask forgiveness than beg permission.***
Reply
post #9 of 13
1/19/10 at 8:43pm
My linen press is organised just like mum's too.

P.S. Grace - lol. Now my daughter is an adult she is tempted to do the same thing (re grammar) and her best friend Nick likes to call himself the grammar sherrif as well. My daughter is dubbed the grammar deputy. It's an ongoing battle and we have some great conversations/debates. I try to expound the use of "whom", as in, "Whom would you like to see more of?" "I would like to see more of him/her". When it's him or her or them for the answer, the question must use "Whom"......but I just generally curse at the TV or radio...and the pronunciation (another one :) ) of the word kilomeeter. It's not a kil-uh-metre. Uggh, enough rant, most peoples speak goodly more than wot I does. So I tries to shut upsies. :D
 Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy.
Robert A. Heinlein
 
Reply
post #10 of 13
1/19/10 at 10:40pm
Oh! don't get me started... we might have to take this to the Late Night Cafe. :lol:
"The pressure's on...let's cook something!"
 
Reply
post #11 of 13
1/20/10 at 12:06am
ROFL Grace.... We may have to. Let's shall.

Sorry to all for the high-jack. My bad.
 Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy.
Robert A. Heinlein
 
Reply
post #12 of 13
2/12/10 at 9:26am
I never could find anything in my Mom's kitchen. At least in my kitchen (actually a galley, but that's a longer story) I know where everything is and can lay hands on it quickly.

sail fast and eat well, dave
S/V Auspicious
Reply
post #13 of 13
2/12/10 at 11:26am
This is funny and I am exactly the same way.In fact I bought the family home when I first got married as my parents were gone and I never really moved anything around to much because it worked,where she had everything.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Food & Cooking

Featured Stories on ChefTalk.com

A clinical look at how a restaurant runs
The Making of a Chef Innovator, without the Pomp
Follow ChefTalk on Pinterest!
ChefTalk.com › ChefTalk Cooking Forums › Cooking Discussions › Food & Cooking › Is your pantry organized like your mother's?