A Place For Everything

So after last weeks post about my frustration with condiment manufacturers, I got to thinking. I came up with a solution I am in LOVE with. It came to me while we were reorganizing the food storage and I came across the peaches I canned last year. Why not use Mason jars for my condiments?

So here's what I did (in case you want to be as OCD as me).
1) I went though me refrigerator and made a list of what I had and next to it the amount in the jar (when it was full, found on the label).
2) I then calculated the amounts into pints and quarts. I used an online conversion calculator. I rounded up to ensure that the contents would always fit in the jar.
3) I then made a list of how many pint jars and how many quart jars I would need. I already had enough quart jars on hand from canning the peaches. And off to Wal-mart I went.
4) When I got back I emptied the containers into their new homes and labeled them with my best friend (my brother label maker).

When Keith got home and saw it he was concerned about rotation. A valid concern. Since I studied food safety as a manger for Burger King I know all too well about the dangers of cross contamination. Here's my solution. We do not add more to these jars until they are empty. The jars will then be washed, sterilized, and then air dried. Only after this is done will new product will be added to the jar.

And for those of you concerned about the sell by/use by dates on your condiments, I did some research on this too. This is what I found out. Except for "use-by" dates, product dates don't always refer to home storage and use after purchase. "Use-by" dates usually refer to best quality and are not safety dates. But even if the date expires during home storage, a product should be safe, wholesome and of good quality — if handled properly and kept at 40° F or below. If product has a "use-by" date, follow that date (none of my condiments had such a date). Foods can develop an off odor, flavor or appearance due to spoilage bacteria. If a food has developed such characteristics, you should not use it for quality reasons.

One last piece of advice. The metal lids that come on the jars have been known to rust so for a few dollars more I purchased plastic lids to fit the jars. These are only available for the regular mouth jars and not the wide mouth jars.

Here are a few pictures to illustrate my re-organized refrigerator, which as my friend Linn would say, "makes my heart sing!"