A pantry is a wonderful storage hub and we love nothing better than learning new hacks to keep ours just so. But, when it comes to pantry organisation, it's important to keep the right things in this little food larder we love, and the wrong things out.
We can blame the pandemic and our hunter-gatherer ancestors, or our neuroses, but a growing number of us are using the pantry as a storage unit for our hoarding tendencies, but with food. Think: packs of pasta pushed further into the abyss by new tins of tomatoes, and enough anchovies to start a school. When spring clean time arrives, we toss the things we forgot to remember - the sauerkraut we never used, the wholemeal flour packed with pests, the paprika from 2012.
Food waste is a huge problem, and one really clever way to reduce it is to buy less, and store the right things, for shorter amounts of time, in the pantry. See the pantry as a place to pop the one or few spices you really use, the small packet of oats, the few things we use weekly, not rarely. If the time comes and you want to bake a cake, or so something you don't do frequently, shop for the occasion. Reduce pantry moths, stop eating rancid food, and avoid the clean up of all clean ups when the ferment explodes through everything, by storing less, using the fridge (a little) more, and knowing what is in the pantry at all times.
Here are five things you should never store in the pantry, and where you should keep them instead.
Walnuts, peanuts, pistachios, pine nuts and, actually, all nuts should not be stored in your pantry. Nuts are packed with unsaturated fats, and that fat will very quickly go rancid if not stored in the fridge, preferably in an airtight container. A sprig of fresh rosemary will help keep your nuts fresh for longer. And yes, this includes nut butters and even peanut butter after opening.
Because peanut butter has few preservatives, it can easily degrade. If you go through it quickly - perhaps weekly - the pantry is an acceptable place to store it. To keep it in top shape make sure you use a clean utensil every time you scoop it from the jar. No double dipping!
We know nuts are incredibly good for you, they're packed with antioxidants and fibre and have been shown to lower cholesterol and inflammation. But they will very quickly become bad for you if they're not fresh. Shopping in bulk bins is a dangerous game with nuts - those often-opened lids make nuts susceptible to oxygen, which turns them rancid much more quickly. Buy nuts in a sealed bag, and check the packed date (not the best before date, which is an estimate only and depends a lot on how they've been transported, packed, and where they will be stored at your place).
Coffee is the non-negotiable grocery item, the ritual that brings us back to life each morning and the only path to productivity for many (this writer included). But to be truly good, worth more than the caffeine hit it also is, coffee needs to be very fresh. If you buy pre-ground coffee, you can go ahead and store it in an airtight container in the pantry. But it has to be seriously airtight, those gorgeous oils need to be kept away from oxygen and moisture. Hot tip: check the roast date on all coffee you buy, it should be within the last 30 days. Buy a small bag often, always checking the roast date. And ignore the best before date - see above point about nuts.
But coffee beans are another story. You can freeze whole beans for up to a month, but don't take them in and out of the freezer in that time and definitely don't let them defrost at all before they're put away (say when you're topping up your grinder). If you buy a lot of beans at once time, decant them into smaller snap-lock bags so when you do need to use them, you can take up one bag and allow them to thaw before using. Then grind and use those beans as soon as you can, and definitely within two weeks.
You can store flour in a cool, dark place in your kitchen, such as the pantry. Keep it airtight and away from light and oxygen to keep it fresh - yes, as a food stuff it can go rancid. If you're tired of flour weevils and pantry moths appearing - or maybe worse, their larvae - store flour in the fridge. The eggs of these critters are in the flour before you buy it, so don't buy flour in bulk to avoid giving them time to hatch. Even better, store it in the freezer to kill the eggs altogether and then either return the flour to an airtight container or store it in the fridge.
Ultra-processed foods like white sliced bread, most packet biscuits, many types of food-type substances we buy in supermarkets, can be stored in the pantry. Because frankly it's so artificial that it doesn't go off in the same way that real food does.
The internet is often abuzz with debates around which condiments can be stored in the pantry and what must be refrigerated. The answer is not straightforward, and depends a lot on how much salt and sugar items contain and whether they have been heat treated, a process that removes most if not all bacteria - both good and bad. Some tomato sauce brands would do fine stored in the pantry - check the sugar content - while the salt and sugar reduced brands would be safer in the fridge.
Honey. Miracle substance that it is, honey doesn't go off. They have even found honey in tombs from ancient Egypt. Buy the most natural, bee friendly honey you can find to ensure it lasts. It may darken and crystallise a little, but it's still safe to eat.
Butter. Likewise - shock - butter can be kept in the pantry, unlike other dairy products. Salted butter keeps better, and it's safer when concealed from heat, light and air - use a proper butter dish to be totally sure about keeping butter in the pantry.
Mayonnaise on the other hand, especially the homemade variety, must be stored in the fridge. Store eggs themselves in the fridge as well - not the pantry - and keep them in their original carton to allow them to last longer. Cartons (instead of those plastic trays) reduce water loss and protect the eggs from absorbing other flavours within the fridge.
Maple syrup. Highly processed maple syrup can be stored in the pantry. There is so much sugar and it's been heat treated to remove all bacteria, so it can be kept at room temperature. Not so real maple syrup, which is a natural product with no preservatives (hint: it's more delicious, more nourishing, generally better). Once opened, proper maple syrup needs to be kept in the fridge instead of the pantry so it doesn't develop a film of mould.
Fish sauce. If fish sauce spills in your pantry, that smell is almost impossible to eradicate. But also, proper fish sauce is fermented and so should be stored in the fridge. The best quality fish sauce brands (such as this fish sauce that Australian chef and Thai food expert David Thompson recommends) are fermented, preservative free and salted and packed with good and nutritious things, and must be kept in the fridge.
Dijon mustard won't necessarily spoil at room temperature, but some experts say the flavour profile will change over time. Much better to keep it in the fridge once opened.
Yes, you are supposed to keep your cleaning products in a cool, clean, dry place away from animals and children, but that doesn't mean we should be using the pantry for the job. Not all cleaning products are toxic or harmful to humans and animals, but that doesn't mean you want your eucalyptus solution flavouring your Weetbix. And if you have any toxic substances in your cleaning collection, the risk of spillage, permeation into food products or accidents are just too high.