What, in your opinion, is a food item that lasts the longest in your house? This would be an item that is necessary but does not run out all that quickly. For me it would be salt. This is one item that I do not have to be buying every week or every other week for that matter. But it is something that I use every day in my cooking. The reason why salt lasts so long is because only a small amount needs to be added to the pot of whatever you are cooking in order to flavour the meal. For frying or scrambling eggs, only a moderate amount of salt is needed as well. Salt is a commodity that is also sold at a very affordable price. It is one of those things that we are told to use in moderation, but at the same time it is necessary for adding flavour to most of the foods that we eat.
Salt and anything canned! Also, honey! We don't eat a lot of honey and only use it for a sweetener every now and then. It is always in the pantry and never seems to run out. I like to keep some black beans in my pantry too so I can make a quick meal that is full of protein. I get them for .69 cents at Kroger and they last for months!
Unless they are sprouting like crazy, potatoes tend to last a while. Now, I've noticed something new since I've started buying organic, like Russets don't last as long. So getting non-organic may be the best bet. Onions usually last me a long time also.
I may not have an appropriate answer to this thread but I can relate with our food cabinet where we store packs of salt, sugar, corn starch, flour, pasta and noodles, bottles of vinegar, fish sauce and soy sauce and some other grocery items that we regularly buy. I agree that salt lasts for long and likewise with sugar and other spices like black pepper and herbs. With vegetables, they are easily perishable so we stock vegetables for a maximum of 2 days only.
Yes, I would also say that items such as flour, vinegar and powdered herbs last for quite a while too. These are items that do not need to be re-stocked on a regular basis, whereas vegetables and fruit which are perishable, always need to be replenished since I think these are items that have a lot of health benefits too.
I like buying canned foods because I know that I can stock up on them while they're on offer without having to worry about them going out of date before I am able to use them. Cans are fine to use a long time after their date "expires" anyway - though nothing tends to stay in my house for that long. It can save plenty of cash when you make the most of the offers that are available to you, so you should certainly try to do so if you get the chance.
Yes, I would second spices, pasta, rice and canned food items last the longest. I'm always sticked up on both for emergencies or lazy days. But if I'm being totally, I'm not a huge fan of canned food except maybe tuna, corned beef and tomatoes. But I admit they do come in handy when there's nothing else in.
I would say all my spices last a long time and I do not have to buy them very often. Cooking wines and cooking oil is probably second to spices and then flour and sugar. Of course, this depends on the amount of baking I do. Holidays are the time of year that I may have to buy flour and sugar more often.
Salt is something that lasts ages in my house too! I can buy salt and not need to buy it again for a year or more even. Flour I can usually make last for a long time as well although nowhere near as long as salt would last. Sugar we tend to go through more quickly though because people like to have a lot of sugar in their tea and coffee here. I find that oils tend to last a long time too. I'm always a bit loathed to buy oils when they're so expensive but then they do last a long time so it's worth it in the end!
For me it's white flour so I refrigerate it and it lasts. I use white flour for coating my corn beef hash, tempura and thickening sometimes. I use more cornstarch now for thickening. Salt too is something I rarely use too at home.
In my house it is also salt. We also do not use very much white flour or mayo. I think the flour last about 6 months, I always check for bugs in the flour because it last so long. I do try to store the flour in an air tight container to keep the bugs out.
Indeed, salt seems to last forever. As a few others have mentioned before, flour and honey are also quite durable. My family uses honey for a lot of things. Not only do we eat it and use it in our recipes, but I also use it as a cleanser for my face and stuff. I must say, pasta lasts quite a while too. Sometimes, when there's no other food in the house, I just cook some pasta because it seems there's always some lying around.
