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Dry Goods Pantry and Produce Storage

Matthew_Snyder_68770

Anyone know a good resource or two about the best ways to organize a pantry and store produce?

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ren_74229

I don't know about best ways...but I can at least tell you how I do it.

At home, for dry pantry, I keep as much as possible in 180ml Lock & Lock containers. This keeps everything at a nice usable size and takes up minimal space. Any excess dry goods get put away separately, and I restock as needed.

For staple dry goods (flour, sugar, rice, kombu etc) they get larger rectangular containers 3.6L.

Liquids for the most part stay in their original containers, except for cooking oils. I have pour/squeeze bottles for daily use, and keep restocks separate.

The fridge and freezer are still kind of a free-for-all at the moment, but my plan is to move as much as possible to either Lock & Lock containers canning jars, or 1/4 sheet trays.

Storing produce depends on what it is. Fresh herbs get wrapped in damp paper towel and kept in an air-tight herb bin. Most other produce gets a towel lined and topped box grouped by density (kholrabi and carrots can live together, but not with the lettuce). Citrus gets its own bin. Soft fruits (right now strawberries, nectarines and other stone fruit are placed in a single layer on a sheet tray with a kitchen towel liner. Tomatoes never see the fridge. Garlic, shallots, potatoes get stored outside the fridge in their own bin. Cheese has its own air-tight bin, ditto butter. Bread not for immediate consumption gets plastic wrapped and frozen.

Always try to put things into the smallest container that will fit all of it (yogurt, salsa, leftover soup)...and never leave a partially filled container with food splashed above the fill line.

Meats I generally buy on an as needed basis, so they're either in cryo bags, or out on cake racks to dry out. Seafood gets put in a bin on ice which is regularly drained and refreshed as needed.

Think that about covers it for now...mostly I try to keep containers consistent and as square as possible. So pick your favorite containers and use them to make your own system.

My wife just reminded me that Martha's a great resource for organization: http://www.marthastewart.com/946268/how-organize-your-kitchen#965973