There’s one thing about moving houses that is universal and eternal, and that’s that at least one (1) rogue item will also move with you. Like a token of your travels across sharehouses and rentals, an unused, unopened, and sometimes unidentifiable bit of foodstuff moves from one sharehouse pantry the next, and the next. Maybe it’s got sentimental value, or you swear you’ll need it one day, or you just don’t have the heart to chuck it out.
As someone who definitely has a couple of probably-cursed items buried away in the back of my kitchen cupboards, I put the word out to see what other people inadvertently carry around with them from house to house. And mates, some of these are truly worrying.
My friend Stephen has a couple of bottles of things from his late Nanna’s house, which not only are little moments of her life as a matriarch of the family but also tiny snapshots of what food was like in years gone by.
I lived in my nanas house for a bit after she passed away and I’ve carried these little weirdos with me ever since. pic.twitter.com/y9xusrrfkC
— Stephen Stockwell (@stephenstockwel) July 3, 2020
I actually fucking love this, and we both realised that you can still totally buy that Ezy-Sauce stuff from Woolies right now, in this, the Year 2020, and it looks exactly the same.
My workmate Jess has an absolutely classic lurking in her pantry – a bottle of Worcestershire sauce.
“I bought this Worcestershire Sauce originally when I first moved to Sydney because it seemed a cupboard essential,” she said.
“But in the six years of living here, I can honestly say I’ve only used it once. Not even sure if it’s in date, to be honest.”
My other workmate Georgia has a whole bunch of stuff that’s travelled with her from house to house, including this giant jar of what she thinks is icing sugar.
“My boyfriend’s mum also gave us a bunch of baking stuff like two years ago. This is icing sugar. I think it’s hardened,” she told me.
“I also can’t seem to get rid of my bf’s brother’s maple syrup. It’s Ed’s in case that wasn’t obvious.”
One of our editors, Melissa, has a can of chickpeas that follow her around, and at this point, I wonder if it’s a situation like H Jon Benjamin in Wet Hot American Summer.
“I have one can of chickpeas that moved two apartments, and now resides up the back of my parent’s pantry,” she said.
“Hilariously, I have BOUGHT cans of chickpeas for making chili/soups and every time, I forget about the one lonesome guy from my moves.”
My good friend Brooke has seemingly adopted a whole host of herbs and spices along her many years of sharing houses. She reckons that some of them are at least 12 years old, and isn’t quite sure why she’s hung onto them.
“Some caraway seeds that are from the store my old housemate worked at when I was 16,” Brooke said.
“I lived with them again when I was 22 and now I’m 30.”
“Don’t even know what this one is,” Brooke said.
“Unlabeled and I’ve been carting it around between 4 houses in the last 8 years.
“Did I put them all straight back into the spice cupboard after these photos? You bet I did.”
As for me, I’ve had this jar of peanut butter haunting my pantry for at least a year (sorry housemates). I can only seem to get it at the Salamanca markets in Hobart, so I pick up a jar every time I’m there for my annual goth schoolies (read: Dark Mofo.) I guess now that’s not happening this year I should probably just…bin it.
I’ve also got this lonely one (1) teabag of my favourite rooibos tea that I refuse to drink because the company has disappeared into thin air. (RIP Kromland Farm Sweet Caramel Rooibos tea). Not sure if I’ll ever use it but it’s not only moved with me between houses, but it’s also crossed state lines with me. A real trooper, I’m gonna keep it forever. Maybe.
