The Spooky Corner of the Kitchen

I am contemplating a recipe for cranberry-orange sherbet that requires a packet of gelatin, instead of churning. I believe I once bought a box of four gelatin packets... ages ago. I last used one to make jellied espresso but I don't recall whether the box was new then (and that was 2019). So, I opened the doors to my cabinets, removed many packages of quotidian foods in order to find

...the place where dry but completely random food goes.

With the care, and trepidation, of Howard Carter, here is what I found:
-- an open box of black raisins with a 'use-by' date in 2010
-- an open box with two yellowed packets of gelatin powder, no date
-- a sealed package of microwave popcorn with a 'use-by' date in 2015
-- a sealed box of Jell-O orange-flavored gelatin, no date
-- a sealed package of "Better Than The Best" chewing gum

I'm pretty sure the raisins arrived here when Pumpkin's dad passed in 2017 and we cleaned-up his kitchen. The popcorn is from a store not near here so was probably his, as well. The gum brand is my kind of hyperbole; probably a stocking stuffer of some years ago.

Spooky as this all is, I expect the food is fine. There's no reason to think dry/dried food should go bad. The raisins are probably a little too hard to eat out of hand, but a quick soak in madeira or rum will fix that. I've pocketed the gum and will give it a try tomorrow. Dry corn kernels? Dry powder gelatin and sugar?

So, yes, Virginia, there is a packet of powdered gelatin here for use in the sherbet recipe.

Every time I clear out one of the pantry cupboards, I find things that have long-ago use-by dates, and think to myself, "It can't possibly be that long since I cleared this shelf out." I suspect time passes at a different rate inside pantries.

Hahaha, too funny, happens to me all the time. I buy an ingredient, then have no idea why I bought it. I find it years later and cannot believe how fast time flies. some of us just have way too much storage space, and while I like it, I realize now I could have gotten away with so much less.