57 Vintage Items From ‘Grandma’s Pantry’ People Found And Shared Online
There’s a very specific kind of confidence in a pantry that hasn’t been cleaned out since 1997. You open the door and it’s less “food storage” and more time capsule.
That’s the spirit of r/GrandmasPantry. A collection of shelves packed with mystery cans, backup-for-the-backups, and items that may or may not still be legally considered food. It shouldn’t make sense, but somehow it does.
1. “A ‘donation’ at the food pantry I work at today: 1979 Mapleine. It came with a range of other expired spices and flavorings”
2. “I believe I just took the only documented/openly available image of this ultra-rare McDonald’s dipping sauce!”
3. “Found this in the pantry.”
4. “I never even heard of Chicken Tonight until today.”
5. “Found a 1970s Pepsi Light in an ice chest of my great grandparents workshop”
6. “A few gems from my 102-year old grandmother’s kitchen cabinets”
7. “Slim Jim from 2012”
8. “80’s Gatorade”
“Helping someone clean out their house today and these were in the basement”
9. “Cocaine Bottle Found In Grandma’s Pantry”
10. “Found a relic from 1988 while cleaning at work”
11. “Chips from ’94 — Cleaning out a hoard, and found these.”
12. “My mother-in-law has held onto this bag for decades.”
13. “Found in the attic of our 1960’s rental”
“Anyone else seen or heard of this before? Couldn’t find a single thing on Google about it!”
14. “Husband found while working on a job”
15. “Thirsty anyone?”
“And no I will not drink it I was um… a bit obsessed with BSB… I was determined to marry Kevin.”
16. “All about those 90s sparkles”
“Found in bathroom cabinet of the family cabin.
What cartoon toothbrush did you have to go with this?”
17. “Canned peaches from the Carter administration”
“Found in mom’s cellar. Peaches canned in 1976.”
18. “1997 miracle whip found in my great uncle’s house”
“Cousins came out to make the outside group of family guess how old this mayo was and didn’t believe it until I went inside for myself.
If it didn’t have the factory seal I’d think my great aunt had repurposed the jar for applesauce”
19. “Found in my boyfriend’s pantry”
20. “Found when cleaning out my mother’s closet”
21. “My grandma still keeps my grandpa’s last can of snuff from 1992 in her freezer.”
“It’s older than me by at least a year!”
22. “Didn’t pick up almond extract from the grocery store because I was told we already had some”
23. “I will never throw these away”
“We found these in my father’s house when he passed away. We found LOTS of items that fit in this sub, but these were my favorite!”
24. “Still wrapped 50 year old condoms from around 1971”
25. “38 year old brownies”
“There’s a sad story to these nearly 4 decade old brownies.
My great aunt, who lives with dementia, had a son who tragically died at 12 in 1986. Not long before, he baked these brownies for her, and ever since then they have sat in the back of her refrigerator.
We found it while going through her fridge. I won’t take off the lid until we decide to throw it out (which surely will be soon) but it seems like they’ve aged without growing mold, which is mildly concerning, but pretty cool.”
26. “Morphine found in grandma’s pantry”
27. “I ate approx. 20 year old gushers.”
28. “Found Cleaning out my grandparents house that they’ve lived in since 1965”
“That pantry was so full of this stuff. Makes sense with seven kids lol”
29. “I was given 6 bags of food, and nearly all of it expired more than a decade ago”
“Context: Am poor, ‘homeless’ (in RV)
A family friend made a big deal all weekend about bringing me six bags of food for me and my wife to go through and dump the rest off at the “blessings pantry”…. This is some of it!
The best part: The Ghirardellis mint chips and dumpling mix are so antique they don’t even have an expiry date. Exciting, we love old food youtubes!
The sun-dried tomatoes (2009) are congealed into a whole new product, may patent it…
Thought about eating that 2008 dark chocolate because damn! The caviar has no date, not sure if it’s even that old, but… no.
The rancid smell coming off that Crisco (2007) was intense. The cheese fantastico bottle was creating a vacuum, may implode one day, may keep for science. And wtf is Molly McButter!!
She even suggested I give all the pouch tunas (2011-2014) to my elderly dog, so basically I’m thinkin she’s trying to kill us all off”
30. “My mom wrapped my presents in wrapping paper from 1982. Happy Holidays everyone”
31. “Shampoo at my aunt’s house”
“Date on back days 1995-1998. Smells fine.”
32. “Great Aunt was prepared for apocalypse”
“Found her booze stash in her basement. She was prepared to open a saloon if the world ended.”
33. “Nanny kept everything”
34. “My dad brought over some ‘never-opened baby powder’ to help with my twins…”
35. “Unopened Frosted Bran that expired in 1993”
36. “Living in my freezer since late 1999”
“Millennipede! The blue things used to be stuck on its back but it molted.
My mom gave it to me late 1999. It sat on the counter for a while and I didn’t have the heart to throw it away before New Year (you can tell it would taste terrible so eating it never crossed my mind) so I stuck it in the freezer.
On my 3rd freezer, but original Millennipede”
37. “We just bought a house and the owner left behind some ancient feminine products. I haven’t thought of New Freedom (beltless!!!!) in decades. They are like twin mattresses for action figures!”
38. “Medicine Collection Found In Grandma’s Stash”
39. “Bought these off a Walgreens shelf 3 days ago.”
“It took all my strength to get it lodged into me. And now I can’t get it out. Might tie it to the door and slam it shut.”
40. “Said a mosquito bit me and my boyfriends mom gave me this”
“Cost a dollar 72 apparently”
41. “Saw this at a thrift store. 1988 is the date on the bottle”
42. “My grandfather worked in a Pringles factory”
“Yes there are chips in there”
43. “These retired crayons colors, will be grabbing more Monday!”
“Found in the supply closet at my college :)”
44. “Grocery store receipt from 1979”
“Found in late grandmothers cookbook. Wish the items were more specific.”
45. “SEDADROPS Pentobarbital to sedate infants and children. Linked to many deaths in young people due to inconsistent dosing of the potent and fast acting barbiturate compound.”
46. “Unopened Welches Jelly Jar from 1994”
“Found this at an estate sale this summer.”
47. “Forgotten emergency snacks found in our earthquake kit from the 90’s”
“The Chewy bars were absolute mush. Nature Valley bars were still dry (because of course they were). And I wish I could say those were breadsticks and peanut butter but… they were cheese.”
48. “My grandmother wanted me to have her alligator purse from her honeymoon and accidentally left a surprise inside.”
“We all had a good laugh after ❤️”
49. “Now that I’m old enough to be a grandma, my sealed Pokemon jelly jars”
50. “My dad poured this in his mouth then asked if I could read the date on it”
51. “These were from my Grandma when she passed.”
52. “These pickles I just found are in their 30’s”
“Taking care of my grandma after a fall and was cleaning her fridge a bit (I don’t dare try to clean the back of the fridge and she wont let me either) these were in fact placed back in the fridge because “they are in vinegar its fine”.
And I thought the strawberries from 2013 were bad.”
53. “Things I found at my old room at my grandma’s house that have been there since I was a child.”
“I remember buying the eye shadow with grandma a little over 10 years ago (she let me wear makeup around the house and my mom didn’t let me wear it at all).
The perfume, herbal essences, and sea breeze are mine that I left there ages ago.”
54. “Methamphetamine Weight Loss Drug Found At Grandmas House”
55. “Figured it would be a good time to post this Doritos bag from the late ’70s I found last year in a park”
56. “My grandma quite drinking cola over thirty years ago. Today, after cutting her grass, I asked her if she had anything other than milk and water to drink. She told me there was a Coke in the crisper drawer…to which I discovered an 80’s relic.”
57. “I ate approx. 20 year old gushers”
