My grandmother always had boxes of Petit Fours at Thanksgiving. She generally kept a box or two in her freezer for various occasions. After she passed away, we (my mother, aunt and sister) were cleaning and sorting the house. Her deep freeze was a strange combination of items, but we were thrilled to find a cellophane sealed, unopened box of Petit Fours! We looked at it as a little pick-me-up to some not so fun tasks. We tore into the box and each of stuffed a petit four into our mouths. After about three chews, we all gagged in horror. Unfortunately, my grandmother had been a heavy smoker. Regardless of the fact that the box was sealed, in a deep freeze which was in an outside utility room, the petit fours tasted like ash trays. It was terrible. Needless to say, we threw out the rest of the food in the house.

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I wouldn't say that I keep found around for guests on hand, but being a not quite vegan with some strict personal dietary standards, I do find myself making quick runs to the market to pick up regular milk (instead of the soy I always have on hand) if someone is coming for tea... and buying other things i normally wouldn't eat for parties and barbeques and such, like white bread, beef, etc.

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i'm not particularly elderly, but I have a lot of food of questionable age that I keep solely for myself

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I try to keep a little wine around for guests...I think I get that from my mom. But my grandmother used to always try to push her old biscuits and bananas on me. I think that's why I don't like bananas now...there's nothing worse than being handed a spotted, blackening banana as a child, and being told "it's still good...". It's no longer a banana grandma...it's a banana slug. *shudders*

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LOL to comment #3..........i dont think people are such great hosts as they were years ago, especially during your grandfatheres era. You are lucky to be offered a glass of water when visting, and it would be in a paper cup! Yuck

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Living in Florida with no a/c my mom would always bring out a bowl of hard candies. Old hard candies. Old hard candies that had gotten soft and stuck to the cellophane. To be polite we would just take as much of the cello off as possible and cram it in...and suck off the rest of the cello. No one had the heart to tell her anything.

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Mustard. My wife and I both despise yellow mustard, but our friends and relatives seem to expect it when we serve sandwiches, hamburgers, or hot dogs.

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My grandparents are truly the most wonderful hosts, and thye are great cooks to boot. My grandmother hardly sits down at a meal because she is busy serving her guests, despite being 85 years old and having had knee surgery. My grandpa never fails to prepare a full course dinner any time we visit (unless it's Saturday, which is Chinese buffet night). However, questionable items to lurk in their otherwise guest-friendly abode--typically such things are stale. The trick is to always take a small bite of any cookies or crackers in the house before chowing down, to ensure that their still good. And check for over-due expiration dates and mold spores in things in the fridge (especially if they're in the back of the fridge). People in their late 80s typically struggle with cleaning out things like pantries and refrigerators when they have mobility and vision problems.

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my grandmother always, as long as i can remember, kept klondike bars on hand. large quantities. in fact, considering i've never seen them anywhere else, it's quite possible she has the entire stock of klondike bars ever produced.

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My Nana -- may she rest in peace -- always had a big tin of stale cheese puffs that appeared only at Christmastime. (Whether it was the same one year after year or she actually replenished her stash, I'll never know.) Nana and Papa would slave for days over an incredible Italian spread ... and right alongside it, without fail, were the dreaded cheese puffs. I never understood why she found them necessary -- but I ate them 'cause I felt bad. (And though I'd never admit it to the rest of my family, I secretly kinda liked them.)

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I think I lucked out in the stale food department. I don't recall any ever being offered by my elderly kin.

I try to always have a box of Carr's Table Water crackers in the cabinet so I can do a quick hors d'oeuvre like humus and have something decent to serve it on. Also good imported olives and pickled asparagus (the asparagus goes great with a lot of things and adds a touch of elegance to a plate).

And a box of Pepperidge Farm Brussels cookies, though I confess, I have to restock them once in a while even without guests. Um, because they might go stale and that would be bad, so I have to eat them. Have to.

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I used to keep a a dozen bottles or so of good beer on hand in case my Father or any of my beer drinking friends stopped by on a hot summer's day.

Now that I live in another state I don't bother.

The taste of hops has and does make me uncontrollablly gag.

Which is why I drink Cider...

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Part of the yearly Easter Dinner Feast at my grandmother's home included the peeled hard boiled "Blessed" eggs that had been soaking in pickled beet juice for quite a number of weeks. The whites of the eggs were not only a shade of purple not found in nature, but they were so tough that they made little squeaking noises as your teeth went through them.

Oddly enough, they weren't very popular and, since nothing could be wasted, they were brought out for consumption at every visit. As time passed the smell of pickling combined with the smell of sulfur that brought to mind something other than the Easter story.

The look on my grandmother's face was always one of great expectation that you would be so pleased to partake of the eggs. My siblings and I lived with the great expectation that this could be the time we might not be able to keep down the bless-ed eggs.

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