I was just checking my food cupboards ready to go shopping and found .....
By patootie
@patootie (3592)
May 29, 2007 9:03am CST
Well honestly .. I didn't know whether to laugh .. or hide away in embarrassment .. I was checking my stock of herbs and spices .. plenty of salt .. nutmeg .. mixed spices etc etc .. but the large peppercorn jar I had was almost empty .. better get some on the list I thought .. so I took the jar out of the cupboard and as I did so I noticed the 'use by' date .. omg !!
Now I am actually quite good at making sure things are within their 'use by' dates .. but somehow this had escaped my noticed .. escaped my notice for a while .. well actually, for quite a while .. in fact .. blushes in embarrassment .. the use by date was April 1996 .. ohhhhh myyyyyyy ... tra la la .. only eleven years out of date .. hahahahah ....
I have put peppercorns on my shopping list ... SMALL size .. hahahaha
Do you find odd things in your food cupboards that should have been used up long before ?? And what do you do .. still use it up or bin it ??
16 people like this
31 responses
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
29 May 07
Good Morning Patootie, growing up I remember my mothers spice cabinet, being over run with spices that were well out of date, but she used them up. As an adult I understand now that some herbs once dried have a very limited life span, as the flavors just don't hold up. for that very reason if I can not use fresh herbs, then I only buy small containers of dried or crushed herbs and spices. Then once a year, usually when I am doing my holiday menus I will go through the spice rack and discard what is out of date. It just saves a lot of guess work when it comes to my recipes.
4 people like this
@professorxang (201)
• United States
5 Jun 07
i think you safe with pepper. i dont think it really goes bad and if it did it probably look funny and you not use it then. i think if it tasted fine then it was fine. :)
@patgalca (18366)
• Orangeville, Ontario
29 May 07
Yes, it is usually medicines though. Buy a big bottle of cough medicine and only have to use it for a couple of days and then it sits in the cupboard for a couple of years. The same with ointments of various sorts.
Who would have thought peppercorn would have a best before date? Isn't it a non-perishable item?
2 people like this
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
29 May 07
Oh yes, me too, I have so many medicines and potions that are out of date, especially hayfever tablets, I buy them when they are on offer, like three for one, and find I don't use them all, as I don't need them in the winter I put them away, and when I do eventually find them, they are years out of date lol! I had some menthol crystals ideal for blowing out the blocked nasal passage and for the sinuses which were dated april 1995!
1 person likes this
@patgalca (18366)
• Orangeville, Ontario
30 May 07
Thanks, patootie. I write the date on them. Sometimes they disappear in a day (10 year old likes to snack on them and I use them for egg salad for DH's lunch), and sometimes they are there for a week. I think the one in there now is ready for the garbage.
1 person likes this
@patootie (3592)
•
30 May 07
According to the America Egg Board hard boiled eggs can be stored in the fridge for up to 7 days .. !!
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/eggs2.htm
Not sure I want to risk that long though .. salmonella is a problem with eggs .. I'd use them up in 2-3 days myself ..
@patootie (3592)
•
31 May 07
Thanks for the 'heads up' on storing boiled eggs .. I never even realised they could be stored at all .. so now when I do a boiled egg for breakfast I'll be including another one or two for later .. and a good snack too .. highly nutritious low calorie .. just have to watch the cholesterol .. but mine is quite low .. so that's fine ..
So many times I've fancied an 'egg sarnie' (sandwich) .. but couldn't be bothered with all the faffing around waiting for the eggs to cool .. now I shall be able to have them again ...
@Bee1955 (3882)
• United States
30 May 07
Thats funny you brought this up. I. too, was going thru my spice drawer and found a box of fish seasoning in a tightly sealed tin that I remember buying when I first moved here - 10 years ago! I always use it every 2-3 months without thought and its still good. I dont think spices deteriorate like other foods - I'm sure your remaining peppercorns were still good, too. I remember my mother having the same spice tins in her drawer for years like cream of tartar, curry powder, red pepper flakes, bay leaves and the like.
2 people like this
@ladymoonstone143 (1507)
• United States
30 May 07
At my own house, I checked things weekly to make sure that I throw expired things right away and check my pantry all the time. But then when I was in my in-laws house, I found lots of expired things, like baking powder that was expired 4 years ago, baking soda and other spices. I threw them all away. I checked on the ref, the juice, milk and also salad dressing. I told my mother inlaw what I did and I really don't care if she thinks they are still good but expired things for me is expired. Good if she won't use those to cook for us and my toddler but I know she will and am very vigilant with that.
2 people like this
@lreddell (172)
• United States
29 May 07
patootie, this is so funny! I think you haven't any reason to be embarrassed, as we all have found stuff in our cabinets that is waaayyy old. Or at least I have. I've found items, especially spices that were quite old - you know, spices that you don't use very often, but keep on hand so you have it when you do need it. As to whether I still use the out of date items, well, it depends on how old it is and what the specific item is. I've found that over time, and especially spices tend to lose their flavor, and could change the overall flavor of the final dish. I learned that from using very OLD spices and the final dish wasn't too great - OOPS! LOL! Hugs!
@ljcapps (1925)
• United States
29 May 07
LOL this is hilarious. And i can completely sympathize. A couple of years ago, my wife and i got volunteered to make the fudge for the cookie exchange with my stepfathers family. Okay, fine. No big deal. Well, that's a large amount of marshmellow creme. We were cleaning out the cupboards the other day in preparation of moving, and i found a loan jar crammed in the back of one of them that went out of date a couple of years ago. Now, the really embarassing part is that we've only lived in this duplex for a little over a year. So when we moved here, we had to have packed an already outdated jar of marshmellow creme. LOL
1 person likes this
@melanie652 (2524)
• United States
29 May 07
Oh yes, I've found things in my cupboards and refrigerator that should've been thrown away long away! Oooops?! LOL
When I come across something that's way past the expiration date, it goes in the trash. If it's right at or not too far past the expiration and still looks/smells okay, I'll keep it and try to use it up quickly. I don't do that with meat though. If it's past the expiration date, it goes in the trash.
@patootie (3592)
•
30 May 07
It's not often anything lingers in my fridge ... although I have had a few packs of vegetable in the freezer that have hung around for a while .. the ones that get pushed to the back .. or you don't eat often ... but never for longer than 6 months .. I do clean out my fridge and freezer quite often and anything that I can't remember buying goes straight in the bin .. because if I've forgotten buying it .. it's probably past it's best
@patgalca (18366)
• Orangeville, Ontario
30 May 07
Yes, I too will use something that is only a couple of weeks after the expiry date - dry goods or OTC medicines. Yesterday I was dishing out my usual lunch of English muffin, fruit and yogurt. I glanced at the lid of the yogurt. Ooooh, best before May 18th. I ate it and survived but I don't think I'll have anymore. Too bad I won't be doing groceries until tomorrow. No yogurt for me today!
@patootie (3592)
•
31 May 07
I make my own yoghurt using the Easiyo system .. it's delicious .. VERY cheap .. and takes only 12 hours to make .. all you do is mix the powder with water .. put into the canister surrounded by hot water (takes about 2-3 minutes to prepare) .. then just leave it for 12 hours .. chill in the fridge and eat .. and it makes i litre of yoghurt at a time .. full of all the probiotics and other 'good bacteria' too ..
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
29 May 07
After reading your post went through all my spices and discovered a few that looked like they have been in my cupboard 20 years. I dumped all of them that didn't look like they had been purchased this year. Most of the spices didn't have any date.
@winky73 (1404)
• United States
29 May 07
I tend to throw things out when the date on them has expired.Because food can have spoiled already and you may not even be able to taste it yet....but it can still make you sick.Don't feel to bad...this happens a lot with spices....since a lot of people don't even know that spices do have a use by date.
I make it a point to go through all my foods at least every six month....but I've had the occasional canned good that somehow has slipped past and has been expired for quite some time.
I only buy big containers of things that I know I will be able to use up quickly.The big containers may be cheaper....but if I end up throwing more than half of it out....than I really didn't save anything.
1 person likes this
@Rozie37 (15499)
• Turkmenistan
30 May 07
I find myself doing this quite a lot. Especially, when I try something for the first time and don't like it. I will put it back in the cabinet, hoping to give it to someone or something. I will forget that it is there, until I decide to clean.
When I find it again, it is out-dated and I am embarrassed that I did not throw it in the trash right away. I hate to waste things, but if I know that I am not going to eat it, I should just throw it away in the beginning.
@miamilady (4910)
• United States
29 May 07
lol
I think that happens easier with spices than it does with things we keep in the refrigerator. I've come across some really old spices too. I have also found medications with very old expired dates. It simply happens with the things we don't use very often. Of course with the medications when I notice and old expired date, I throw it out. With the spices if it's old I throw it out when I notice it.
1 person likes this
@Fulton (219)
• South Africa
30 May 07
Ok ok, I confess...I found half a tin of baking powder (sorry, now it's a solid block) that expired in 2001. Not bad for 6 years, hehehe. Every time I bake, I can't seem to find anything, and just buy a refill. To think we moved 5 times since 2001!- Ronelle
@harry18 (73)
• India
30 May 07
well it happen many times that we things that should have been used up long ago r still lying in our food cupboards.then in most of the case i would put that material to bin.coz its uasage may be harmful.well in other case some times some food stuff do not spoil even after keeping for many years so these food stuff can be used.
1 person likes this
@limosonia1 (1559)
• United States
30 May 07
I have run into the same thing and feel bad. I do have to say never for 11 years lol. But when I moved there were a couple of items that were out dated by 2 years I felt so embarrased my husband made fun of me for weeks because I always make him throw things out and here I am with stuff that is really old. Now I tend to check more often. But I always throw them away scared to use them.
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
30 May 07
Sounds like me- I just cleaned out the food pantry- I found things that expired in 2000--- funny thing is we weren't even living here in 2000- so I packed them and moved them- they have actually been through 2 moves- My sig. other brought them from NC to NY- LOL
1 person likes this
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
29 May 07
LOL!!
Eleven years is pushing it somewhat don'tcha think?? LOL!
I have actually been pretty good the last year or so at checking the Use By dates on things in my cupboards, because my partner is useless at things like that LOL, so it's more or less left up to me.
Before now, I've found jars of herbs and spices that were 4 years out of date, a bottle of Salad dressing that was 4 months out of date, and a tin of what was supposed to be some kind of pudding that was a year out of date.
It all got thrown away right away. I refuse point blank to use anything that is out of date, for the simple reason I don't want my kids getting ill. People say Oh canned stuff is usually okay, and I'm sure it might be. However, I'm not willing to take that chance.
1 person likes this
@Woodpigeon (3710)
• Ireland
30 May 07
Eleven years! LOL, that is older than one of my kids!
We tend to get through things fairly quickly unless they are things we just aren't ever going to eat. I will usually bin them,like cranberry sauce, if they are still around the following Christmas. I don't evenknow where some of it comes from, and then it just gets pushed further and further back into the cupboard. Nothing for eleven years though, oh my!
1 person likes this
@HighReed1 (1126)
• United States
30 May 07
You aren't the only one that overlooks the date on spices! I sometimes find things in my cupboard that are expired. If it was around long enough to expire, I obviously didn't use it.
I don't keep things that are past the expiration date. I toss them. If it is something I will need within the week, I'll get some more. Otherwise, I don't buy it. Since I make the menu a week ahead, it makes it a little easier.
1 person likes this
