'Antique' FOOD in your Store Cupboard?

[amethyst]

I recently had a clean, tidy and sort out of my Store/Larder Cupboard.  I was astonished and shocked at how old some of the food stuffs were!  What a sad waste having to dispose of, because I neglected to keep up to date.

Hope to do better this time

Have you overlooked or assumed Food Items were still OK?

amethyst

[stan3502]

I have a son who has OCD so all canned/dried goods were regularly inspected whilst he was at home and still are when he visits and nothing lasts in the fridge lone enough to go off between Miss S and 6 grandkids lol

[chickengrandma-2008]

I tend to do this, I buy stuff with the intention of trying a certain recipe, but never actually get round to it.  Fortunately my daughter loves sorting things out and she goes through the pantry every so often and bins the out of date stuff.

[otherego]

I just cook it for longer than recommended and gulp it down.

[chickengrandma-2008]

I think tinned foods and dried stuff lasts 'forever'.

[mygreyangel]

Meh, if it looks OK, smells OK and tastes OK it gets used.  

So far, so good.... I'm still here and never had food poisoning caused by anything eaten at home.

Many dates are 'best before' rather than 'use by'

[captainbovine]

I think I've got veggie burger mix that's older than me hahahahaaa but I'll use it up, it's dried so can't see what will be wrong with it.

my mother once had a tinned sponge pudding that was produced in the 60's. It was the 80's when we found it in her pantry! I sent the label off to Heinz and they said it was at least 25yrs since they'd used that label....hahahahahaaa even the birds wouldn't eat it!!

[cookiecookuk]

i remember many years ago my daughter and step daughter told us they would tidy the cupboards while we were at work and we came home to bin liners outside back door and very empty cupboards....

also at easter my grand children wanted my lasagne and got the sheets out of the cupboard and they were use by 2011 they tasted good and no one was sick  also who esle cuts the mouldy bits of cheese...

[chickengrandma-2008]

If it's a decent sized piece of cheese I'll cut all the edges off..........................................................but I give it to him, I wouldn't eat it.  What the eye doesn't see the heart doesn't grieve over! 

[captainbovine]

oh aye, I cut the mold off the cheese if I need to. The cheese is a lot stronger though, but great for scones or toasted.

all these sell by and eat by dates are a load of rubbish. If it walks out of the fridge on it's own then it's off, otherwise.....use yer snout!!!.....if it smells it's probably off.

[5129frederick]

I'd rather waste money than food!  I used to mock my father who raved about it, but since getting sucked into this "buy one, get one free", nothing winds me up more than buying an excessive amount of food and dumping half of it because too much has had to be eaten by a certain date.  Or having to gorge ourselves on oranges because "They were a special reduced price if you bought two."  Fruit, especially strawberriess or raspberries in this weather, go off while you're actually looking at them!  To me, it's the biggest sin going.

[suzieseaside]

Like greyangel, I trust my eyes and nose, and so far, so good.

Time whizzes by so fast things are in the freezer much longer than they are supposed to be according to guidelines, but I have never had a problem.  Occasionally I've seen a bit of frost burn on chicken so the dog gets a treat.

[rose2008-2008]

I dont keep a lot of tins or cupboard goods really. Just baked beans or Soups. I hate cupboards jammed with things half of which have been there forever. We used to be terrible when i was young or my mum was. I always got the job of cleaning sticky cupboards with silver fish running everywhere and even things crawling,, only tiny things in the flour. I only buy what i know im going to use up and rather put things in the fridge if i want them to keep. My mum was not in the best of health so some things went by the wayside until i helped do them,.. Perhaps thats why i dont ram my cupboards up now.

[captainbovine]

my OH is terrible for bargains...real bargains not food we won't eat. But I have to tell him to stop buying as the cupboards are groaning!!! I haven't done a proper shop in over 3wks and we still have plenty.....

anyone fancy a free dinner?   gets fancy tablecloth out ready.....

[rose2008-2008]

I will be round!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. (Rose waves to CB),,,, wont be long ha ha LOL.

[ed_blackadder_1]

found one bag of semolina, used for coating potatoes before roasting, date on it   june 2011,  and I have been using it.

Seriously, apart from a few things like fresh fish etc I don't really bother with dates, cheese especially, look at blue cheese the older the better, smoother and creamier.

[bankhaunter]

I once got away with some rather brownish mint sauce by telling everybody it was organic.

[captainbovine]

[calibra101]

I know where Rose is coming from with siilverfish etc. we had them too when I was growing up...damp spots in our home. With flour I read somewhere that mites emerge not from the flour itself but from the glue the bags are made of if past its sell by date????

[wizilizi]

Once noticed, after cooking & eating brown rice bought from a sack in a deli in France, that the remainder in the bag was moving 

Closer inspection revealed that it was a mixture of rice grains & maggoty things 

Didn't sleep that night I can tell you

Maybe I couldn't stop wriggling