Use by/Best before

[northleedsbhoy Profile]

I’m in the smell camp on most sell/use by dates. However I wouldn’t use pork or chicken more than a couple of days past the use by. Eggs, I use the float test and I have been known to scrape mould of jams etc. I have a tub of Mae Ploy Yellow curry paste in the cupboard which has a BB date of 2016 and I still use that on the basis that the main ingredient is chilli and I don’t think they would go off.

Cheers
NLB

[Pampy Profile]

Be careful of mould on jams - the spores can go right down into the jam and aren't visible.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

main ingredient is chilli and I don’t think they would go off.

Well surprisingly, chiles can go off. Been there, done that - they´re like any other vegetable. However, I think the fact that yellow curry paste has a high salt content (and probably a pretty appreciable sugar content, too) might just be the answer.

[KeenCook2 Profile]

I have a jar of Lidl's plum halves in the cupboard - there's no date on it although there's supposed to be one on the lid.

Knowing me, it's entirely possible they're from before we moved here (8 years ago) but also equally possible I bought them slightly more recently.
I have an ancient Bramley in the fridge and am wondering about an apple and plum crumble.

What do you reckon about the plum halves?

I guess if I open them and the metal lid is still in good condition they'll be fine?

[Pampy Profile]

Just remembered that I have an Aldi deluxe Christmas pudding that I bought in 2010 - it gets brought out every Christmas and then put back in the cupboard unopened as I'm always far too full to eat a dessert. Might get round to opening it one day to see what it's like!

[karadekoolaid Profile]

What do you reckon about the plum halves?

I guess if I open them and the metal lid is still in good condition they'll be fine?

KeenCook: I´d do what my great-aunt Hilda used to say: " Suck it and see" ( in a strong Lancashire accent).
The longer food is preserved, the less it tastes of the original product, and all I´m suggesting is that the plums might just taste of sugar syrup.
I preserved some tiny green cherry tomatoes a couple of years back, Forgot they were in the cupboard - and opened them a week or so ago. they were soft, and tasted of vinegar, rather than tomatoes.

[KeenCook2 Profile]

What do you reckon about the plum halves?

I guess if I open them and the metal lid is still in good condition they'll be fine?

KeenCook: I´d do what my great-aunt Hilda used to say: " Suck it and see" ( in a strong Lancashire accent).
The longer food is preserved, the less it tastes of the original product, and all I´m suggesting is that the plums might just taste of sugar syrup.
I preserved some tiny green cherry tomatoes a couple of years back, Forgot they were in the cupboard - and opened them a week or so ago. they were soft, and tasted of vinegar, rather than tomatoes.

Thanks, KK, I take the point about them losing their taste rather than actively going bad.
And your cherry tomatoes, what did you do with them? I guess you could whizz them and use sparingly in dressings in place of the usual vinegar?

[karadekoolaid Profile]

I haven´t got the heart to throw them yet, Keencook; but as I said, they´re very acidic. Make your eyes screw up when you eat them
IF I can get hold of some good salami, or something like that, I might just use them. If not, I think it´ll be a blitz job and use them as part of a sauce.

[sunflower Profile]

I am curious to know why there is a BBE date for sea salt? Salt is a food preservative and will not go bad forever. I bought this pack recently and the BBE is Mar 2021.

[Badger's Mate Profile]

I might have mentioned before, here or in another place, the occasion that I saw some yellow-stickered bottles of malt whisky in Sainsbury at Waltham Cross. It was years ago, Macallan should have been £20 a bottle but was half price because 'it was out of date'.

It turns out there was an offer on the box to buy a Macallan water jug and the offer had expired.

[smitch Profile]

I once got a load of Bulleit bourbon for about £3 a bottle as my local Somerfield had delisted it. Was a long time ago but the whiskey lasted me ages!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I am curious to know why there is a BBE date for sea salt? Salt is a food preservative and will not go bad forever. I bought this pack recently and the BBE is Mar 2021.

We've discussed this before, we think with things like salt and spring water it's the packaging that gives up rather than the contents - a lot of plastics go brittle with age, and the seal can fail on bottles

[sunflower Profile]

Thanks Sue. A while ago I was lucky to pick some up reduced to half price because it's out of date.