Eating out-of-date stuff

[scullion Profile]

It's debatable whether old veg is worth eating if clearly degrading as they can't have much goodness left in them.

actually, mccance and widdowson (the composition of foods) give composition of nutrients for both 'new' and 'old' carrots per 100g/oz.
they show a higher nutrient content, including vitamins, in the old carrots - indicating that any loss is, possibly, mainly water. possibly other veg is similar.

Most veg will survive longer if put in a half inch or so of cold water at the root end in a ramekin or jug in the fridge.

well, it depends what's been done to them before you buy them. brassicas with a decent stalk should be ok but i wouldn't bother with bagged carrots, and such like, that have had much of the epidermis scrubbed off

[KeenCook2 Profile]

We're pretty relaxed about bb dates, but always take notice of use by dates on poultry, fish, pork, mince (of any type). We haven't had sausages or bacon apart from at Christmas. I'd be very careful with sausages but less so with bacon.

We don't get beef very often, and then it's usually for stews. With beef I'm happy to use my senses to decide whether to use it or not. On the occasions we have steak it's usually in the vacuum packs that come as a supermarket "3 for £10" deals so we reckon they have a pretty reliably long shelf life and would be quite happy eating it after the date has expired.

With dairy, fruit and veg, it really is a question of using your common sense - I recall I've asked on here when I've had cream that was on the turn as that seemed a bit less obvious.

I think it would be a big mistake to get rid of dates altogether on fresh packaged meat and fish.

On the rare occasions we get meat from a butcher we always try to use it that day or the next day, or freeze it.

We usually keep bread in the fridge as if we're buying it, it's better value to get a large loaf and if we've made it ourselves, we know it hasn't got anything in it that will prolong its shelf life!!

[scullion Profile]

putting bread in the fridge actually makes it go stale/hard quicker as it crystallises the gluten. it would be better to cut the loaf in half and put one half in the freezer. or if sliced, freeze and take out slices as you need them. the gluten isn't/is less effected.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

There's a theory that frozen bread slices actually make better toast, not sure about that, but it's certainly fine

[ZeroCook Profile]

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Totally agree KC2 - we do much the same as you. A lot kept in fridge.

A big part of the problem is also due to rampant over packaging - small amounts in closed plastic with no ventilation etc. perfect breeding ground for nasties. It's as much about how food is stored as how long - Scullion's sack of potatoes example for e.g.

A lot of these guidelines are to cope with the problems of highly packaged and portioned industrial food processing, storage and delivery systems.

[KeenCook2 Profile]

Fair enough re bread but usually no room in the freezer

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Good item about out of date canned food on This Morning, last major item on today’s programme

They collected ancient cans, opened them and tried to culture bacteria from the contents

They found no bacteria to worry about in cans, though some of the food wasn’t edible as it had slowly changed just due to its own slow chemistry - safe but nasty

A 25 year old cardboard pack of dry lasagne did contain bacteria though to be honest would probably have been safe when cooked