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Eating out-of-date stuff

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby Amyw » Wed Aug 19, 2020 2:46 pm

It amazes me how little people know about storing food correctly . I always freeze ginger , chillies, bread and I do sometimes freeze cheese too . I think I’m quite frugal , because I hate good waste . Even if it’s a couple of spoonfuls of bolognaise or curry I always freeze thinking they can be used on a baked potato, in a toastier etc

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby Earthmaiden » Wed Aug 19, 2020 3:03 pm

It seems to depend on how you were brought up I think. If one's family just threw things away or if children were never shown how to manage a kitchen then it won't have been ingrained in them in the same way as those who were brought up to think that to waste was almost criminal.

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby Badger's Mate » Wed Aug 19, 2020 3:18 pm

I have two spice cupboards, a legacy from my being a cook and four twenty-somethings learning to cook. I clear and I clear but the latest incumbent always seems to double up on stuff already there. Number 4 is buying a flat and moves out next month. I bet he leaves the blooming lot.


It's a quirk of bird observatories, which offer self catering accommodation to wardens, volunteers and visitors, that the kitchen cupboards are stuffed full of old packets of herbs and spices. At the end of their stay, most people leave their packs of seasonings either as a courtesy to others or because the can't be a'd to take them home. Unfortunately everyone brings the same stuff - mixed herbs, paprika, chilli seasoning etc. It speaks volumes that I've recently noticed Himalayan Pink Salt turning up in such places. :D

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed Aug 19, 2020 3:28 pm

I’ve just looked - Elizabeth David’s English Bread and Yeast Cookery was published in 1977

Now that’s partly because the historical research was her late life project, but she said explicitly that it was a good time to talk about home bread making as domestic ovens had improved and the freezer had made batch baking more feasible even for small households

So it’s long been part of the mindset for me that if I baked I could freeze

A good thing to freeze is filled pasta - instant dinner cooked from frozen

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby karadekoolaid » Wed Aug 19, 2020 5:24 pm

I don´t freeze ginger because a) it will last at least 6 weeks in the fridge b) I use it almost every day (Indian Food Freak) and c) I´ve got about 2 dozen healthy plants in the kitchen garden. Chiles go in the freezer, however, because when they start producing in the garden I get dozens of them.
My spices (4 trays of 15 jars in each) are almost always whole and kept in a dark cupboard. The exceptions are paprika, various flavoured salts, turmeric, cumin and coriander. The last three tend to get used pretty quickly, because I often cook Indian lunches/dinners and also make lots of pickles & chutneys. My favourite kitchen machine is the Cuisinart spice & nut grinder, which gets plenty of use. For me only I use a molcajete which I brought back from Mexico.

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby Kacey » Wed Aug 19, 2020 8:54 pm

I not only freeze bread but i freeze the butties too! Only works for veggie ones - cheese & chutney, cheese & Marmite both freeze perfectly well. Hummus will freeze by itself, I just give OH a few cherry tomatoes and chopped cucumber to have with it. Fresh falafels will freeze even when the bread is spread with chill sauce. And leftover dal thats gone cold and firmed up but will also make a good freezable butty.

When your normal commute is at least 2hrs each way, making a loaf on a Saturday morning and a week's worth of butties for OH on a Sunday morning is time well spent.

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby Earthmaiden » Wed Aug 19, 2020 9:06 pm

For some reason, people laugh at frozen sandwiches these days but when we first had freezers many people did - because, as you say, it saved time during the week. Lots of fillings froze well.

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby miss mouse » Wed Aug 19, 2020 10:50 pm

Kacey wrote:
When your normal commute is at least 2hrs each way,



Wow, that is a long commute.

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby WWordsworth » Wed Aug 19, 2020 11:22 pm

Blimey, I drive 12 mins to the park and ride, then it's 25 mins on the tram.
You should hear the grumping when I have to wait.
I mean, every 7 minutes, what sort of service is that?

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby Pampy » Thu Aug 20, 2020 12:26 am

When I was working, my each way commute was a minimum of 2 hours (the record was 7 hours when police closed the M6 completely). I used to swim a mile every morning before work so I used to leave home between 4.30 and 5am. The job I did was no respecter of 9-5 hours - you stayed until the work was done, which quite often meant getting home very late in the evening. Because of this, I used to prepare all the food for my meals at weekend and either fridge or freeze it. I was very organised in those days!

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby northleedsbhoy » Thu Aug 20, 2020 8:34 am

I only have a regular fridge/freezer so there’s not a lot of room to have both packs of frozen vegetables etc, meat and batch cooked meals so I tend to either portion meat out uncooked or batch cook it straight away and portion it into the type of plastic trays used in Chinese takeaways then just stack them on top of each other. I was really grateful for that during lockdown even though it did get a bit boring eating the same stuff on a regular basis. At the moment I’ve got 2x2 chicken thighs and some mince left in the freezer uncooked which I’ll turn into something at the weekend then start the cycle again when I get next weeks delivery.

Cheers
NLB :thumbsup

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby Kacey » Thu Aug 20, 2020 9:02 pm

I do a 25 min walk to the station, get the 6:10 train to New St, run from New St to Moor St station, train to Solihull, out of the station onto a bus and then a quick 10 min walk to the office! Then the same home! What lockdown has shown me is how my quality of life has improved. Time to look for a job locally I think!

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby KeenCook2 » Thu Aug 20, 2020 9:53 pm

My goodness, Kacey, how long have you been doing that?

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby jeral » Fri Aug 21, 2020 5:41 pm

Out of date stuff: I'm most disappointed that my two avocados from a sealed cellophane pack in the fridge and still in date both tasted like paint stripper, so were inedible. Avos aren't cheap either. I gather ethylene gas gets them quickly after reaching ripeness.

These are the ridged skin avocados; maybe they have a shorter window for that just-right ripeness.

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby Stokey Sue » Fri Aug 21, 2020 6:08 pm

Paint stripper or turpentine is a note I associate with under-ripe avos, not overripe ones :?

The rough skin ones we are getting at the moment are S American I think, not the usual Israeli Hass, and they do seem to ripen a bit differently, they stay quite firm but the skin suddenly turns bronze instead of fir tree green, I got a pack of "wonky" avos, and put them in the kitchen fruit bowl with the tomatoes, and they've taken quite a lot of ripening, I've had them just over a week, and the last one will need another 24 hours at least

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby jeral » Fri Aug 21, 2020 6:50 pm

Yes, Stokey Sue, turpentine describes the taste much better - I couldn't put my finger on it.

These avocados had a slight give by feel so I doubt they were under ripe, but it's a blow to learn that they can taste of turps if both under and over ripe. I'm not keen on shop-bought guacamole, but it's definitely better than turps ;)

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby Stokey Sue » Fri Aug 21, 2020 7:15 pm

Actually, I may be confusing avos with something else :? though I think turpentine is quite a common unwanted flavour in some fruits

the S American ones definitely don't have much give when fully ripe

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby jeral » Fri Aug 21, 2020 7:45 pm

I reckon the upshot is to beware of ridged avocados and ripeness. With smooth skin ones, I have cut them in half (around the stone of course) and if not ripe, sandwiched them back together with a rubber band for a day. The cut faces oxidise but it's easy to trim that off then they're fine. I don't know if that works with ridged avocados and TBH they're too expensive to experiment with.

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby karadekoolaid » Fri Aug 21, 2020 7:46 pm

Avocados do not ripen on the tree; they ripen when they are picked, so putting them in the fridge is not a good idea unless they have ripened. I leave mine in the fruit bowl until they just "give" when pressed. THEN you can store them.

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Re: Eating out-of-date stuff

Postby MagicMarmite » Fri Aug 21, 2020 7:52 pm

Last week I opened and ate some of a jar of hollandaise sauce that was two years out of date, it had separated a bit but a quick stir and it was fine.
I'm still alive!

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