When "expired" foods actually stop being tasty

[beschizza]

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/09/28/when-expired-foods-actuall.html

…

[Papasan]

Get the answers for thousands of items!

[TobinL]

@beschizza

Wine is good for 6 months after you open it if you freeze it into ice cubes

Oh man wine popsicles… I so have to try that.

[Old]

And here I’ve been keeping the last bottle of 1937 Chateau St. Snob in my cellar. Silly me.

[thaumatechnicia]

1. "White, wild, arborio, jasmine and basmati rice all have an indefinite shelf life…Once opened, place rice in a sealed airtight container…"
   But, but, but the rice comes in bags that are not quite airtight. What’s magical about the original bags that my bags don’t have?

2. Maple syrup can get mouldy. For long-term storage, make sure the bottle is completely full - no air - unless you’re freezing it.

3. How detached from apparently ‘uncommon’ sense do you have to be, to think that salt has an expiry date? C’mon!

4. “Potatoes will last for…” different times depending on the variety. Some are meant to be eaten ASAP, other varieties need to age to be edible.

5. “OPENED WINE: 6 months” Two responses: i) What is this “leftover wine” I keep reading about? ii) Really? You can’t finish a bottle of wine in 6 months? Stop buying your wine in Nebuchadnezzar bottles.

6. Still, it’s a handy list, Rob. Thanks.

[SpunkyTWS]

For more detailed notes refer to the Periodic Table of Condiments.

[oncebce]

Hmm :-/
So honey is only good for 8 months?

The Science Behind Honey’s Eternal Shelf Life

[anon63496581]

@thaumatechnicia

White, wild, arborio, jasmine and basmati rice all have an indefinite shelf life…Once opened, place rice in a sealed airtight container…"

I’ve had enough troubles with bugs living in sealed bags of rice that I stick the bags in the freezer as soon as I get home from the store.

[Boundegar]

A dairy farmer once told me if your milk goes from warm to cold to warm to cold, it spoils really fast.

Also, I once took so long to finish a half-gallon of orange juice that mold grew on it in the refrigerator. Needless to say, it was a little past its sell date.

[Ryuthrowsstuff]

@thaumatechnicia

“Potatoes will last for…” different times depending on the variety.

And storage method. I think the variability in life span is more down to how long they were stored before hitting the shops. Discounting new potatoes, which don’t have nearly the shelf life of a full grown one. Potatoes grown here can be stored in potato barns for up to 3 years. Farmers store them for the off season when they can sell them at a better price. Even shit you wouldn’t expect can be stored for shockingly long times. Apparently you can keep cabbage for 8 months if you store it properly and immediately after harvest (root cellar covered with earth). Apples can be kept that long or longer, traditionally in a barrel.

@Boundegar

A dairy farmer once told me if your milk goes from warm to cold to warm to cold, it spoils really fast.

I’ve been told that repeatedly. But I’m reasonably sure its a myth. Anyone know for sure?

[spejic]

@thaumatechnicia

How detached from apparently ‘uncommon’ sense do you have to be, to think that salt has an expiry date?

Jesus thought so.

Matthew 5:13: Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?

Mark 9:50: Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it?

[Boundegar]

@Ryuthrowsstuff

Anyone know for sure?

I’ll wager a dairy farmer knows.

[anon55609254]

@SpunkyTWS

For more detailed notes refer to the Periodic Table of Condiments.

You mean they’re all radioactive?

[GulliverFoyle]

@thaumatechnicia

3. How detached from apparently ‘uncommon’ sense do you have to be, to think that salt has an expiry date? C’mon!

Best guess? America’s broad midsection of hypochondriacs and helicopter parents don’t trust anything without an expiration date, so suppliers are happy to slap an arbitrary date on and sell more wasted everything. I can’t really blame them if it’s the only way the clueless masses will buy their products, and will go to their competitors who are happy to oblige the delusions if they don’t.

[nimelennar]

@thaumatechnicia

How detached from apparently ‘uncommon’ sense do you have to be, to think that salt has an expiry date? C’mon!

I guess they’re just maNaCled by the idea that everything must expire.

[SpunkyTWS]

I hate myself for not thinking of this sooner.

[thaumatechnicia]

@Ryuthrowsstuff

And storage method.

I used to live in a century-old house next door to a farmer. One time, I purchased a bag his potatoes in the fall - they were awful. I left the bag in the cut stone cellar (part of it had a dirt floor) and forgot about them. In the spring, I found them and tried them: they were delicious.

In many parts, a good root cellar is essential. In Newfoundland, older houses not in ‘Town’ have have stone-lined root cellars cut-into the side of hillocks. The cabbages, potatoes, and rutabagas keep for almost a year.

[chgoliz]

Cheez Whiz is N/A. Yikes.

[Ryuthrowsstuff]

I’ve heard some wacky shit out of dairy farmers.

[the_borderer]

It lists paprika as lasting 3-4 years. Maybe unopened in perfect conditions, but I find that it has become faded and flavourless in about 1 year.

@thaumatechnicia

2. Maple syrup can get mouldy. For long-term storage, make sure the bottle is completely full - no air - unless you’re freezing it.

I can confirm this. I found a bottle of mouldy maple syrup in the back of a cupboard last week