I am full of off topics this morning.

As a female I should know all about cooking but obviously I don't and the
cooking newsgroups don't cover this topic ( indeed many are not used at
all).

So, I today I cleared out my cupboards. Now I always have some things that
need removing but I had never noticed the " best before end of " dates.

It seems my whole pantry is full of unusable goods. My curry powder was
supposed to be used before 2000. My pepper before 2002 my ground mixed spice
2004. Even my flour is up this month and I have a jiff lemon which was
out of date last year - as was my mincemeat ( Robertson's , got it last year
for backing mince pies as a BOGOFF) and some coffee ( we don't drink a lot
of coffee) which was also out of date two years ago apparently and a Birds
Triffle mix which I got last Christmas - and was going to keep until this
Christmas!

I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and spices
lasted almost indefinitely?

Obviously I don't use many spices and condiments as you should be able to
deduct. But I looked at the products themselves and they all seem perfectly
OK.
Anyway, I have already gone and baked a cake ( as I do every week) with
these out of daye goods ( including some flour which it seems had a BBE of
May.) before I realised that nothing in my store cupboard was "in date"

Am I really putting my other half at risk by using them? Should I chuck
them all out?

On 5 Sep, 09:45, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:
I am full of off topics this morning.

As a female I should know all about cooking but obviously I don't and the
cooking newsgroups don't cover this topic ( indeed many are not used at
all).

So, I today I cleared out my cupboards. Now I always have some things that
need removing but I had never noticed the " best before end of " dates.

It seems my whole pantry is full of unusable goods. My curry powder was
supposed to be used before 2000. My pepper before 2002 my ground mixed spice
2004. Even my flour is up this month and I have a jiff lemon which was
out of date last year - as was my mincemeat ( Robertson's , got it last year
for backing mince pies as a BOGOFF) and some coffee ( we don't drink a lot
of coffee) which was also out of date two years ago apparently and a Birds
Triffle mix which I got last Christmas - and was going to keep until this
Christmas!

I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and spices
lasted almost indefinitely?

Obviously I don't use many spices and condiments as you should be able to
deduct. But I looked at the products themselves and they all seem perfectly
OK.
Anyway, I have already gone and baked a cake ( as I do every week) with
these out of daye goods ( including some flour which it seems had a BBE of
May.) before I realised that nothing in my store cupboard was "in date"

Am I really putting my other half at risk by using them? Should I chuck
them all out?

google "bbe date"

peruse at your lesiure

e.g.
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo....main/1437315/

Jim K

In article ,
sweetheart hotmail.com wrote:

Am I really putting my other half at risk by using them? Should I chuck
them all out?


Best before dates are advisory - stuff should be at optimum condition until
at least then. Ignore if you think it's fine.

Use by dates are a bit more serious - they are supposed to be the date the
product will not be safe to eat afterwards.

I ignore BBE dates - and just use common sense. UB I'm a bit more weary
of (he says, having just eated sausages 2 days after the use by date :-))

Spices and coffee will be fine for *ages* if not opened. Once opened you
the strength tends to disappear. Does that ancient coffee still actually
smell like coffee??

Darren

On Sep 5, 9:45*am, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:
*I am full of off topics this morning.

*As a female I should know all about cooking but obviously I don't and the
cooking newsgroups don't cover this topic ( indeed many are not used at
all).

So, I today I cleared out my cupboards. Now I always have some things that
need removing but I had never noticed the " best before end of " dates.

*It seems my whole pantry is full of unusable goods. My curry powder was
supposed to be used before 2000. My pepper before 2002 my ground mixed spice
2004. * Even my flour is up this month and *I have a jiff lemon which was
out of date last year - as was my mincemeat ( Robertson's , got it last year
for backing mince pies as a *BOGOFF) *and some coffee ( we don't drink a lot
of coffee) which was also out of date two years ago apparently and a Birds
Triffle mix which I got last Christmas - and was going to keep until this
Christmas!

I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and spices
lasted almost indefinitely?

Obviously I don't use many spices and condiments as *you should be able to
deduct. *But I looked at the products themselves and they all seem perfectly
OK.
Anyway, I have already gone and baked a cake ( as I do every week) with
these out of daye goods ( including some flour which it seems had a *BBE of
May.) before I realised that *nothing in my store cupboard was *"in date"

*Am I really putting my other half *at risk by using them? Should I chuck
them all out?


There are 2 relevant dates, 'best before' and 'use by.' Use by is the
safety date, best before has nothing whatever to do with food safety.
A short best before date is used by manufacturers to offload liability
after the date, and sometimes to encourage users to throw and re-buy.

Tinned goods last indefinitely, as long as the can stays sealed. I did
however turn down the opportunity to eat something that looked like it
was from the 1930s on the grounds that there were some widespread
safety problems with foods back then.

Dried goods are more of a mix. Generally theyre fine after BBE dates,
eg using curry powder 10 years out of date is harmless if its still in
good condition, but they do deteriorate in quality and can become
spoiled by damp, insects or fat degradation, and damp spoilage can
make them unfit for consumption.


NT

I have bottle of Lea and Perrins with no BBE or Use By Date. It
causes a certain amount of consternation when offered to friends

Richard ;-)

On 05/09/2010 11:38, RJS wrote:
I have bottle of Lea and Perrins with no BBE or Use By Date. It
causes a certain amount of consternation when offered to friends

The old bottles of the sauce didn't have any dates on them until the
government forced them into changing the label.

There is a story going around that the factory has bottles going back as
far as 100 years and they say that the older it is, the better it tastes.

Dave

wrote:

I am full of off topics this morning.

As a female I should know all about cooking

Nonsense - I'm better versed than the missus - I have to teach her stuff.

"Best Before" is more an indicator (partly for supplier's stock rotation) -
it is rarely life threatening to ignore it.

"Use by" is more related to food actually perishing, but see below.

Answering your questions point by point

but obviously I don't and the
cooking newsgroups don't cover this topic ( indeed many are not used at
all).

So, I today I cleared out my cupboards. Now I always have some things that
need removing but I had never noticed the " best before end of " dates.

It seems my whole pantry is full of unusable goods. My curry powder was
supposed to be used before 2000. My pepper before 2002 my ground mixed
spice
2004.

Ignore that. If it hasn't got damp and clumpy, use it forever.


Even my flour is up this month

If not damp or being eaten by weevils, use it forever,

and I have a jiff lemon which was
out of date last year

Not so sure. It's very acid and not prone to bugs, and I usually give these
many months past any "BB date". I usually lob mine in the fridge and regard
their life as virtually infinite then,

- as was my mincemeat ( Robertson's , got it last
year

Unopened jars and cans can be regarded as lasting practically forever. They
are sealed sterile. Once opened, deterioration sets in in days/weeks/months
depending on food type and sugar or salt content.

Eg unopened mincemeat - use it whenever. Opened, I'd fridge it and use in a
week or two. Jam (especially low sugar types) are best fridged after
opening. Proper jam, not necessary. Jam will develop mould as its first mode
of deterioration IME, so visually obvious when it's dead.

for backing mince pies as a BOGOFF) and some coffee ( we don't drink a
lot of coffee) which was also out of date two years ago apparently

Coffee (beans/ground/instant) keeps forever if dry, even if opened.

and a
Birds Triffle mix which I got last Christmas - and was going to keep until
this Christmas!


Sealed dry ingredients - regard as lasting forever.


I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and spices
lasted almost indefinitely?

Still true.

Obviously I don't use many spices and condiments as you should be able to
deduct. But I looked at the products themselves and they all seem
perfectly OK.
Anyway, I have already gone and baked a cake ( as I do every week) with
these out of daye goods ( including some flour which it seems had a BBE
of
May.) before I realised that nothing in my store cupboard was "in date"

Am I really putting my other half at risk by using them? Should I chuck
them all out?

No.

Some things have changed since we were both younger. Some foods have more
preservatives so actually last longer. But a lot of "fresh" food had been in
a longer transport chain, eg milk, meat and veg. Some things like jam often
have less sugar (which was the secondary preservative after the bottling
process which rendered it sterile until opened).


With frozen stuff, there's still a lot of latitude, if your freezer is good
and you don't let it ice up solid. I'd eat 9 month frozen meat even though
it might be a nominal 6 months storage. Veggies, at least a year.

Fridged stuff:

Now, this is where it gets more sensitive:

A good fridge makes a huge difference over an old crap fridge with leaky
door seals. Replacing an old crap fridge with a decent one that actually
holds everywhere inside at 4C made a huge and noticeable difference in how
long stuff was good for. Switching to Waitrose from Tescos also made a
noticeable difference.

I now will keep micro-meals 2 days beyond UseBy, Chicken I prefer to go 1
day extra, beef and lamb I'd go 3-4 days beyond and pork maybe 2 days.

Dairy I will drink until it tastes sour.

You need to understand the risks:

Red meats are generally quite resistant to deterioration and in theory can
look/smell odd before they kill you (cf "Hung beef"). Cooking to death kills
the bugs, though doesn't remove any toxins they may have already produced.
So if unsure make sure it's cooked well.

Chicken and fish are buggers though. Both are very delicate and bugs love
them. Also, the bugs that like them are the ones that give you bad gutrot. I
wouldn't stretch poultry and fish much unless I know ehere it came from, eg
freshly caught or killed by a local place.

Dairy tends to go sour and the bugs that do this are mostly harmless
(yoghurt is basically soured milk)

However, certain soft cheeses are dodgey for listeria and other unpleasant
bugs.

Hard cheeses (eg cheddar) are generally OK until mould appears and even
then, chop the mouldy bit off and eat.

If you like to cook meat a little rare (ie pink or bloody) then fresh is
more essential.

The exception on red meats is mince where the heat produced by mincing can
start bug production off and the bugs are mixed through rather than being on
the surface. I'll give minced red meat and extra day beyond useby in a good
fridge but not much longer. But it's a good candidate for freezing anyway.

Pickles: Last forever until opened. After opening, the life should be good
if kept in a cool larder or fridge as the vinegar or brine is a
preservative. IME, with brined products (eg olives), mould seems to be the
first to appear. Never had vinegar pickled products go off in any noticeable
way.

Vacuum packed deli meats tend to last well until opened, then the lifespan
drops sharply. Chicken and ham (esp processed) should be treated with
respect. Salami is more robust because was originally designed to keep at
room temperature (though this can't be assumed de-facto for packets of
ready-sliced). I have had a full stick of genuine Hungarian salami hanging
in summer off a kitchen shelf in the room for a good few weeks, chopping off
some whenever I needed - on the advice of the Hungarian who gave it to me.

Bread is OK until it's mouldy and I never got any problems even eating the
mouldy bits.

Eggs - there' a good test which is to put them in a bowl of water. If it
lies horizontal or stands up near vertical, it's bad (to do with what
happens to the air sac inside). A good egg will tend to lie at about 20-40
degrees - try it.

Other's may have different views, but I've never got food poisoning from my
own food. A dodgy botty perhaps on a couple of occasions, but those were
traceable to some really out of date fresh stuff.

Cheers

Tim
--
Tim Watts

On Sep 5, 11:33*am, Tim Watts wrote:
*wrote:
*I am full of off topics this morning.

*As a female I should know all about cooking

Nonsense - I'm better versed than the missus - I have to teach her stuff.

"Best Before" is more an indicator (partly for supplier's stock rotation) -
it is rarely life threatening to ignore it.

"Use by" is more related to food actually perishing, but see below.

Answering your questions point by point

*but obviously I don't and the
cooking newsgroups don't cover this topic ( indeed many are not used at
all).

So, I today I cleared out my cupboards. Now I always have some things that
need removing but I had never noticed the " best before end of " dates.

*It seems my whole pantry is full of unusable goods. My curry powder was
supposed to be used before 2000. My pepper before 2002 my ground mixed
spice
2004. *

Ignore that. If it hasn't got damp and clumpy, use it forever.

Even my flour is up this month

If not damp or being eaten by weevils, use it forever,

and *I have a jiff lemon which was
out of date last year

Not so sure. It's very acid and not prone to bugs, and I usually give these
many months past any "BB date". I usually lob mine in the fridge and regard
their life as virtually infinite then,

- as was my mincemeat ( Robertson's , got it last
year

Unopened jars and cans can be regarded as lasting practically forever. They
are sealed sterile. Once opened, deterioration sets in in days/weeks/months
depending on food type and sugar or salt content.

Eg unopened mincemeat - use it whenever. Opened, I'd fridge it and use in a
week or two. Jam (especially low sugar types) are best fridged after
opening. Proper jam, not necessary. Jam will develop mould as its first mode
of deterioration IME, so visually obvious when it's dead.

for backing mince pies as a *BOGOFF) *and some coffee ( we don't drink a
lot of coffee) which was also out of date two years ago apparently

Coffee (beans/ground/instant) keeps forever if dry, even if opened.

and a
Birds Triffle mix which I got last Christmas - and was going to keep until
this Christmas!

Sealed dry ingredients - regard as lasting forever.



I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and spices
lasted almost indefinitely?

Still true.

Obviously I don't use many spices and condiments as *you should be able to
deduct. *But I looked at the products themselves and they all seem
perfectly OK.
Anyway, I have already gone and baked a cake ( as I do every week) with
these out of daye goods ( including some flour which it seems had a *BBE
of
May.) before I realised that *nothing in my store cupboard was *"in date"

*Am I really putting my other half *at risk by using them? Should I chuck
them all out?

No.

Some things have changed since we were both younger. Some foods have more
preservatives so actually last longer. But a lot of "fresh" food had been in
a longer transport chain, eg milk, meat and veg. Some things like jam often
have less sugar (which was the secondary preservative after the bottling
process which rendered it sterile until opened).

With frozen stuff, there's still a lot of latitude, if your freezer is good
and you don't let it ice up solid. I'd eat 9 month frozen meat even though
it might be a nominal 6 months storage. Veggies, at least a year.

Fridged stuff:

Now, this is where it gets more sensitive:

A good fridge makes a huge difference over an old crap fridge with leaky
door seals. Replacing an old crap fridge with a decent one that actually
holds everywhere inside at 4C made a huge and noticeable difference in how
long stuff was good for. Switching to Waitrose from Tescos also made a
noticeable difference.

I now will keep micro-meals 2 days beyond UseBy, Chicken I prefer to go 1
day extra, beef and lamb I'd go 3-4 days beyond and pork maybe 2 days.

Dairy I will drink until it tastes sour.

You need to understand the risks:

Red meats are generally quite resistant to deterioration and in theory can
look/smell odd before they kill you (cf "Hung beef"). Cooking to death kills
the bugs, though doesn't remove any toxins they may have already produced..
So if unsure make sure it's cooked well.

Chicken and fish are buggers though. Both are very delicate and bugs love
them. Also, the bugs that like them are the ones that give you bad gutrot.. I
wouldn't stretch poultry and fish much unless I know ehere it came from, eg
freshly caught or killed by a local place.

Dairy tends to go sour and the bugs that do this are mostly harmless
(yoghurt is basically soured milk)

However, certain soft cheeses are dodgey for listeria and other unpleasant
bugs.

Hard cheeses (eg cheddar) are generally OK until mould appears and even
then, chop the mouldy bit off and eat.

If you like to cook meat a little rare (ie pink or bloody) then fresh is
more essential.

The exception on red meats is mince where the heat produced by mincing can
start bug production off and the bugs are mixed through rather than being on
the surface. I'll give minced red meat and extra day beyond useby in a good
fridge but not much longer. But it's a good candidate for freezing anyway..

Pickles: Last forever until opened. After opening, the life should be good
if kept in a cool larder or fridge as the vinegar or brine is a
preservative. IME, with brined products (eg olives), mould seems to be the
first to appear. Never had vinegar pickled products go off in any noticeable
way.

Vacuum packed deli meats tend to last well until opened, then the lifespan
drops sharply. Chicken and ham (esp processed) should be treated with
respect. Salami is more robust because was originally designed to keep at
room temperature (though this can't be assumed de-facto for packets of
ready-sliced). I have had a full stick of genuine Hungarian salami hanging
in summer off a kitchen shelf in the room for a good few weeks, chopping off
some whenever I needed - on the advice of the Hungarian who gave it to me..

Bread is OK until it's mouldy and I never got any problems even eating the
mouldy bits.

Eggs - there' a good test which is to put them in a bowl of water. If it
lies horizontal or stands up near vertical, it's bad (to do with what
happens to the air sac inside). A good egg will tend to lie at about 20-40
degrees - try it.

Other's may have different views, but I've never got food poisoning from my
own food. A dodgy botty perhaps on a couple of occasions, but those were
traceable to some really out of date fresh stuff.

Cheers

Tim


One last note is that cooking kills nearly all bugs, and destroys some
toxins, so if you're a bit uncertain, cook it well.


NT

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Tabby saying
something like:

212 lines

One last note is that cooking kills nearly all bugs, and destroys some
toxins, so if you're a bit uncertain, cook it well.

Ditto that, and snip off the dodgy-looking bits.

On 5 Sep 2010 11:15:40 GMT, Huge wrote:

My rule of thumb is that if something smells, looks and tastes OK, I'll
eat it no matter what the dates on the packaging.

More or less my approach as well. Though stuff with a BBE date that
was a couple of years, or more, ago will have a fairly close
examination for "look" (texture, colour, etc) smell and finnally
taste. I'd also examin all the packaging for
damage/deteriation/corrosion etc. The top contents of a tin might be
OK but the bottom could have reacted with the contents or had a tiny
failure in a seam or what ever.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 05/09/2010 12:15, Huge wrote:
Obviously if it's developed democracy and space travel, then it's time to
bin it.

RAOFL

Another Dave

On 05/09/2010 in message
sweetheart wrote:

Am I really putting my other half at risk by using them? Should I chuck
them all out?

When my (now) ex walked out she left a load of tinned stuff in the
cupboard long past its use by date. I used some cook-in sauce and was ill
for a couple of days.
In view of your other posts in here perhaps you should leave them another
couple of years before feeding them to your other half?

--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
If you ever find something you like buy a lifetime supply because they
will stop making it

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Jeff Gaines"
saying something like:

When my (now) ex walked out she left a load of tinned stuff in the
cupboard long past its use by date. I used some cook-in sauce and was ill
for a couple of days.

What makes you think it was unopened /untampered with?

On 5 Sep, 09:45, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:
*I am full of off topics this morning.

*As a female I should know all about cooking but obviously I don't and the
cooking newsgroups don't cover this topic ( indeed many are not used at
all).

So, I today I cleared out my cupboards. Now I always have some things that
need removing but I had never noticed the " best before end of " dates.

*It seems my whole pantry is full of unusable goods. My curry powder was
supposed to be used before 2000. My pepper before 2002 my ground mixed spice
2004. * Even my flour is up this month and *I have a jiff lemon which was
out of date last year - as was my mincemeat ( Robertson's , got it last year
for backing mince pies as a *BOGOFF) *and some coffee ( we don't drink a lot
of coffee) which was also out of date two years ago apparently and a Birds
Triffle mix which I got last Christmas - and was going to keep until this
Christmas!

I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and spices
lasted almost indefinitely?

Obviously I don't use many spices and condiments as *you should be able to
deduct. *But I looked at the products themselves and they all seem perfectly
OK.
Anyway, I have already gone and baked a cake ( as I do every week) with
these out of daye goods ( including some flour which it seems had a *BBE of
May.) before I realised that *nothing in my store cupboard was *"in date"

*Am I really putting my other half *at risk by using them? Should I chuck
them all out?

I thought you had a plan to poison him anyway?:-)

In message , sweetheart
writes
I am full of off topics this morning.

As a female I should know all about cooking but obviously I don't and
the cooking newsgroups don't cover this topic ( indeed many are not
used at all).

So, I today I cleared out my cupboards. Now I always have some things
that need removing but I had never noticed the " best before end of "
dates.

It seems my whole pantry is full of unusable goods. My curry powder was
supposed to be used before 2000. My pepper before 2002 my ground mixed
spice 2004. Even my flour is up this month and I have a jiff lemon
which was out of date last year - as was my mincemeat ( Robertson's ,
got it last year for backing mince pies as a BOGOFF) and some coffee
( we don't drink a lot of coffee) which was also out of date two years
ago apparently and a Birds Triffle mix which I got last Christmas - and
was going to keep until this Christmas!

I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and
spices lasted almost indefinitely?

Obviously I don't use many spices and condiments as you should be able
to deduct. But I looked at the products themselves and they all seem
perfectly OK.
Anyway, I have already gone and baked a cake ( as I do every week) with
these out of daye goods ( including some flour which it seems had a
BBE of May.) before I realised that nothing in my store cupboard was
"in date"

Am I really putting my other half at risk by using them?

We live in hope

Should I chuck them all out?


Spices and such should last, but their effect can deteriorate with age


I think you have to learn to start thinking - what is there to go off in
e.g. flour

--
geoff

On 5 Sep, 13:15, geoff wrote:

I think you have to learn to start thinking - what is there to go off in
e.g. flour

Quite a lot really! Weevils are a huge problem for stored flour, and
why it's one of the few foodstuffs I do observe dates on. Wholemeal
flour also goes rancid.

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On 5 Sep, 13:15, geoff wrote:

I think you have to learn to start thinking - what is there to go off in
e.g. flour

Quite a lot really! Weevils are a huge problem for stored flour, and
why it's one of the few foodstuffs I do observe dates on. Wholemeal
flour also goes rancid.

Interestingly my store and pantry are the two places in my house which are
virtually bone dry.

I don't suffer from weevils in the flour. But this may not go down well but
the cookery teacher ( used to be home ec now called food technology ) told
the PE teacher last term that she could use flour which had weevils in it.
The weevils were harmless cooked ( and she was not joking!). Make if that
what you will,

Anyway, the pepper was nearly empty. I haven't disposed of it. I will get a
new one though. The curry powder seems alright . I have a paprika powder
which doesn't even have a BBE date on it . I suspect that is so old it pre
dates BBE. I cant recall when I bought it.

As for the rest, well I have kept nearly all of that too. I will be backing
rather a lot though to use the 3lb of flour I have just opened before it
goes out of date.

On 05/09/2010 17:10, sweetheart wrote:



I don't suffer from weevils in the flour. But this may not go down well
but the cookery teacher ( used to be home ec [1] now called food technology
) told the PE teacher last term that she could use flour which had
weevils in it. The weevils were harmless cooked ( and she was not
joking!). Make if that what you will,


Weevils won't hurt - they just add a bit of extra body to your bread! g

[1] You must be young - it was "Domestic Science" in my day!

--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

Roger Mills wrote:

On 05/09/2010 17:10, sweetheart wrote:



I don't suffer from weevils in the flour. But this may not go down well
but the cookery teacher ( used to be home ec [1] now called food
technology ) told the PE teacher last term that she could use flour which
had weevils in it. The weevils were harmless cooked ( and she was not
joking!). Make if that what you will,


Weevils won't hurt - they just add a bit of extra body to your bread! g

[1] You must be young - it was "Domestic Science" in my day!


How old does it make you if it was just called "cookery class"?

--
Tim Watts

In message , sweetheart
writes

Anyway, the pepper was nearly empty. I haven't disposed of it. I will
get a new one though. The curry powder seems alright . I have a paprika
powder which doesn't even have a BBE date on it .

Ditch it then, it will have no bite left


--
geoff

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "sweetheart" hotmail.com saying
something like:

It seems my whole pantry is full of unusable goods. My curry powder was
supposed to be used before 2000. My pepper before 2002 my ground mixed spice
2004. Even my flour is up this month and I have a jiff lemon which was
out of date last year - as was my mincemeat ( Robertson's , got it last year
for backing mince pies as a BOGOFF) and some coffee ( we don't drink a lot
of coffee) which was also out of date two years ago apparently and a Birds
Triffle mix which I got last Christmas - and was going to keep until this
Christmas!

I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and spices
lasted almost indefinitely?

They'll all be fine. I find similar jars of dry preserved goods at the
back of my cupboards and eat them with no qualms. If the mincemeat
hasn't been opened, it'll be safe enough, and the Jif lemon might tend
to be a bit watery, but I've found it's usually good to go up to four
years old.

"sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote in message
...


Am I really putting my other half at risk by using them? Should I chuck
them all out?


BBE means the product may not taste the same or be soft or stale, etc.
It should be safe or show clear signs of being bad e.g. rotten.

Use by is foods that may become dangerous after a certain date sometimes in
a way that is difficult to see.

I use BBE of stuff that can be more than a year past the date, it depends on
what it is but tins are safe for years.

If you want to poison him you will have to investigate other methods.

On 5 Sep, 09:45, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and spices
lasted almost indefinitely?

As I recall, you're one of our more mature posters, so you went to
school at a time when common sense was taught, but not cuisine.

Spices will "keep" almost forever, but they don't taste of much. If
there's any question about it, replace them simply because they might
not kill you, but they won't taste much good anyway.

"Spices" might also mean three things; whole spices, ground spices and
herbs.

Whole spices keep pretty well. They're (mostly) seeds, and seeds are
Darwin's own little storage containers. One of the best ways to keep
spices fresh is just to use whole spices instead of ground and to
grind them when you need them. One of my basic cooking tools is a
small pestle and mortar.

Ground spices aren't ever going to store well. However some ready-
blended mixes arrive that way and it's better to use them than to
avoid everything as too complicated. But store them in good jars, out
of the light. Re-using old jars is fine, so long as they have a decent
lid. Also label them, because jars of "powdered brown" can be hard to
tell apart. If you can't taste them apart, then they're too old.
Ideally label the lids, not the sides, because then you can identify
them in a drawer. Don't use a spice rack - that's more of a "bulk
aging rack" so that you can have multiple jars going off at once.

Herbs are best if you buy them freeze-dried rather than air dried
(Even if they're your own home grown). This is one reason why I prefer
to buy Barts over most own-brand (and certainly the infernal S******).
A good comment on them is from Katherine Whitehorn's "Cooking in a
Bedsit" - it's better to buy and use one sort of "mixed herbs"
regularly, so that it might remain reasonably fresh, than it is to
have a dozen different hebs sitting unused and all turning quietly to
hay on a windowsill.

For cheap spices, go to an Indian supermarket and buy bags of whole
spices, along with a pestle and mortar. There's not much European
cookery that isn't improved by some cummin (especially anything using
tomatoes). For a great read on spices and using them, try Madhur
Jaffrey's first Indian cookery book and actually read the first
chapters, don't just follow the recipes.

Andy Dingley wrote:
On 5 Sep, 09:45, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and
spices lasted almost indefinitely?

As I recall, you're one of our more mature posters, so you went to
school at a time when common sense was taught, but not cuisine.

I was at secondary school between 1969 and 1974 and our school taught both
common sense and cookery. My form teacher during one year was based in the
domestic science room where, IIRC, there were 12 bays equipped with gas
cookers, food prep and worktop areas and sinks. It was mainly girls who did
the cookery but lads were not barred, they could do it if they liked. I
often think that I should have done it.

Pete Zahut wrote:

Andy Dingley wrote:
On 5 Sep, 09:45, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and
spices lasted almost indefinitely?

As I recall, you're one of our more mature posters, so you went to
school at a time when common sense was taught, but not cuisine.

I was at secondary school between 1969 and 1974 and our school taught both
common sense and cookery. My form teacher during one year was based in the
domestic science room where, IIRC, there were 12 bays equipped with gas
cookers, food prep and worktop areas and sinks. It was mainly girls who
did the cookery but lads were not barred, they could do it if they liked.
I often think that I should have done it.

Cooking is something you should learn at home, not in school.
Actually so is a lot of other stuff. Parents these days seem to
have no sense of responsibility, and are hell-bent on delegating
as much as possible to teachers so that they can go off and enjoy
themselves just as though they hadn't made any children. Often the
teachers are even more clueless than the parents!

On 5 Sep, 19:43, Ronald Raygun wrote:

Cooking is something you should learn at home, not in school.

Not with my Mother's cooking.

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On 5 Sep, 19:43, Ronald Raygun wrote:

Cooking is something you should learn at home, not in school.

Not with my Mother's cooking.

Despite having cookery at school, I actually learned from Asda recipe's in
the 1980's. Cookery skills ( or lack of them) run in the family. My mother
is a very plain cook. My grandmother had little or no such skill at all.

My father fares little better. He can produce a fry up. My hubby is useless
though - banned from cooking because of the mess he leaves.

Ronald Raygun wrote:

Cooking is something you should learn at home, not in school.

What a crock.

On Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:02:03 +0000, Huge wrote:

On 2010-09-05, Pete Zahut wrote:
Andy Dingley wrote:
On 5 Sep, 09:45, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and
spices lasted almost indefinitely?

As I recall, you're one of our more mature posters, so you went to
school at a time when common sense was taught, but not cuisine.

I was at secondary school between 1969 and 1974 and our school taught
both common sense and cookery. My form teacher during one year was
based in the domestic science room where, IIRC, there were 12 bays
equipped with gas cookers, food prep and worktop areas and sinks. It
was mainly girls who did the cookery but lads were not barred, they
could do it if they liked. I often think that I should have done it.

You're me, you are.

I had to learn to cook at University, an interest that has stayed with
me all my life.

My brother had to push very hard to do Domestic Science at school - he
was the first boy they'd ever had doing it. He went on to become a chef -
a good one. Of course, he did other things too - qualified jeweller/watch
repairer, cycle repairer/retailer, paramedic.....!


--
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http://www.mirrorservice.org

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"Bob Eager" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:02:03 +0000, Huge wrote:


My brother had to push very hard to do Domestic Science at school - he
was the first boy they'd ever had doing it. He went on to become a chef -
a good one. Of course, he did other things too - qualified jeweller/watch
repairer, cycle repairer/retailer, paramedic.....!


See this works both ways. I wish I had been able to do some woodwork because
I would not face the problems I often face now with a OH who wont put nails
in walls and shelves up for me. I would do it myself but I simply don't
have a clue ( I can hang a picture and that is about it)

"sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote in message
...

"Bob Eager" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:02:03 +0000, Huge wrote:


My brother had to push very hard to do Domestic Science at school - he
was the first boy they'd ever had doing it. He went on to become a chef -
a good one. Of course, he did other things too - qualified jeweller/watch
repairer, cycle repairer/retailer, paramedic.....!


See this works both ways. I wish I had been able to do some woodwork
because I would not face the problems I often face now with a OH who wont
put nails in walls and shelves up for me. I would do it myself but I
simply don't have a clue ( I can hang a picture and that is about it)

When I was a lad boys couldn't do cookery classes so we had to learn
ourselves.

Things are different now.. my daughter went on a brick laying and plumbing
course at Dudley college while at primary school!
They built a wall and plumbed in a sink, including soldering joints.

Huge wrote:
On 2010-09-05, Pete Zahut wrote:
Andy Dingley wrote:
On 5 Sep, 09:45, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and
spices lasted almost indefinitely?

As I recall, you're one of our more mature posters, so you went to
school at a time when common sense was taught, but not cuisine.

I was at secondary school between 1969 and 1974 and our school
taught both common sense and cookery. My form teacher during one
year was based in the domestic science room where, IIRC, there were
12 bays equipped with gas cookers, food prep and worktop areas and
sinks. It was mainly girls who did the cookery but lads were not
barred, they could do it if they liked. I often think that I should
have done it.

You're me, you are.

I had to learn to cook at University, an interest that has stayed
with me all my life.

Sadly Huge, I didn't do it at school and never learned after school either.
I'm now 52 years old and can just about make beans on toast. My wife and I
have been together 27 years and I've cooked on three ocassions (all
disasters I might add) in all that time. I'm not boasting and it's not
something I'm proud of but cooking frightens me. Every time I go near the
cooker I burn myself (honestly, I have) or the food, or wreck something in
some way - it always culminates in a takeaway. However, I also have little
incentive to learn as my wife is a truly superb cook :-)

In message , Pete Zahut
writes
Huge wrote:
On 2010-09-05, Pete Zahut wrote:
Andy Dingley wrote:
On 5 Sep, 09:45, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and
spices lasted almost indefinitely?

As I recall, you're one of our more mature posters, so you went to
school at a time when common sense was taught, but not cuisine.

I was at secondary school between 1969 and 1974 and our school
taught both common sense and cookery. My form teacher during one
year was based in the domestic science room where, IIRC, there were
12 bays equipped with gas cookers, food prep and worktop areas and
sinks. It was mainly girls who did the cookery but lads were not
barred, they could do it if they liked. I often think that I should
have done it.

You're me, you are.

I had to learn to cook at University, an interest that has stayed
with me all my life.

Sadly Huge, I didn't do it at school and never learned after school either.
I'm now 52 years old and can just about make beans on toast. My wife and I
have been together 27 years and I've cooked on three ocassions (all
disasters I might add) in all that time. I'm not boasting and it's not
something I'm proud of but cooking frightens me. Every time I go near the
cooker I burn myself (honestly, I have) or the food, or wreck something in
some way - it always culminates in a takeaway. However, I also have little
incentive to learn as my wife is a truly superb cook :-)


Me, I'm banned from the kitchen


--
geoff

On Sun, 5 Sep 2010 19:09:07 +0100, Pete Zahut wrote:

It was mainly girls who did the cookery but lads were not barred,
they
could do it if they liked.

Couple of years later for secondary school and boys could take
cookery but they had to push otherwise your did woodwork or
metalwork. IIRC there was one girl from our year doing metalwork and
one boy doing cookery. You couldn't mix and match wood/metal work, I
did wood work, so I'm reasonably proficient at hacking wood about but
metal bashing is just that "hit wiv' 'ammer".

I often think that I should have done it.

You're me, you are.

I had to learn to cook at University, an interest that has stayed
with me all my life.

Didn't bother with uni, taught myself when I moved into rented shared
accomodation.

Sadly Huge, I didn't do it at school and never learned after school
either. I'm now 52 years old and can just about make beans on toast. My
wife and I have been together 27 years and I've cooked on three
ocassions (all disasters I might add)

Oh dear, I don't want to be morbid but what happens if you survive
your wife? I'm sure you won't want to live on take aways or ready
meals...

... cooking frightens me. Every time I go near the cooker I burn myself
(honestly, I have)

Any one who hasn't burnt themselves cooking hasn't done any cooking.

... I also have little incentive to learn as my wife is a truly superb
cook :-)

So you will really miss good food. Diving in trying to cook a whole
meal is probably not a good idea and I guess she doesn't take kindly
to you getting under her feet in the kitchen when she is cooking. How
about getting her to show/teach you how to do parts of a meal, say
just the boiled spuds or something. As with a lot of things having
the confidence that you can do something is more than half the
battle.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 9/5/2010 5:45 PM, Dave Liquorice wrote:

Oh dear, I don't want to be morbid but what happens if you survive
your wife? I'm sure you won't want to live on take aways or ready
meals...

On Sun, 5 Sep 2010 19:09:07 +0100, Pete Zahut wrote:
... cooking frightens me. Every time I go near the cooker I burn myself
(honestly, I have)

Any one who hasn't burnt themselves cooking hasn't done any cooking.

... I also have little incentive to learn as my wife is a truly superb
cook :-)

So you will really miss good food. Diving in trying to cook a whole
meal is probably not a good idea and I guess she doesn't take kindly
to you getting under her feet in the kitchen when she is cooking. How
about getting her to show/teach you how to do parts of a meal, say
just the boiled spuds or something. As with a lot of things having
the confidence that you can do something is more than half the
battle.

After a rather nasty health scare, I started a family cookbook, with
detailed directions suitable for total newbies - the kind of directions
you'd get if your Granny were standing there telling you how to do it.
I wanted to make sure that Himself and the children would eat well, even
without having me in the kitchen. It's just another form of DIY...

Huge wrote:

I had to learn to cook at University, an interest that has stayed with me
all my life.

AOL

First cookery book Katherine Whitehorn's "Cooking in a bedsit", second
Constance Spry. Since then I mostly don't use recipe books because mine
are better than theirs. I pick up my best recipes from friends,
particularly in Italy where everyone likes to show off their cooking
skills.

Steve Firth :
First cookery book Katherine Whitehorn's "Cooking in a bedsit"

It was the Robert Carrier Cookbook for me.

--
Mike Barnes

On Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:20:35 +0000, Huge wrote:

On 2010-09-05, Steve Firth wrote:
Huge wrote:

I had to learn to cook at University, an interest that has stayed with
me all my life.

AOL

First cookery book Katherine Whitehorn's "Cooking in a bedsit",

Mine too!

And me.

Then the Margeurite Patten cake book.



--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 6 Sep, 09:20, Huge wrote:

First cookery book Katherine Whitehorn's "Cooking in a bedsit",

Mine too!

Same here, although I bought it for black comedy, not guidance.

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On 5 Sep, 09:45, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

I had thought from my school days that dried and preserved food and
spices
lasted almost indefinitely?

As I recall, you're one of our more mature posters, so you went to
school at a time when common sense was taught, but not cuisine.


On the subject of my cookery. A few years ago I did enter the cookery
competition at the local village show ( Women's Institute). I entered a
Victoria sponge ( got first place). Plain scones got a third place and my
sausage rolls got a " highly commended". I also got the cup for " best in
show" for my flower arrangements.

So I am not exactly " bad" at cooking. I didn't do it again. I upset the
local WI ladies because they had thought they had the show tied up between
them until I appeared ( I didn't know that it was a closed shop).