Buying Beyond Best Befores...official MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

StumpyPumpy

poppy10 wrote: »

Cheese is one thing I can't eat out of date - couldn't imagine just cutting the mould off and eating the rest

Whereas, I love my cheese to be very ripe and I find that most cheese bought outside of a specialised cheese shop lack the maturity of the real thing unless you get the out of date offers. If I spot cheese in the reduced racks it is the first thing I grab for. I don't think I've ever seen unintentionally mouldy cheese actually for sale (ie not the blues etc.), but if the future development of mould puts you off, buy it, cut into handy portion sizes and put into the freezer - cheese seems to freeze very well. Well, do it as long as you don't visit my supermarket - I could do without the extra competition

SP

poppyolivia

poppy10 wrote: »

Cheese is one thing I can't eat out of date - couldn't imagine just cutting the mould off and eating the rest

don'y buy cheese out of a deli then...they do it every day and its not illegal...you're taught to do it!

bbruce

It certainly is refreshing to see so many like minded MSEers! I´ve done most of the things mentioned but didn´t tell the family who have become brainwashed with best by dates.
One office I used to work in had a fancy (and expensive) chilled sandwich and filled baguette dispensing machine which I used occasionally. Then one day, as I was putting some rubbish in the bin, I noticed it was half full of sandwiches out of date that day, all nicely wrapped and sealed. Naturallly I fished out as many as I could and put them in the fridge. Since then, I always looked out for the lady who refilled the machine and made straight for the bin after she left before other rubbish was thrown on top and never paid for sandwiches again!
A point to watch if you´re shopping late: They won´t sell you reduced stuff that goes out of date in your trolley, so get to the tills before midnight. One minute it´s fine, the next it´s poison! I was caught once, never again!

Ophi

Great to see that there is so much common sense shown with food, contrary to reports about how much goes in to landfill. I loathe waste and plan my cooking and shopping around what I've got left. Out of date, as so many have said on here, is up to common sense, smell and taste. I hadn't heard of the approved foods website before but will certainly go and look now!

Just a couple of points from previous posts in this thread:

- you should NOT put your bread in the freezer. This causes a chemical reaction in the starches which causes the bread to go stale much more quickly. Yes, it won't go mouldy as quickly but it goes stale instead. Instead, slice your bread and put won't you won't use in the freezer. Sliced bread defrosts really quickly and can be used in the toaster instantly. If you have stale bread try sprinkling it with some water, (if it's gone a bit hard), and popping it in the oven to warm it through. This will have the effect of reversing some of the starch changes but you'll need to eat it quickly as it will be worse than before when it cools down. This won't work for bread that's gone rock hard - then your best bet is breadcrumbs!

- to test eggs for freshness, as others have said put in a bowl or glass of water. A very fresh egg will lie flat on its side almost and these will be best for baking. As an egg starts to age the air bubble in the large end expands and and older egg will start to stand on end in water with the smallest point facing down. The older the egg, the higher the larger end. If an egg actually floats it is bad and shouldn't be used.

sharkgirl

What a fab. thread. We have just had our tea ... out of date thin sliced Aberdeen Angus Scotch beef in toasted sandwiches and out of date Jam Roly Poly with custard to follow. All reduced to sell fresh of course. Excellent. The best thing for us is we get to try foods we couldn't expect to afford normally or indeed would choose, well out of our comfort zone sometimes, think fresh sardines 1 kilo for 50p, but always enjoy the variation. I don't often buy things that aren't on offer or out of date so every night is a change of direction in our household, we eat like Kings and get value for money. Bingo! :T

Mary_Hartnell

Cheap lager goes funny tasting after about 12 - 18 months in the bottle/can.
Tins eventually rust to pin holes (after say 5 years depending on the quality of the can coating resin and the acidity of the contents).
Weevils will eventually find you flour, custard powder (potato flour/wall paper paste), cornflour, porridge etc.. as will something that grows into a caterpillar (and eventually becomes a "wooly bear" I believe BUT as they do so they leave behind a sort of spider's thread silk (so if the contents are looking like a spider's web has got in the jar, see if you can find the creature in there)

The fizzy sensation is created by yeasts trying to convert sugar to alcohol and giving off carbon dioxide in the process.

Salt (NaCl) and sugar (C11 H23 something something?) vinegar (acetic acid) Alcohol (C2H5(OH)) are simple chemicals so should last more or less indefinitely.

There is a real risk if modern food distribution is badly managed: It can ship really nasty bugs round the country, just as quickly as it can deliver food by lorry - hence these out breaks of illness that get traced back to a turkey shed in Hungary or incorrectly sterilised airline sandwiches fattening a pig farm in Northumberland, spotted by a slaughter house in Essex.

poppy10_2

Good article on the BBC website today about the rise of out-of-date shopping:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8326756.stm

EstherH

I have been reading through this thread with interest. I have eaten yoghurts etc that are a bit out of date and cut mold of cheese. I don't always keep to the recommended times for items in the freezer either. But how long will a turkey keep in the freezer? I have one from last Christmas and don't want to risk getting it out for this Christmas to find our dinner ruined. Can anyone help? Will it be okay?

ladybabe

poppy10 wrote: »

Cheese is one thing I can't eat out of date - couldn't imagine just cutting the mould off and eating the rest

but cheese essentially is already off how do you think the blue veins get into stilton?, aparently there is nothing that grows on hard cheese that can hurt you

ladybabe

what i cant understand is pickles etc having a best before, its in the title really i.e. they are pickled. surely you pickle something to make it last longer??