pasta sauce recipes

Derivative

I have had chocolate bars that didn't have best before dates printed on them, probably a longevity thing.

Best before is essentially telling you they'll taste as good as the day you got them. After that they may be a bit bland or our friend entropy might have pushed the sugar to congeal at one side or something, but nothing dangerous.

That is of course, if maggots haven't found them in the cupboard and had a field day. But to be fair, that could happen to any food.

frivolous_fay

I'd eat one... find out if the nuts tasted nasty, and make a decision on the rest

Agapanthus

Quite aside from the fact that I really don't like Ferrero Rocher - I'd look at them and taste one. If they look OK and taste OK then they are OK. Unless they've got too warm at some point the chocolate should be fine. The nuts may have developed an "off flavour" which might make you decide not to eat any more of them, but trying them shouldn't do you any harm.

cat_g_83

Eat it, eat it, eat it. X

Gazing_On_Sunsets

I've just moved in with my fella. He's lived alone for a verrrrrry long time and though he cooks and cleans, it's quite, um, "bachelory". I am working part time and have taken over the cooking - with his blessing! - and am making inroads into his freezer. I want to eat everything in there so I can defrost the thing.

BUT... well, Use-by dates are a mystery to him. I used my common sense with the stuff in the cupboard (the jar of apple sauce, opened in 2005, went into the bin - the soy sauce, out of date only the end of last year, seemed fine). However the freezer is scary.

A lot of the food there has dates that don't mention a year - sausages that say "May", for example. There are some beef fillets that have a date of 2004 on. :eek:

I googled and found all the advice of up to 12 months etc etc, depending on star rating... but I still don't want to through stuff out. But when it's meat, I just don't know if I should take the risk.

What would you do? Ditch the lot and start again? Or, if I defrost it, will I be able to tell from the smell if it's nasty?

Pink.

Hi Gazing On Sunsets,

Frozen food can't go off but the quality can deteriorate over time and if it's not wrapped well it can get freezer burn, which again only affects the quality. Producers tend to err on the side of caution with their recommended freezing times, but most foods will be perfectly safe to eat no matter how long they've been in the freezer.

The usual rules apply: once defrosted, look at the food, if it looks ok then smell it, if it smells fine then I'd probably use it.

I'll add this to the Quick Questions on food safety / sell by / use by dates later as your question may help others.

Pink

babyshoes

DOOOOOOM I tells ya, DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!


Ehem. Sorry 'bout that. And now back to normal. :rotfl:


With freezer meat, I would continue to use your common sense. Defrost things in the fridge one at a time, and you will soon tell if they are off. Make sure you have a backup plan for supper though, something like eggs or beans on toast, instant meal or cash for a takeaway!

I find red meat tends to be fine for ages in the freezer unless it isn't wrapped well and has freezer burn, while fish doesn't tend to last so well. Just follow your nose and eyes, and you should be fine. If you are at all concerned about stuff that looks and smells fine, and tastes normal after cooking, don't feed it to anyone with a poor immune system, such as little kids, oldies or sick people.

Gazing_On_Sunsets

Heh heh - I'm on immunosuppressants for Crohn's and he's type 1 diabetic, so maybe I'll wait till the Nearly-Mother-In-Law comes for tea and test it out on her. :-)

If I never post again, you'll all know what's happened. (none of you are responsible!)

System

Gazing_On_Sunsets wrote: »

(none of you are responsible!)

I'm regularly being told that I'm irresponsible :rotfl:

dibblersan

defost it - cook the hell out of it - it will be fine.

remember, pheasent should be hung for upto 3 weeks unrefridgerated (I've been told until the feet fall off) and beef aged for 30/50 days.

As long as it's well cooked you should be fine.