28 and only just worked out how to run a house!

SusanCarter

Jenny6 wrote:

Some of this is because we chuck out anything that's even a few hours beyond it's sell-by date. Common sense should tell us by a tiny taste or smell if something's fresh or not.

My mum always used to say to us, "How do you think people knew whether things were okay before they had dates on them?" and, "Do you think it suddenly goes bad on the stroke of midnight?" I have a friend who used to never eat anything which was out of date. He used to stop using a box of cereal as soon as it weent out of date which meant his housemate never had to buy any for himself as he wasn't bothered about dates. I think the peer pressure must have got to him though as he does now use some things which are out of date. Dates are useful as they help us to rotate our food and not keep things for too long but people should be educated to know that they are for guidance.

taplady

nodwah wrote:

I also keep a plastic box in the freezer into which goes uneaten peas, carrots etc which get chucked into soup ( even the ones from the kid's plates which are covered in ketchup - extra tasty!)

I read this tip in the book Frugal living for dummies! never tried it though! we dont tend to have any leftovers!;)

squeaky

I use one. The cut off ends of leaks, for example, and the cleaner brown skins of onions (after dumping the mucky ones in my compost bin) and the tops and tails of carrots, not to mention bones - all get collected and saved until I have enough to amke a stock with.

(The onion skins help give a lovely colour and flavour, honest )

mmsparkle

mouseymousey99 wrote:

just using the local library prob saved me from spend ***** knows how much (I have a book habit)..

Me too! I'm always amazed at how many of my friends just buy a book when they want to read one. It's often a struggle to persuade them to join a library.
(Mind you, I read about 4 books a week, so *really* couldn't afford that!)

Many local libraries are at threat of closure. Please help save them by finding out what you can do to help, and of course, by using them as much as you can.
Thank you!

Larumbelle

Jenny6 wrote:

Common sense should tell us by a tiny taste or smell if something's fresh or not.

Not always true...
My mother works for environmental health and 'protectively' packaged goods can be EXTREMELY dangerous. Such items include pre-packed cooked and raw meats, sandwiches and prepared salads. Many of these have a gas added to the packaging that acts as a preservative but also masks the smell and taste of any infection or decomposition. A tiny taste could still make you ill. The 'appearance' of most foods is the last thing to 'go'.

I'm sure that most of you are far too money-conscious to buy these things but be aware nevertheless! Common sense tells us a lot of things, but 'common sense' is learned in the same way that any other life skill is. For instance, leftover cooked rice is a high food poisoning risk. It mainly consists of water, which is the ideal breeding ground for many bacteria. Common sense when you think about it, but not obvious!

My mother's main contribution to my home ec education was to tell me icky stories of things she has seen and learned!

BTW hello OS'ers :wave: Have pretty much just lurked on OS as never had anything of value to add...

tawnyowls

mmsparkle wrote:

Me too! I'm always amazed at how many of my friends just buy a book when they want to read one. It's often a struggle to persuade them to join a library.
(Mind you, I read about 4 books a week, so *really* couldn't afford that!)

Me too. I read an article recently about someone described as a 'voracious reader', who read a paltry 10 books a month. Tchah! Amateur.

mmsparkle wrote:

Many local libraries are at threat of closure. Please help save them by finding out what you can do to help, and of course, by using them as much as you can.
Thank you!

They don't really help themselves though, do they? Our local one is pretty good, but it still closes for half-days a couple of days a week, including Saturday, and apart from one day, it closes at 5 or before. So not only is it missing the bulk of the workers, it's missing the bulk of the schoolkids/students. Plus I've tried before now passing on (very good quality, barely used) books, but they don't want to know. In some countries, you pay a small membership fee (something on the lines of £10-£20/year - or about the cost of 4 books), which I'd be quite happy to pay if it meant they were kept going. However, considering the massive council tax most of us have to pay, I think it's a cheek that libraries are put under threat - I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that the silly opening hours are all part of the plan: 'no-one uses the library, so we're going to close it down' sort of thing.

SusanCarter

silvercharming wrote:

For instance, leftover cooked rice is a high food poisoning risk. It mainly consists of water, which is the ideal breeding ground for many bacteria. Common sense when you think about it, but not obvious!

I believe the reason for rice being dangerous is that it has a high specific heat capacity which means that it takes a long time to cool. The length of time taken to cool means it spends more time than other foods at the warm temperature which bacteria need to breed. The way to cool it is therefore to put it in smaller quantities rather than one big lump so that it cools more quickly. The high specific heat capacity also means that when reheating, it takes longer to be fully heated which is necessary to kill any germs which may be present. It is therefore important to make sure that it is fully heated through before you eat it.

lizzie12_2

loumac wrote:

Just read some other posts - vinegar is a good one to clean the washing machine as well. About a pint in where your washing goes and put it on the hottest wash. Gets rid of all the gunk that's being washed off your clothes! Also good if you live in a hard water area.

Ha Ha! I do know something. But that's just from too much tv. Good old Kim and Aggie!

Thanks for that tip - will try later on today.

Jenny6_2

silvercharming wrote:

Jenny6 wrote:

Common sense should tell us by a tiny taste or smell if something's fresh or not.

Not always true...
My mother works for environmental health and 'protectively' packaged goods can be EXTREMELY dangerous. Such items include pre-packed cooked and raw meats, sandwiches and prepared salads. Many of these have a gas added to the packaging that acts as a preservative but also masks the smell and taste of any infection or decomposition. A tiny taste could still make you ill. The 'appearance' of most foods is the last thing to 'go'.

I'm sure that most of you are far too money-conscious to buy these things but be aware nevertheless! Common sense tells us a lot of things, but 'common sense' is learned in the same way that any other life skill is. For instance, leftover cooked rice is a high food poisoning risk. It mainly consists of water, which is the ideal breeding ground for many bacteria. Common sense when you think about it, but not obvious!

My mother's main contribution to my home ec education was to tell me icky stories of things she has seen and learned!

BTW hello OS'ers :wave: Have pretty much just lurked on OS as never had anything of value to add...

I'm sure you're right but a straw poll among family and friends has shown that none has ever given their families food-poisoning because of ignoring sell-by dates and using common sense. All of us, however have had food-poisoning on the odd occasion from hospital food, airline food, posh restaurant food or from eating on the streets in 3rd world countries.
I still want to encourage everyone to send less good food to Landfill!!

Larumbelle

I agree with you to an extent, Jenny6, but you only have to be unlucky once.

I was simply trying to make the point that food can be 'off' even if it doesn't seem to be. Relying on your senses to tell you whether or not food is off is a calculated risk and should be treated as such.

I understand entirely why use by dates are the way they are. It's a 'safe not sorry' approach. I agree that they lead some people to destroy perfectly edible food, but the problem isn't the labels. It's the people shopping wastefully.

I've 'liberated' food from supermarket skips and never fallen ill.