Don't throw food away challenge

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi Luckyred, I am one of those career women too, and can be quite often found on a con call whilst having my hair highlighted, or preparing dinner, or even when the kids were little having one on my lap asleep and snoring, whilst presenting on a global con call during the evening - I look back and laugh really. However, I and so many more now, want our money in our bank, not in someone else's pocket, be it the bank, credit card etc. Truly good luck and I love Aldi and Lidl too - in and out in 30 mins - fab

PolkaDotsAndLace

Luckyred wrote: »

Thanks for that but they all had "use by" dates on.
They have gone now but I am seriously going to change my ways.
I am going to buy an extra freezer and keep it in the garage. I have even been known to throw stuff out of the freezer to make room for new...:o how pathetic is that?
One more thing.... I am not going to buy any more Asda "28 Day Matured" rump steak like I have been doing. I picked the biggest last week at a cost of £7.50 for one steak. :eek: I dont eat it but my husband enjoys it though he did ask me not to buy such a large one again as he struggled to finish it.
I am so inspired by this thread and others in Old Style Money Saving..... I am on a mission now.

I'd advise for the future taking use by dates with a big pinch of salt - fair enough on fruit/veg but I didn't even think pasta/rice/sugar COULD go off! I think use bys on those things is just a legal rule.

Obviously nothing you can do with that stuff now, but sniff/touch it and see always does me well - they don't automatically go off on the day they say, depending how they're stored.

rosieben

Luckyred, I wouldn't have thrown any of that out. I am careful with some things - dairy, meat - but dried, tins and packets are fair game for ages after the date. I'm currently using a tub of mincemeat which is 2 years out of date ...

There are several threads here about dates including this one

A lot of us OS'ers shop with Approved Foods who sell a load of stuff that's past its date.

Luckyred

rosieben wrote: »

Luckyred, I wouldn't have thrown any of that out. I am careful with some things - dairy, meat - but dried, tins and packets are fair game for ages after the date. I'm currently using a tub of mincemeat which is 2 years out of date ...

There are several threads here about dates including this one

A lot of us OS'ers shop with Approved Foods who sell a load of stuff that's past its date.

I am very funny about sell by dates even though I know a lot of people dont take any notice but thats just me.
The mincemeat was only a couple of months out of date but its gone. I will have to buy some more now as I always make my own mince pies.... and christmas cake. I just love the aroma when the cake is baking.
I have never heard of Approved Foods... off to Google it.

debbiedeejay

Thanks for that but they all had "use by" dates on.

ermm what are use by dates???;)

I have a tin of dried mustard that is still in use when I sometimes bake cheese scones -rarely use it for anything else and its about 5 years old tbh,oh and the cornflour is out of date by a year too,just checked that and I used it two days ago - :eek:but I'm still here.

As others have said, and I totally agree, if a food comes in a tin/bottle/sealed/bag and is not a persishable item ie fresh meat/dairy/veg - then take "use by" dates with a pinch of salt.



Looking at the list of foods thrown,most (packets,tins etc) look like types of food that come into the "best before" catagory rather than "use by" and these dates are only advisory anyway - it just means use your own judgement when opening them(as long as it's not moving moving and it smells ok) - the food will just not be at the manufacturer's bestbut should be fine to consume.

So what's the oldest food item everyone else has in their cupboards and still uses?

Oh and back to the forum - nothing thrown away today!hurrah!

Luckyred

debbiedeejay... I think your question about the oldest food item still being used deserves a thread of its own. :T

LittleMai

A few years back when I was still living at home, I searched my mums herb shelf for a herb (cant remember what it was), and found some dill (i think) that was 10 years out of date! :eek:

Now, im not one to normally care about best before/use by dates for cupboard items, but I had to throw that out! 10 years is a bit too old, even for me!!

prepareathome

I have just had to buy some more ground cinnamon as just finished my last jar - it had a best before day of 2009 on it, ok never used much but it still smelt and tasted perfectly right to the end

hitatotatus

hi everyone this is my first post on this thread. I am very glad I found it as I am quite an erratic novice cook! Stewed some bramley cooking apples yesterday and put too much water in - it hasn't thickened at all and I now have 2 bowls of green gloop with pulp at the bottom in my fridge. Any ideas for a rescue? Tried it in porridge this morning and it was a wonder I made it into work it was so disgusting! any help much appreciated. kitty.

Rhubarb easily goes the same way so I am hoping someone inventive will have an answer: most of us who've ever stewed fruit will have come across something similar, I daresay! And somewhere out there is someone with an ingenious idea.

I learnt by trial and error, but this is what I do now.
I don't add more than a tablespoon of water to any fruit I am cooking. Keep the heat low.
If the fruit gives off a lot of water, when the fruit is soft take it out of the pan with a slotted spoon or similar, leaving the juice in the pan. Then turn up the heat and the sauce will reduce to as little as you want (I reduce it to about 2 tbsp), you will then have a nice concentrated juice which you can mix in with the fruit. Keep adding sugar to taste.
When I do this for crumble it gives the dish a much richer flavour and there is not so much juice rising to the top, so no soggy crumble!

BohemianCoast

Luckyred wrote: »

I am very funny about sell by dates even though I know a lot of people dont take any notice but thats just me.
The mincemeat was only a couple of months out of date but its gone. I will have to buy some more now as I always make my own mince pies.... and christmas cake. I just love the aroma when the cake is baking.
I have never heard of Approved Foods... off to Google it.

I am not sure that mincemeat would ever go off, not for decades. But everyone has to make their own decisions on these things. If you resolve to go through your cupboards checking once a month or so, and use up the things that are getting on a bit, you'll never have to worry about whether a packet of ground ginger from 1968 is fine to use (this is a true story about my Mum). And once you start looking after your leftovers, you'll very quickly get a sense of whether something's ok to use or not; no 'use by' dates on leftovers after all.

Edit: Ooh also, freezers. I think a second freezer is fine if you live near a farm or have an allotment and occasionally discover yourself with 30 pounds of pears or half a cow to freeze. But if it's just the things you pick up cheap at the supermarket I'm a big fan of getting stuff out of the freezer and cooking it rather than buying more food, even if it's cheap.