Quick Questions on food safety / sell by / use by dates

ragecake

Yeah, it's all dried, just make sure it's not got any damp on it, and should be just as tasty.
Might take more to make thicker gravy...but thats it.

Stephen_Leak

And, if it doesn't thicken as well as it used to, then I'd use it up instead of stock cubes.

Rachels1979

I stocked up on a load of half price dried beans at the beginning of the year and promptly forgot all about them! I put some in to soak last night to make a casserole with tonight and noticed that the date was March this year. I presumed they'd be ok as they're dried but just wanted to check with all you knowledgeable people first!

Ordinarily I wouldn't think twice about eating them, but I'm 5 months pregnant so just wanted to make doubly sure they'd be ok!

Thanks x

csnann

As long as they don't smell funny or look mouldy, they should be fine. I am still using a bag of dried haricot beans that are more than 2 years out of date, and I am alive and well!

adelight

If it was a new sealed bag and they look fine then you're probably okay. If the bag had been opened months and they were feeling a bit squishy then i'd have chucked them.

Rachels1979

They have been open a while but were still as good as new, didn't look or smell funny, and were still hard. I'll cook them today and get OH to taste them when they're done just to doubly make sure!

Thanks, I've got a sausage and bean casserole planned for tonight so would have been stuck without the beans! I think it might be time to empty my cupboards to see what else is lurking at the back there!

withabix

As long as none of them are walking around in the bag, they will be fine.

Drying is a way of preserving that goes back to the beginning of time after all!

art_for_arts_sake

Good question, and at the risk of hijacking your thread what's the general opinion on the shelf-life of lentils and popcorn maize as I have loads of the stuff? The only time I've been concerned was when the GLW put something into a glass jar which started to ferment, with the result the lid popped off, denting a brand-new microwave below. I was not a happy bunny that day, I can tell you.

Stephen_Leak

My first thought was, "What? They have dates on dried beans?". Then I noticed that the date was March this year. Then I noticed your "delicate condition".

I agree that they should be fine, but I also understand the need for caution.

PS. Plan B. I can do you a very nice, simple sausage casserole recipe.

Take_it_like_a_man,_sonny

Normally in dire situations that OP finds herself in, TILAMS would advise that shoul OP not repost, we will always remember them and take from this whatever.

But I note hat OP has a condition, a pregnancy, so I will refrain from my usual tort, and just say.

THINK OF THE FUTURE GENERATIONS