Out of date mince pies

troubleinparadise

or put them out for the birds to eat!

zennith

troubleinparadise wrote: »

or put them out for the birds to eat!

I second that.

Retrieve them from the bin and feed the birds

lindseykim13

NOOOO!!! Food and bin don't mix in this house-if not suitable for human consumption, dog gets it!

Owain_Moneysaver

I've had some good stuff out of bins I have ...

kathie1101

Not sure how I managed it as mince pies don't usually last 2 minutes in our house (either home made or of the Mr Kipling variety), but I've eaten Mr K's 2-3 weeks past their bb date. I honestly wouldn't have known they were 'out of date' cos they tasted just as they always do.

sweetilemon

Turns out they hadn't made the bin yet, OH had just said he'd bin them. Had 2 this morning...still alive, they were delicious!

troubleinparadise

lindseykim13 wrote: »

NOOOO!!! Food and bin don't mix in this house-if not suitable for human consumption, dog gets it!

Don't give your dog any food with raisins in - raisins (and grapes as the pre-dried version!) are highly poisonous for dogs and can cause kidney failure. :eek:

Lugh_Chronain

Yeah, if they are a little out of date they may taste stale but should be OK to eat. The sugar and fruit in fruit cakes help them last a long time though with mince pies the effect won't be the same as the pastry will go stale after a while. As someone else has pointed out, the mince should effectively act in the same way as fruit in fruit cakes, should last for a very long time.

Also, sugar is a preservative, helps to prevent micro-organisms growing and perishable food from spoiling as in jams, marmalade's and candied fruits. Won't stop pastry from going stale however.

If the mince pies taste horrible then maybe consider chucking them though they should still be OK to eat, just won't be enjoyable.

My mum usually bakes fruit cakes in October for Christmas, I've still quite a bit left from last year and still tastes great, I have some now and then. The only thing you have to be careful of is not to let it go mouldy. Keep cakes, pies, and things like that in an air tight container if you can. Otherwise eat as soon as you can. I normally keep my mum's cake in the wrapping she puts it in when she gives it to us, she wraps it very well, and keeps ages.

Anyway, use by dates are for foods that go off quickly, such as smoked fish, meat and ready-prepared salads. Such items shouldn't be eaten after the date even if they look and smell fine.

Best before dates signify when the item is no longer in optimum quality. Except in the case of eggs, they do not signify when food has gone off but can usually still be eaten with no ill-effects afterwards.

lindseykim13

troubleinparadise wrote: »

Don't give your dog any food with raisins in - raisins (and grapes as the pre-dried version!) are highly poisonous for dogs and can cause kidney failure. :eek:

oh well she'd managed to get to the ripe old age of 8 with no problems-she even eats chocolate! shock horror.
dogs aren't daft they won't eat something thats not good for them unless they are a bit dim in the first place-she spits mushrooms out and any tablets! To be honest though she won't eat raisins anyway, she'd eat the pastry and spit the rest out.

Queenriderbrekke

sweetilemon wrote: »

Just bought finest mince pies from tesco express only to get home and realise they are dated 21/11/12. At home, if they were a day out of date I would eat them but not sure if this might be pushing it? Would you eat or bin? Was looking forward to them! Obviously i'll not eat them all...bin the rest? Freeze? If it was for someone else I would bin but for me? Tesco are sending me a giftcard to appologise so wont cost to bin.

Some places such as Approved Foods make a good living out of things near or past sell by dates, we are eating Mcvitees Toffee Apple cake BB 26/12/11 and it still tastes as fresh as normal, also I am still drinking smoothies even more out of date than this ande they still taste good:rotfl: