Ultimate Use by/sell by challenge

TravellingAbuela

Some blackberries, foraged and frozen in 2010, came out of the freezer last night to make a blackberry and apple crumble for after today's dinner. They look and smell as fresh as the day they were picked!

Evil_Olive

matty17r wrote: »

Could you please tell me what is the kitchen roll trick with the bagged salad?

You just put 2 sheets of kitchen roll in the bag, flat against each side with the salad in the middle and seal it by rolling the top over once and putting a couple of pegs on it.
I've found it works best if you do this as soon as you get it home.

I can't remember where I read this info but the reason it works is that when salad starts to rot (this starts as soon as it is picked really) It gives off a particular gas which, in turn, accelerates the rotting process. The kitchen towel absorbs and traps this gas and stops it accelerating the process. The kitchen towel also helps to regulate and disperse the moisture in the bag so that the leaves are never sitting in water which also accelerates rotting.

When I first started doing this it made the salad last about 2 weeks but I've refined this idea over the years and also do a number of other things to make it last even longer. It usually lasts around 3 weeks but has lasted 4 weeks on occasion.

1) buy the right type
This method will extend the life of any bagged salad to some extent but some last longer than others. I've found that Florette 'Crispy' salad lasts the longest using this method and Tesco 'Fresh & Naked' is quite good too. None of the others seem to last nearly as long. Florette is a tad more expensive than other brands but it's often on offer and less wastage makes it worth it. Bags with grated carrot/beetroot or similar in them tend to last the least length of time.
Buy a bag with leaves that look reasonably dry (but not wilted) that are loosely packed in the bag and avoid any where you can see edges that are brown or where the leaves look squashed together.

2) treat it delicately
I make sure that the bag doesn't get squashed or beaten up in any way on the way home from the shop.
I keep the salad very loose in the bag - never squashed (I give it a gentle shake each time I put it back in the fridge and only ever roll the top over once so that the bag stays the same size as the contents get less) - and I store it flat, at the top of the salad crisper drawer and turn it over every now and again so that the same side isn't always down.

3) keep an eye on it
Don't just let it sit there for weeks on end. After about 1-2 weeks the kitchen roll sheet sometimes needs changing and after 2-3 sometimes tiny bits of leaf have rotted and stuck to the healthy ones (These bags are usually mixed leaves and I've found that the different types last for different lengths of time), so I run any leaves that are left under the cold tap to get rid of any dark green slimy bits, shake excess water off and put it back in the bag with the kitchen roll.

Sounds really complicated and time consuming but it really isn't once it becomes second nature.
If you can't/don't keep your fridge as cold as mine it won't last as long but this advice will still extend it way past it's use by date.

I think I have WAY too much time on my hands

flipper_72

My brother and SIL went through my dad's cupboards when they stayed and threw away anything past its BB date. I was seriously unimpressed (as was dad as I have taught him to use his eyes and nose to check). the next time they visited they were about to throw something else out but I was actually there and I explained that BB dates are just that - they are better before that date but they don't "go off" instantly, especially pickles, herbs and crisps. Not sure they took any notice but I saved stuff from going in the bin.

sjprmc01

Ok, I'm new at this and trying to get over the 'bin it the date is passed' way of thinking.

For brekkie I had belvita biscuits dated dec 13 they had gone a bit soft though

For lunch I've just had beans (in date) on toast (bread dated 14th Jan, was frozen) and a low fat Devon custard pot dated Jan 14

sparrer

I have a box of gravy browning which I use a teaspoon of maybe once a month, sbd June 2002.
A jar of mint jelly dated bbe Feb 2009.
Too many spices to mention, they don't go off' so much as lose their strength so I just add a tiny bit more than the recipe calls for.

Still here, still practicing MS

matty17r

Evil_Olive wrote: »

You just put 2 sheets of kitchen roll in the bag, flat against each side with the salad in the middle and seal it by rolling the top over once and putting a couple of pegs on it.
I've found it works best if you do this as soon as you get it home.

I can't remember where I read this info but the reason it works is that when salad starts to rot (this starts as soon as it is picked really) It gives off a particular gas which, in turn, accelerates the rotting process. The kitchen towel absorbs and traps this gas and stops it accelerating the process. The kitchen towel also helps to regulate and disperse the moisture in the bag so that the leaves are never sitting in water which also accelerates rotting.

When I first started doing this it made the salad last about 2 weeks but I've refined this idea over the years and also do a number of other things to make it last even longer. It usually lasts around 3 weeks but has lasted 4 weeks on occasion.

1) buy the right type
This method will extend the life of any bagged salad to some extent but some last longer than others. I've found that Florette 'Crispy' salad lasts the longest using this method and Tesco 'Fresh & Naked' is quite good too. None of the others seem to last nearly as long. Florette is a tad more expensive than other brands but it's often on offer and less wastage makes it worth it. Bags with grated carrot/beetroot or similar in them tend to last the least length of time.
Buy a bag with leaves that look reasonably dry (but not wilted) that are loosely packed in the bag and avoid any where you can see edges that are brown or where the leaves look squashed together.

2) treat it delicately
I make sure that the bag doesn't get squashed or beaten up in any way on the way home from the shop.
I keep the salad very loose in the bag - never squashed (I give it a gentle shake each time I put it back in the fridge and only ever roll the top over once so that the bag stays the same size as the contents get less) - and I store it flat, at the top of the salad crisper drawer and turn it over every now and again so that the same side isn't always down.

3) keep an eye on it
Don't just let it sit there for weeks on end. After about 1-2 weeks the kitchen roll sheet sometimes needs changing and after 2-3 sometimes tiny bits of leaf have rotted and stuck to the healthy ones (These bags are usually mixed leaves and I've found that the different types last for different lengths of time), so I run any leaves that are left under the cold tap to get rid of any dark green slimy bits, shake excess water off and put it back in the bag with the kitchen roll.

Sounds really complicated and time consuming but it really isn't once it becomes second nature.
If you can't/don't keep your fridge as cold as mine it won't last as long but this advice will still extend it way past it's use by date.

I think I have WAY too much time on my hands

Thank you for this detailed and very informative post on bagged salad! I agree with you exactly which brands last longer. Definitely the florette and naked range in tesco (the latter only has a best before date). I always buy my bagged salad on the reduced counter. Tonight we had some with beetroot in it from a tub from tesco and this was just starting to turn (well I did get it on Sunday)lol. I will now start experiementing with the kitchen roll as I usually buy a few bags at a time as I cannot resist yellow labels. Very rarely waste any though and if I do it is only a little bit in the bottom of the bag possibly about 5p.

Primrose

Just cooked some dried butter beans, best before 2007! Soaked them for 24 hours then boiled them for an hour and a quarter. Texture was like raw potatoes. :eek: Don't know whether it was their age but I like my butter beans floury like the tinned ones, so any hints anybody as to ultimate age for storing dried beans to enjoy them at their best? Obviously seven years is a bit long in the tooth but I do hate wasting food!

Evil_Olive

Primrose - it could just be the difference between dried & tinned. I find the same difference in texture between dried and tinned chickpeas - I like those with the floury texture you mention but I've found the only way to get dried ones to go this way is to cook them for a stupid length of time (hours & hours!)
I now rehydrate them in a slow cooker, with water, overnight rather than cold soaking & boiling etc. Try this with your butterbeans.

wondercollie

LittleVoice wrote: »

On Sunday (23 March) my OH had natural yoghurt with a use by date of some time in December 2013. He added lemon curd and sultanas (both in advance of their BBE date) and said it was good.

I just discovered a tub of greek yoghurt with that date. I'm in awe of you.


It's till in the fridge and I'm considering using it in a cake.

Primrose

Evil Olive (and I'm sure you're not !!). I don't have a slow cooker. Do you think it would improve their texture if I poured boiling water over them for their overnight dehydrate rather than cold water, before the subsequent boiling process?