Expiration date on food

[DLgal]

I always sniff milk before using it. I've had it go bad before the date a few times, but I've also had it last well past it. No rhyme or reason as far as I can tell. You can definitely tell when it's gone bad.

That usually comes down to the milk having gotten too warm at some point. Milk is pretty temperature sensitive and if it gets above 40 for even an hour, it's gonna turn quickly.

I've noticed that ultra pasteurized milk and half and half products last WAY longer than others, and that's pretty much all I will buy now. I got tired of tossing half full containers of chunky half and half after only being open a couple days.

 

[Pooh2]

I just did a big clean out and threw out all the expired items and made a list to stock replacements.
I seem to be in the minority of my circle.
I throw out within a week of expiration.
They all say expiration dates are irrelevant.
Hope your cake was tasty!

 

[Moliphino]

That usually comes down to the milk having gotten too warm at some point. Milk is pretty temperature sensitive and if it gets above 40 for even an hour, it's gonna turn quickly.

There's no way of knowing if that happened before I bought it, though, unfortunately.

 

[DLgal]

There's no way of knowing if that happened before I bought it, though, unfortunately.

Exactly.

 

[lynxstch]

I would have to say no. We had a pound cake mix from Aldi's..which had expired last year. I baked it anyhow,,it didn't rise much, and was dense and tasted awful. Whole thing went in the compost bin, lol

 

[leebee]

If you use an expired baking mix, you need to replace the baking soda/baking powder in it - aka, add a 1/2 -1 tsp to your batter. That's why the mixes expire when they do. Those products normally no longer will provide lift at that point...

It's not gonna rise. Look at the ingredients and see if it's baking soda or powder and as mentioned, add 1/2 to 1 tsp to the mix.

And if it smells rancid, just throw it out.

Yup, what they said.

 

[Mysterian]

I will be sure to update this thread when I make it, which will probably be Saturday.

Updates on that there cake, Mefordis?

EDIT: I just checked, and Medordis hasn't posted since Friday. Dang, should we be worried about this cake thing?

 

[tzolkin]

For most things, I view the best before date as a guideline. But milk? I won’t drink it as soon as it hits midnight on the day past it’s best before date. I’m sure it’s still fine, but I can’t bring myself to take a chance.

To put your mind a bit at ease, milk typically lists a "sell by" date, not a "best before" date. So, unless it has been improperly stored, an unopened jug of milk should be good for several days beyond it's "sell by" date since they are not assuming you will consume the entire thing within 24 hours of buying it.

 

[Praying Colonel]

3 pages in this thread so far and no one has posted a POTC/"More like Guidelines" gif yet.

C'mon, people, we're better than that.

 

[LuvOrlando]

i do the sniff test as well. i also take a big sharpie and write on the side of dry mix boxes my own easily readable use by date (once i find the original with a magnifying glass).

SMART!

 

[LuvOrlando]

I'd make it, on Walking Dead and in Zombieland it was always fine.







(Disclaimer: kidding)

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

I am cleaning out our pantry and finding a lot of baking mixes that we bought during the pandemic that we never got around to making. One is an expensive mix from William Sonoma - lemon poundcake, that expired January 2021. Would you make it anyway?

I don't make anything with flour in it if it's more than a month past expiration. Horror stories from food safety classes did that in for me.

Milk and eggs and such, if they don't smell bad, I use for a short time after the date. Cans/bottles maybe for a short while after, depending on the item.

 

[Mysterian]

BUMP

 

[TLSnell1981]

Nope….it would be going in the garbage at my house. I would make it if it expired 6 months ago, but not over a year