I used some opened and long since forgotten vegetable gravy granules dated October 2006 yesterday. The family have survived so far.
This thread follows on from Volume 1
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 18 Apr 11 at 12:40
|
|
I think that almost anything in the form of a dry powder or grains won't kill one if eaten. The taste and nutritional benefit may have changed but if it isn't slimy, smelly or covered with repellent fungal life forms one should live! My soft cheese from the weekend was an exception to that ie not dry but also not smelly or mouldy
|
|
It may be an urban myth, but margarine is reported to keep almost indefinitely, even if left in a warm environment. Apparently, even flies don't go near it.
|
wow
flies is intelligent then
|
|
Beaujolais Nouveau is actually quite drinkable if you chill it a little. Not too cold.
|
|
Yes, it's the only red wine I've had that tastes better for being chilled.
|
IIRC Beaujolais Nouveau ages quickly and becomes even less drinkable. Grapes destined to be just Beaujolais are treated differently and presumably get time in a cask ahead og bottling.
Nouveau is inacapable of becoming Vieux.
|
>> Beaujolais Nouveau is actually quite drinkable if you chill it a little. Not too cold.
Quite a lot of red is actually quite drinkable if slightly chilled. I once bought some rather expensive Burgundy (2 cases worth) that was a complete disappointment - Vonay if I remember rightly. One very hot summer's day, looking for a bottle of red to bung in the fridge I thought "let's chill that rubbish". And lo and behold, at about 10- 12 degrees it turned into a beautiful swan.
If it is a good year, and the grapes have ripeness, acidity and tannin then even B Nouveau can improve with a bit of keeping - even for as long as a year or occasionally two. I suspect, actually, that it will always be better three months after it first goes on sale than it is at the point it goes on sale. A Cru Beaujolais is quite a different matter and can be delicious; the wonderful perfumed Fleurie or the heavier Morgon or the spicy Julienas.
|
|
Not so sure! They like nice fresh dog do; does that tell us something about flies or something about margarine?
|
" I think that almost anything in the form of a dry powder or grains won't kill one if eaten. "
I think ergot poisoning might be an exception to your rule Perky. Caused by poor storage of cereals especially Rye. Although caused by a fungus is difficult to detect and symptoms believed to have given rise to belief in werewolves in middle Europe where it was once common.
Symptons are: Disruption of motor control functions, causing tremors and writhing, wry neck, convulsions, rolling eyes, and speechlessness; dizziness, confusion, hallucinations, panic attacks, and delusions; extreme thirst, uncontrollable appetite; feelings of extreme heat, or even cold, with itching and tingling, swelling and blistering of the skin and of course death.
A man with ergot poisoning reportedly escaped from seven straight jackets, lost all his teeth biting through a leather strap, and bent two iron bars on the hospital window while trying to flee from a tiger he believed to be chasing him.
|
|
Yes I remember reading about ergot. Lucky I said "almost anything"!
|
Delving into the depths of the freezer, I found some profiteroles, best before 2005!
Should I chuck, or risk upchuck?
|
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm Profiteroles..............
Take the risk...
|
You could post them on to PP. No rush, second class will suffice.
:-)
|
|
6 years! Pastry chocolate and cream! Even a Penguin might fail that test!
|
"best before 2005"
They've got a "best before" date on them.
They've been frozen (continually, I hope).
They'll be OK to eat, but may not be as lovely as when they were made.
|
"Best before" doesn't mean "convulsions and death after", any more than "avoid alcohol" means don't touch a drop.
|
My interpretation, which I hope is correct, is as follows:-
Use by: perishable item, this will go off fairly quickly post UB date and might make you ill if eaten.
Most perishables have nature's own indication system, i.e. they either look or smell wrong if they've gone off.
So the dates are pretty pointless.
Best before: a pretty much random date on non perishable items, indicating, to use FT's rather nice phrase "may not be as lovely as when they were made." Highly unlikely to make one ill. Crisps, for example, don't seem to last much long after BB date without going a bit soggy and flavourless.
So the dates are pretty pointless.
|
|
Do they put use by dates on dates?
|
|
Old food update! Needed some baked beans last night, none in the house so looked in the garage. Found a tin of HNZ, best by 11/2000. Heated up with a couple of nice fishcakes and went down a treat, and stayed down and up!
|
The garage came up trumps then?
Even so I would have been windy of eating them.
Pat
|
>>Old food update!
I think I'd prefer to take my chances with old tinned food, than some of the other other stuff you've consumed recently! I remember eating some pretty old tinned compo rations in my younger days.
|
>>Found a tin of HNZ, best by 11/2000>>
They must have been has beans, old bean ...
|
>> They must have been has beans, old bean ...
Old beans, new beans, loved beans, neglected beans...
|
|
Well they are bean and gone now.
|
|
Like PP, they've bean around a while.
|
|
Not quite! I am just off upstairs with the Times x-word!
|
10 across - journey to discover the Northwest Passage in 1845 (8,10).
|
|
In my Times it is (really!) Work in the middle of the night 5,2,8. I make that Going To Defecate.
|
>> Not quite! I am just off upstairs with the Times x-word!
I know you are a pensioner PP, but toilet paper is quite cheap in Aldi these days
|
>> Not quite! I am just off upstairs with the Times x-word!
In the words of Captain Lawrence Edward Grace ("Titus") Oates, "I may be gone some time"
|
There is a Government initiative to stop the use of Best before Dates and put more emphasis on Use by Dates. It is also proposed to target Sell By and Display Until dates which it is thought add to the undertainty. It is thought that that the average UK household throws away £680 worth of food a year. If I threw away £680 worth of food there wouldn't be much left for the rest of the year!
tinyurl.com/3ng78l4
|
What about the half-life, or Still Eatable date?
Are many of the earlier posters still alive?
|
|
Half life? some of this stuff is radio active?
|
>> Half life? some of this stuff is radio active?
>>
Similar concept. Most people would drink a half-decent bottle of wine.
|
"If I threw away £680 worth of food there wouldn't be much left for the rest of the year!"
Hmm.. We don't throw away £13 worth of food a week. Not even £1.30 worth.
The statistic is sheer unadulterated snip - surely you know the rules about swearing and trying to bypass the swearfilter by now?.
If they said a few households wasted food but most supermarkets throw away a lot (Tesco never sell out of date food so what happens? It gets junked).
The majority of waste is at supermarkets I am sure.
(and of course it can't go to pig food as that's banned)..
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 18 Apr 11 at 10:19
|
|
madf is spot on - no-one would throw that much food away. It's either a made up statistic by whoever came with it in the first place (some quango) or the Supermarket waste.
|
|
I found it on Teletext and I guess it came from a Quango called the Coalition.
|
Food and made up numbers are always interesting. Dig a little - not very far - to discover where "5 a day" came from. It's quite surprising.
|
>> madf is spot on - no-one would throw that much food away..
I'm not so sure.
It's always possible, if not guaranteed, that a "how your household can save £xxx per month" TV programme (which I've obviously forgotten the real name of) is distorting the facts a bit to make something they think might attract an audience.
But, I presume in your part of the world you have the folk in the supermarket who fill a trolley to overflowing on a weekly basis - often to be heard moaning "it cost me £xxx a week here.."
With that kind of unstructured buying (which the supermarkets encourage - "buy one, get one to throw away") there has to be waste: "Oh, it's out of date".
|
The throwaway figures seem extraordinarily high to me, but we none of us know how some people live.
Many seem terrified of eating something a day after its sell-by date.
I once knew an otherwise fairly sensible family who would have one good meal from a roast chicken and throw the rest away.
A chicken carcass/leftovers can provide several meals, both for us and our pets.
|
>> A chicken carcass/leftovers can provide several meals, both for us and our pets.
and the maggots.
|
...and the maggots...
They will have chicken, too.
(With a nod to Spitting Image).
|
If you're not fussed about best before dates, this is the food retailer for you....
www.approvedfood.co.uk/
|
|
The maggots are very good gently fried, I find. Freshest meat you can get hold of.
|
|
When I was in the GAFFA (Great Arabian **** All) my local colleagues would catch locusts, pull the heads tails and legs off and eat them fresh; tased a bit like scampi they said. Same for maggots maybe?
|
I like snails. Snails eat like maggots but are less fussy...
I know some households throw away bread - unopened (we freeze it), pies and fruit...
But £13 worth -ON AVERAGE - per household..? Unbelievable..
Based on the laws of averages, there must be millions of people throwing away at least £26 of food - every week.. (2 standard deviations = approx..) One Person can live on a basic diet for £26 per week..
I can understand restaurants throwing away non fresh food...but the size of the numbers suggest food is being binned on an industrial scale. Must be all the deformed fruit and veg the supermarkets will not buy?
Last edited by: madf on Mon 18 Apr 11 at 15:00
|
I didn't really believe this until I googled for it. How could anybody EVER have thought that this was worth trying or might taste good?
www.lifeaftercoffee.com/2005/09/16/the-straight-poop-on-kopi-luwak-coffee/
|
Yes it needs a leap of faith ..... but when you think about it PP who was the person who first thought ......
'Hmm ......if we tug at those dangly bits under that big animal we might get something nice to drink'.........
or 'What happens if we take those things that drop out of a chickens bottom and fry them?'.......
or 'If we take that birds nest and boil it up'
or 'Nice bit of meat on that frogs leg'....
Last edited by: retpocileh on Mon 18 Apr 11 at 15:39
|
|
Yes you are right! Guess man saw the calves using the danglies and gave it a try. I am not going to comment re what comes out of chicken's bottoms but it isn't eggs - trust me! >:)
|
>> I am not going to comment re what comes out of chicken's bottoms but it isn't eggs - trust me! >:)
I'd have expected a Perky Penguin to be familiar with Mrs. P's bits...
one hole for everything: sex, waste, eggs. It's the way birds are.
|
|
I like to learn something new every day but I am not sure that I wanted this! I am truly amazed at the shallowness of my knowledge!
|
|
Rather more info in that link than I really needed....but I've learnt something today too! :-) Not one I will tell the wife tho otherwise eggs will be off the menu...
|
I was brought up on a farm smokie and used to milk cows and collect the eggs from the chickens ...... and the fresh blood from when the pig was slaughtered for the black puddings.....
Most kids today think that food comes wrapped in plastic from a factory somewhere...
Last edited by: retpocileh on Tue 19 Apr 11 at 11:27
|
It isn't just "these days" - I worked in f-i-l's greengrocers in a deprived area in the late 70s/early 80s and although he only stocked "traditional" stuff, some people seemed genuinely surprised that peas came in pods etc.
I eat most offal type of food but would really sooner just carrying on enjoying it rather than hearing about it's background!! :-) Mmm...black pudding
|
'Most kids today think that food comes wrapped in plastic from a factory somewhere.."
That's because it does
|
>> Not one I will tell the wife tho otherwise eggs will be off the menu...
A very old gag in there somewhere - goes something like this:
person at party enquires about sandwich fillings
"what's in this?"
reply - "Oh, that one's tongue"
"Yuck! I could never eat anything that's been in an animal's mouth - I'll have egg instead..."
Boom boom !
|
'here must be millions of people throwing away at least £26 of food"
I know of several people who live mainly on ready meals and buy all their food preprepared wherever possible. They just buy a selection of stuff they think they might eat from M and S or Waitrose and throw the surplus away at the end of the week. They dine out a lot. If you are on a high wage food is actually a relatively minor part of the weekly expenditure so cost is not an issue to them. Quite a common approach amongst those with a "City" lifestyle especially in the more affluent parts of the South East
|
|
I used to live on ready meals. When they were ready a voice said dinner is on the table and sure enough, it was!
|
|
my brother just wanders around waitrose throwing the expensive top of the range ready meals into the trolley and at the end of the week just discards what doesnt get eaten. ive seen £100 of ready meals get dumped fairy often
|
>> Based on the laws of averages, there must be millions of people throwing away at
>> least £26 of food - every week.. (2 standard deviations = approx..) One Person can
>> live on a basic diet for £26 per week..
I've no idea where you get the standard deviation from. It won't be a symmetrical curve at all. Anyway, some of us don't throw away more than the odd mouldy slice of bread. Presumably used tea leaves and bones that have either been boiled for stock/fed to the cat don't count.
|
Bones should NOT be fed to a cat.
Pat
|
...Bones should NOT be fed to a cat...
Unless it belongs to next door and you want to stop it jumping on the roof of your car and scratching it.
|
Oh Iffy.....
Just open the roof and let it sleep in comfort on the seat.
Pat
|
...Just open the roof and let it sleep in comfort on the seat...
Happily, I've not had too much of a problem with the CC3.
Next door's cat made quite a mess of the roof on my Focus hatch.
Awkward situation, the cat means no harm, and nor does the neighbour.
But annoying to have your property damaged.
|
This is the way to keep the vile animals off your car iffy!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dzi_8Rscfs
Last edited by: Perky Penguin on Mon 18 Apr 11 at 18:27
|
>> Bones should NOT be fed to a cat.
A cat is a carnivore in real life, real life carnivore food tends to come wrapped round bones.
|
|
I agree Zero but, as you can see on TV adverts, cats have morphed into something quite different. They appear to be fed on Turkey and Rabbit (off the bone) in rich jelly, among other naff recipes. There used to be small cartons of cat milk for sale in supermarkets. Back to nature, small rodents and ditchwater, idle beasts! BTW Leave our garden songbirds alone too, even if you are hungry!
|
|
Probably why cats loose their teeth then. Not being properly cleaned on small bones.
|
|
I'm sure Pat meant cooked bones which are in indeed dangerous to cats as they can splinter and perforate the animal's stomach. Uncooked chicken or rabbit bones are fine for cats and are indeed close to their natural diet.
|
i wouldnt recommend chicken bones for cars as they are gready by nature and tend to swallow big lumps
i remember 20 years ago saving one of my cats by opening its mouth and pulling a chicken bone out of its throat
not a nice experiance seeing it choking i can tell you
Last edited by: Bellboy on Mon 18 Apr 11 at 21:52
|
wouldnt recommend chicken bones for cars
No stick to petrol :-)
|
Amazing cat fact:
Domestic cats purr at about 26 cycles per second, the same frequency as an idling diesel engine.
|
I know that's true, one slept on my pillow all night last night:(
Pat
|
Bad move Pat. Mrs C says everyone knows cats' breath is poisonous.
|
As the cat was weaned on and (presumably) generally lives on chicken from the local fried chicken shop, a nice lamb chop bone that has barely seen the grill won't harm.
How do you suggest I reason with him and tell him not to pick up cooked chicken bones from the street? ;)
|
My cats don't have bad breath...they eat a proper diet and clean their teeth before going to bed:)
Pat
|
No, not bad breath. Actually poisonous.
Along with other charming rural ideas, such as "the electricity leaks out of the sockets at night", and the joys of both violent outrage and the sentence "it's bad luck to" aligned with some unexpected ending, such as putting shoes on tables, looking at the new moon through glass, or putting umbrellas up in enclosed spaces.
Country girls, eh?
|
I know that if you see a white horse you have to spit in your hat before you see it's tail.
Pat
|
Not heard that one! I'll use that.
I know you have to say good morning if you see one magpie and enquire after her children's health.
|
|
I was told as a youngster, that you should spit. Filthy habit, I wouldn't dream of it.
|
>> Amazing cat fact:
>>
>> Domestic cats purr at about 26 cycles per second, the same frequency as an idling
>> diesel engine.
>>
>>
Are you sure? That's 1560 rpm - a bit fast for an idle surely?
Our cats purr as they breathe in and out, about once per second. With practice it is possible to imitate them. Or is that only the slow idle test?
|
...Or is that only the slow idle test?...
It's the emissions I'd worry about.
|
"Are you sure?"
Of course. I read it on the internet.
|
I know that it is often suggested that food can often be good long past its best before date, that shops make a fortune from all the good food thrown away, that freegans dumpster dive for the stuff etc, etc
However, I have just found a forgotten bag of Sainsbury's apples in our cupboard, they look and taste as if they had fallen from the tree yesterday.
The best before date?....March 27th...ridiculous...
As we had previous threads discussing BBD (no, not Big Bad Dave) I thought I'd move it here
Last edited by: VxFan on Thu 11 Aug 11 at 13:55
|
Best before dates mean broadly what they say. The product will, subject to correct storage, remain fresh in appearance and flavour until that date. Many products will remain OK for far longer. Your apples might get a bit wrinkled and the flavour more 'malic' but provided they're cool, dry and free from pests they will, as you've found and our forbears knew, keep OK for months.
Use by dates require more care. But even then with care our eyes and noses will tell us when most things are bad enuogh to make us poorly. I'm very careful with chicken and a few other things but cheese for example will be walking before most nasties are bad enough to make a robust adult ill*.
* Those in poor health, with impaired immunity or the very young/old need to be more careful. And of course there are contaminants such as listeria which carry their own dangers.
|
In the old days apples were stored gathered and stored dry in the Autumn for consumption through the rest of the year. If not eaten they were cooked.
Cheese is the same, it is essentially a product made by ageing and the use of moulds. Slice of the mould on the outside and its fine.
What we have lost is the art of using stuff. Years ago the paths and fields round my way were ravaged by people picking berries, scrumping apples. Mother expected the kids to come home on Saturday with blackberries and apples so she could make the pie for Sunday lunch "afters"
These days I walk similar paths and the path sides are heavy and groaning with berries, none picked and left to wither.
|
We have an apple tree full of apples - they are early this year. Waiting to pick some blackberries to go with them in some crumble :-) Local blackberries nearly ready too but we'll probably have to be quick!
Last year we stored the apples when picked in the cellar - there were loads. They were fine for cooking after quite a few weeks but not sure they'd have lasted months. Part of the problem was some slight damage to some fruit when trying to get them down from the tree.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Thu 11 Aug 11 at 13:40
|
|
Know what you mean zero, a very narrow country lane near me is full of blackberrys. Come late this month and sept there will be bags full. No-one apart from us seem to want them, we freeze them for use through the winter, put them with some cooking apples bought cheap loads of crumbles and pies through the winter.
|
|
Apples are stored for months on end at 1 or 2 degrees by distributors as are mince pies
|
It's the conkers that depress me.
When I was a kid, a conker wouldn't stay on the ground for more than a few seconds without been grabbed, and we used to have to invest all kinds of ways to try to get hold of them.
These days, if I ever go for a run in the park in the autumn, I am constantly having to watch my step, or I'll break my neck falling over the things.
|
Best to rinse in some brine first. You will be surprised the number of tiny maggots that emerge!
|
We have a crab apple tree that's absolutely laden with fruit - and Lord knows what I can do with it. It'll probably just feed the wasps.
I tried making "crab apple jelly" one year - not a great success, especially as even if it had worked it's not something you use every day, is it.
|
The Council provides me with an endless diet of plums during June and July. Cobnuts in July and August. Figs in August and September and October, Cherries in May/June. Apples and crab apples in August/September/October, Elder flwoers in the spring and berries in the autumn. Bear in mind the Council is Southwark and the foraging is undertaken within (or within 100 yards of) the inner London ring road/Congestion Charging zone.
Tescos provide liberal quantities of Rosemary from their gardens and - before they replanted - they used to provide huge quantities of quince.
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Thu 11 Aug 11 at 14:52
|
Old food - Perky Penguin
