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Post by Pep Streebeck on Mar 22, 2020 19:31:39 GMT
I have a decent collection. Maybe a total of 40 cans, which includes tuna, sardines, soup and chili, beans, corn, tomatoes, etc. But really sounds like more than it is, if 25 of them are just cheap tuna and sardines.
I did open up a can of refried beans since the can was dented and that can make it go bad or be not that healthy. And I have 2 cans of "shredded green jackfruit" which are already past the best-before date by a couple months. I just hate to open up cans while fresh food is still an option. I don't need to make gourmet recipes. Whatever I can use to be the most efficient.
I have a new package of soft tortillas, so I can do refried bean and jackfruit burritos. Along with a little shredded cheese and onion might be decent. Trying to conserve as much as I can, and not opening or cutting something unless it all works together to make the most meals possible. I'm pretty good at planning things in advance, and making everything timed perfectly to get the most usage out of what I have. Plus I can go for a day on a couple spoons of peanut butter, green tea and coffee if needed. So I can do that every now and then.
What is the best thing to do with canned food past the best-before date? Is that date still fine within like a year? Or if something has February 2020 on the date does that mean I should use it soon? I am trying not to waste anything that doesn't need to be eaten, and make everything go as long as it can.
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Post by Ass_E9 on Mar 22, 2020 19:46:13 GMT
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mmexis
Sophomore
@mmexis
Posts: 860
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Post by mmexis on Mar 23, 2020 2:59:38 GMT
I worked in a supermarket for years. Best before dates are essentially meaningless. If it gets left on the shelf (butter, cheese, meat, anything) it just gets put back where it came from. People are deluded if they think they get thrown out.
tip: never NEVER take anything from the back of the fridge. That's where the stuff that was left on the shelf goes so that it can get cold again real fast.
tip: when buying cans, just take from the top. Everyone takes from the second/third row. The top box just goes to fill in the blanks so that the whole thing doesn't topple over like some kind of supermarket display jenga game.
tip: smell and look at everything every time you use it. You don't know what's happened to it -- truck broke down, left on the shelf, late to be delivered. As long as it smells and looks like it should, eat away.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 23, 2020 3:08:34 GMT
Pep Streebeck The dates are just guidelines. I shop at a store they call a "scratch and dent" store and the canned goods are always fine. I do avoid the severely dented cans! If I drop it myself and it gets smashed in, I use that right away just in case the can actually got an air leak in it. If you don't eat up all of what is in a can, put the leftovers in a covered container and in the fridge .. don't leave them in the can. They won't spoil there but they can get a metal smell !
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Post by Pep Streebeck on Mar 23, 2020 3:33:40 GMT
I worked in a supermarket for years. Best before dates are essentially meaningless. If it gets left on the shelf (butter, cheese, meat, anything) it just gets put back where it came from. People are deluded if they think they get thrown out. tip: never NEVER take anything from the back of the fridge. That's where the stuff that was left on the shelf goes so that it can get cold again real fast. tip: when buying cans, just take from the top. Everyone takes from the second/third row. The top box just goes to fill in the blanks so that the whole thing doesn't topple over like some kind of supermarket display jenga game. tip: smell and look at everything every time you use it. You don't know what's happened to it -- truck broke down, left on the shelf, late to be delivered. As long as it smells and looks like it should, eat away. I'll remember that. And bonus points for "supermarket display jenga game". Sounds like something I would say and think is the funniest thing ever. My local grocery store is like training for examining everything. Shopping there for years should qualify me as a health and safety inspector. I still gamble with their 99 cent reduction stickers. Usually means something sat in the storage area for too many days. Never had anything bad except for protein bars which had fossilized, and cottage cheese which wasn't bad, but had the consistency of freshly mixed cement with too little water.
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Post by enigma72 on Mar 23, 2020 16:22:27 GMT
I am not sure this was the author's concern, but I wonder what I should be saving and what I should be using.
Example: should I bake the ham or use frozen items.
Which will I be able to replenish easily?
Which will be unavailable
So many questions I never thought I would have to consider
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 23, 2020 17:38:19 GMT
enigma72I am using non-frozen items first as they are the most perishable. Then will come frozen and finally canned. Garden will provide fresh things … if it lasts that long. It was strange being in the stores today. Plenty of fresh vegs and milk and eggs. It's the boxed and bagged and frozen things that are flying off of the shelves.
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Post by enigma72 on Mar 23, 2020 17:46:29 GMT
enigma72I am using non-frozen items first as they are the most perishable. Then will come frozen and finally canned. Garden will provide fresh things … if it lasts that long. It was strange being in the stores today. Plenty of fresh vegs and milk and eggs. It's the boxed and bagged and frozen things that are flying off of the shelves. It is crazy the way this is progressing. I plan to go tomorrow. I will tell you what I see. I need milk and bread Fingers crossed!
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 23, 2020 17:51:17 GMT
enigma72I use a bread maker. I pre-measure the dry ingredient into jars and only have to add the water, oil and yeast. Makes the whole cave smell wonderful !
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Post by enigma72 on Mar 23, 2020 17:54:42 GMT
enigma72I use a bread maker. I pre-measure the dry ingredient into jars and only have to add the water, oil and yeast. Makes the whole cave smell wonderful ! Since the whole pandemic thing I thought about getting a bread maker. I will keep it in mind. Thanks
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 23, 2020 17:57:32 GMT
enigma72I like them so much I have two spares for when the current one gives up. I get them at the local Goodwill for less than $10. Mine even makes jam and you can bake cakes and cake-like banana-bread in it.
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Post by enigma72 on Mar 23, 2020 18:04:05 GMT
enigma72I like them so much I have two spares for when the current one gives up. I get them at the local Goodwill for less than $10. Mine even makes jam and you can bake cakes and cake-like banana-bread in it. Makes jam? You have my attention
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 23, 2020 18:28:48 GMT
Makes jam? You have my attention Breadman Plus is one that makes jam... Small batches. I use frozen berries and liquid certo.(bought on sale .. outdated by a couple of years now but works fine ! ) Did you know ? You can make jam in the microwave ! Recipes are on-line.
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Post by enigma72 on Mar 23, 2020 19:56:01 GMT
Makes jam? You have my attention Breadman Plus is one that makes jam... Small batches. I use frozen berries and liquid certo.(bought on sale .. outdated by a couple of years now but works fine ! ) Did you know ? You can make jam in the microwave ! Recipes are on-line. Being raised on a farm I had all sorts of jams This sounds great
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Post by sweetpea on Mar 25, 2020 16:32:34 GMT
I have a decent collection. Maybe a total of 40 cans, which includes tuna, sardines, soup and chili, beans, corn, tomatoes, etc. But really sounds like more than it is, if 25 of them are just cheap tuna and sardines.
I did open up a can of refried beans since the can was dented and that can make it go bad or be not that healthy. And I have 2 cans of "shredded green jackfruit" which are already past the best-before date by a couple months. I just hate to open up cans while fresh food is still an option. I don't need to make gourmet recipes. Whatever I can use to be the most efficient.
I have a new package of soft tortillas, so I can do refried bean and jackfruit burritos. Along with a little shredded cheese and onion might be decent. Trying to conserve as much as I can, and not opening or cutting something unless it all works together to make the most meals possible. I'm pretty good at planning things in advance, and making everything timed perfectly to get the most usage out of what I have. Plus I can go for a day on a couple spoons of peanut butter, green tea and coffee if needed. So I can do that every now and then.
What is the best thing to do with canned food past the best-before date? Is that date still fine within like a year? Or if something has February 2020 on the date does that mean I should use it soon? I am trying not to waste anything that doesn't need to be eaten, and make everything go as long as it can.
As someone in the food biz, & regularly recertifies-you should dump those cans. A couple weeks is one thing. But after that you risk botulism. Same reason you used the dented can first.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 25, 2020 16:45:04 GMT
As someone in the food biz, & regularly recertifies-you should dump those cans. A couple weeks is one thing. But after that you risk botulism. Same reason you used the dented can first. That's just plain WRONG. You do not risk getting botulism from a professionally, industrially processed can of food just because the date on the can is past its "best by" or "use by" date. If the seal is unbroken and the cans are not rusted thru or breached via a dent .. they are vacuum packed and cooked at high temperature and no more likely to contain botulism organisms than a fresh from the factory can.
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Post by sweetpea on Mar 25, 2020 19:41:05 GMT
As someone in the food biz, & regularly recertifies-you should dump those cans. A couple weeks is one thing. But after that you risk botulism. Same reason you used the dented can first. That's just plain WRONG. You do not risk getting botulism from a professionally, industrially processed can of food just because the date on the can is past its "best by" or "use by" date. If the seal is unbroken and the cans are not rusted thru or breached via a dent .. they are vacuum packed and cooked at high temperature and no more likely to contain botulism organisms than a fresh from the factory can. Ok I'll be sure to tell the FDA who wrote our books. And to point out talking about the "years" past the date cans.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 25, 2020 20:34:25 GMT
That's just plain WRONG. You do not risk getting botulism from a professionally, industrially processed can of food just because the date on the can is past its "best by" or "use by" date. If the seal is unbroken and the cans are not rusted thru or breached via a dent .. they are vacuum packed and cooked at high temperature and no more likely to contain botulism organisms than a fresh from the factory can. Ok I'll be sure to tell the FDA who wrote our books. And to point out talking about the "years" past the date cans. You do that if it will make you happy. Meanwhile, you are claiming authority and telling someone to dump all his canned foods that are past the "best buy" date. NO one that I can see said "years: BUT canned goods are still usable and safe as long as the seal has not been broken. Quality may be decreased but .. botulism ? no way !
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 25, 2020 20:42:56 GMT
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Post by BATouttaheck on Mar 25, 2020 20:47:13 GMT
"Did you know that the excavation of canned goods over 100 years old, proved to be completely safe to eat? In 1865, a steamboat loaded with canned provisions left port for the mining camps in Montana. Unfortunately, it had too many provisions and the weight of the vessel caused it to sink early on in its journey. It sat at the bottom of the Missouri River for nearly a century. Among the provisions were cans of plum tomatoes, mixed vegetables, peaches, oysters, and honey. In 1974, several scientists at the NFPA checked the content of the cans. They found that the products still had significant nutritional value and zero microbial growth. In fact, the chemists found that these canned goods were just as safe to eat in 1974 as they were to eat 100 years earlier." LOTS of tips in that link about how to safely store your canned goods as alternatives to storing them in a sunken steamboat !
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