do expiration dates mean anything?

[Sarah]

Their fridges may be kept at a different temperature. I trust the industrial fridge at my restaurant to maintain cold more consistently than the one at my house.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

With meat I always use it or freeze it within 2 days. I won't go 3 days.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

Cornbread mix, expired April 09. Still usable?

[Sally, la reina]

Not if it has mealworms in it.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

Mealworms aren't edible?

[Sally, la reina]

They are, if you like moving food.

I would eat it.

[Félix]

Weevils are evil, though.

[Leslie]

It didn't have an expiration date, but we ate our wedding cake, not on our first anniversary, but through a series of mix ups about whether it was actually in Florida or Georgia, on our fifth anniversary, after it sat in my mother-in-law's freezer all that time. YUCK! I ran to the sink to wash my mouth out. Horrible!

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

That's a shame.

[Leslie]

Yeah, it was pretty bad.

[Michael]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Cornbread mix, expired April 09. Still usable?"

Did you eat it?

(Expiration dates mean everything)

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

I haven't yet. I'm kind of leaning towards not using it, because if I make it and it turns out tasteless I will have wasted egg and milk too.

[Tom]

Is it a mix, or just corn flour? I know i've used multi-year old flour before with no problems, but depending on what other ingredients were included in the mix i might hesitate.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

It's a mix. Contains cornmeal, flour, baking soda, sugar, vitamins, dried milk, etc.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

I threw out popsicles from 2006 earlier this month. Those had definitely gone bad. They looked positively frightening in their little see-through wrappers.

[Leslie]

I opened a can of milk that was past the expiration date once--big mistake!

[[deleted user]]

If you have certain mold allergies expired cake mixes (corn bread), pancake mix etc. can actually be fatal.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/...

If you have no mold allergies, eat it...won't hurt you. If it tastes bad, chuck it.

My husband tries to throw away ANYTHING over the date. I have to restrain him. Marshmallows do NOT go bad, they just get a little stiff...

[Sarah]

There is no way to ask this question without prompting a TWSS. Maybe if I say food instead of things? Why is it that soft foods go stiff when they go bad, and hard foods (such as crackers) go soft?

[Félix]

Entropy, Sarah.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

Evaporation of moisture for a, and possibly absorption of moisture for b? Depends on how you're storing them, probably. Seems counterintuitive to have two different answers, but. Do crackers really go soft? I haven't noticed crackers going soft. My crackers seem to get harder and drier.

[Sarah]

I have had crackers become soft food over time (she said carefully avoiding the TWSS again).

I went to make a smoothie after my run this morning and the brand new yogurt I had just opened had mold on top even though the expiration date isn't for days. Now I have to find time to bring it back because it was expensive.

[Michael]

Sarah Pi wrote: "Now I have to find time to bring it back because it was expensive."

I'm glad you didn't say you scraped the mold off and ate it.

[Karen K.]

Before I got married my to-be husband was offered a cup of cocoa by my mother. There was no expiration date on the container (this was over 27 years ago). My husband thought that there was a worm in his cup of cocoa and said so. My parents didn't talk to him for about 2 months, which made things awkward when planning a wedding. My parents were totally put out. However, knowing my mother, it is totally possible there was a worm in the cocoa. My mother is known for having things so old in her medicine cabinet that they were manufactured before expiration dates were mandatory. My mother buys candy half priced after Valentine's Day (or whatever holiday) and then gives it to you the following Valentine's Day. Can you say BLOOM?

[Leslie]

Does anybody know how long eggs last past the expiration date on the carton? I've thrown them away, but I really thought they were probably ok. What do you guys think?

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

In my experience they last a really long time. I usually ignore egg expiration dates. I have yet to consume an egg that had gone bad.

[Félix]

If am egg goes bad, trust me, you'll know it when you crack it.

[Karen K.]

Larry wrote: "If am egg goes bad, trust me, you'll know it when you crack it."

That sounds ominous.

[Félix]

That's why it's a good idea to crack your eggs into a separate bowl first.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

I took an antihistamine about 2 hours ago that expired in 2009, and it definitely still works. I'm profoundly drowsy.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

How long will a head of cauliflower, unopened, last in my fridge crisper? How long will an opened package of chorizo sausage last?

[janine]

Slices of chorizo or a whole sausage?

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

Whole sausages. Package of four, opened, sausages about 6 inches long.

I think it's chicken chorizo, if that matters.

[Phil]

Alka-Seltzer seems to do just fine a year or two after the date listed.

Diet Coke SUCKS if it's past the date on the bottom of the can.

[janine]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Whole sausages. Package of four, opened, sausages about 6 inches long.

I think it's chicken chorizo, if that matters."

Unsliced sausages should last for a while. I'd give a sliced sausage a week, but it'll probably last longer.

[janine]

Phil wrote: "Diet Coke SUCKS if it's past the date on the bottom of the can."

Diet coke sucks.

[Phil]

Heresy! Off with her head!!

[janine]

I'm an excellent driver.

[evie]

janine wrote: "Lobstergirl wrote: "Whole sausages. Package of four, opened, sausages about 6 inches long.

I think it's chicken chorizo, if that matters."

Unsliced sausages should last for a while. I'd give a s..."

I wouldn't go over two days with sausage or any meat especially chicken. I bought a chicken wrap the other day for lunch and it gave me a stomach ache at around 4pm that same day.

Cooked rice can be a worry if it's more than a day old and watch out for sushi.

[Louise]

Bonnie wrote: "I toss 3 days before the expiry date. Yes I'm one of those people who believe that I might die of some god awful Illness if I eat expired food."

I'm horrible, dairy, meat etc. gets thrown out on midnight of the expiration day, at the latest. Juice etc. can go a day or so over, but my mind does crazy things to me when i KNOW that it's too old. My husband finds this quite irritating... :-)

[Cheri]

Sometimes an old cake mix won't rise.

[Scout]

Dairy is OK until it doesn't smell right or grows mold. Give corn meal and flour a chance as long as it doesn't have critters. If you don't mind critters, then it's probably still OK unless it's moldy. Heat meat, eggs, and most anything else that's not slimy or stinky to the boiling point for a few minutes, and it's OK. Throw out slimy, stinky things and don't eat anything raw if you're not absolutely sure about it. Our ancestors survived without refrigerators or expiration dates -- just with common sense.

[Jim]

Cheri wrote: "Sometimes an old cake mix won't rise."

Is this a euphemism?

[Félix]

I've never been called an old cake mix before.

[Cynthia]

Sometimes an old dog will refuse to do new tricks.

[Alias Reader]

Lobstergirl wrote:Grated parmesan cheese from the deli - I've noticed that goes bad pretty quickly.
---------------

You can freeze it.

When I buy a container of freshly grated Parmesan cheese I put half in the freezer and keep the other half in the refrigerator.

[Sarah]

Cheri wrote: "Sometimes an old cake mix won't rise."

Also, sometimes an old cake mix can be bad for you.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/...

[Cheri]

Once our doctor said the Mr of the house was allergic to everything EXCEPT mold. I said, "Great. He can live in the fridge."

[evie]

I know our damp course had an expiration date. We had it replaced last year. I had to sleep on a blow up bed in the yoga room where Mr evie works.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

Damp course?

[evie]

The membrane built in the wall of a building to prevent rising damp.