At a recent brunch with family members, my aunt mentioned that she goes through a bottle of ketchup about every two weeks. Wow! I hope that's due to her children and grandchildren coming over for frequent home cooked meals. My mom and I said we use about two bottles a year.
Now, I like ketchup, and I use it for a lot of things. But somehow it manages to last around six months. Good thing it doesn't expire for about a year or two after purchase. However, it is still important to check your condiments and spices for expiration dates. I did this this afternoon. I threw out a bottle of Ranch dressing that expired last year. (I don't think I've used it since last year either. I've been on a vinaigrette kick lately.) I have two things ready to expire next month, and my garlic powder was past date in 2006. I use this garlic powder all the time for home made garlic breads and pizzas. Never noticed. What prompted this clean out? I'll tell you.....
Friday I came home from work and began to make myself a veggie patty sandwich. As always I got out the Light Mayo. When I lifted the lid I noticed a slight drying of a small section on top. Lid must not have been tight, right? Then I thought, "How long have I had this Mayo?" I couldn't remember ever not having this particular Mayo. "This can't be the same Mayo I had when I moved here. I just bought the same kind again. Its my favorite." I checked the expiration date----wait for it----here it is---2008! I had been eating expired Mayo for two years! That's eggs! Eggs that expired two years ago! Ewww! I can't believe I never noticed. There was no smell, no discoloration, no mold. Just a slight dryness after two years. Kudos to milk for that powerful warning smell!
What can we learn from this? Check your stuff, people!
That goes too for the stuff we give to our ferrets. I noticed right away that Marshall's food has no expiration date printed on it. I don't know why this is, but it makes me nervous because I have bought the food in bags covered with dust. Its ferret food. It doesn't fly off the shelves like dog food. Anyway, I have no explanation for this. Do you? But I do give my girls Bi-Odor, Milk Thistle (just Kyra), FerreTone, and Ferret Lax when needed. All these have expiration dates. They are also greasy and will smudge off these important dates by about the third time you use them. Please remember to record these dates soon after purchase and post them on the fridge or where you store the items.
If this post saves one person from eating a sandwich with 4 year old mustard, then it has served its purpose. Healthy eating to you all!
But I like four-year-old mustard!
ReplyDeleteI tried throwing out Dave's salad dressing before we moved here, but he yelled at me and insisted that salad dressing could stay fresh for a long time. I just let him win unless things smell or look weird.