How seriously do you take sell-by-dates? Do you chuck things out as soon as they hit the date on the packaging or do you happily mash up brown bananas and scramble less-than-fresh eggs?
This post has been prompted by a little dilemma I have. I’m now pretty much addicted to Ann Forshaw’s yoghurts (I lead a sad life I know) but I’m reaching the end of my stash and the snow is preventing me from getting up to my favourite farm shop to buy more.
The last yogurt in the fridge went out of date five days ago. So do I bin it or do I eat it?
As a nation I think we’re becoming more and more wasteful, and I reckon the supermarkets are playing a big part with their special offers and by-one-get-one-frees that mean we invariably come home with more than we need.
There are two schools of thought - those who stick religiously to sell-by and use-by dates, and those who disregard them.
My 93-year-old grandma is very much in the second camp. From the wartime generation, she will never throw anything away. I’ve seen her scraping mould of cheese, stirring the skin into sauces and making potato cakes out of four-day old mash. Her fridge is crammed with cellophane-encased leftovers and half empty jars. Sometimes when I visit I sneakily go through it and bin the stuff that is actually growing fur.
But of course, she’s still alive, and kicking, and still living independently in her own home at 93, so perhaps eating fur-covered food is the way forward.
The colleague who I sit next to at work is also a big fan of reusing and recycling food. Five-days is his rule for leftovers, and he’s just told me to eat my yogurt because “it’s in a sealed pot and it’s been kept in the fridge”.
It’s an interesting issue because since our ban on the supermarkets we’ve been wasting a lot less. I think it’s because we’ve got a bit more respect for our food because we know exactly where it’s coming from and we know who is making it. For example, I know that the couple who run Baked bakery in Derby get up at 2am every morning to make their fresh bread, so there’s no way I’m going to throw that away.
Similarly, I’ve looked on the website for Ann Forshaw so I know how much work goes into making the yogurt. So I don’t really want to chuck it. Plus it’s super-tasty. And it’s pro-biotic, so surely it’s just going to have had chance to grown even more good bacteria while it’s been sat in my fridge?
I’ve just opened it and it doesn’t smell sour, so I’m going to give it a bash. If I don’t blog tomorrow then I’ve got a tummy upset!
Oh god Jade, won't want to be you at 2am!
ReplyDeleteFair play to your Gran though. People today take food for granted (myself included).
green and furry, I would put in the compost bin. Yoghourt I use well beyond the date, 5 days is nothing! You can taste if it's fermenting! Cheese or jam, just cut or spoon off the mouldy bits.
ReplyDeleteNEVER throw bread away, you can make breadcrumbs, bread and butter pudding, fry eggy bread in butter and serve with poached fruit or berries or toss cubes of bread in olive oil and bake in a roasting tin until gold and crispy and mix into a salad of cucumber, onions and tomatoes. Meat is different, and I use my nose, But you don't have to worry since you are veggie!
ReplyDeleteThis is great advice - especially on using up the old bread.
I pay virtually no attention to best before dates and use eyes and nose instead. Have eaten yoghurt a month past its date before and lived to tell the tale!
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