What do you buy that you never manage to finish?!

[andannabegins]

I couldn't think of a less convoluted title but this morning I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had almost finished a bottle of lemon juice yes I had pancakes for breakfast, it's the summer holidays) before it goes out of date, that never happens! I always have to throw away lemon juice, olbas oil, vanilla essence. What do you never get to finish before use by dates?!

I ignore use by dates on a lot of things, all of the things you have mentioned would be ignored if it looked and smelt ok.

Stuff has to be off, mouldy, curdled etc before we bin it.

Milk!

Jars of pesto!

I would use all those things past the best before date.

I try to use everything so we have very little waste but its usually carrots and broccoli that wither and die before I get around to using it all as those are pretty much the only fresh veg I buy as I go for frozen mainly. They can go in the compost so I dont feel too bad.

Mayonnaise. It's an occasional treat only for the two in this house that don't hate it. Really, we could do with buying a load of one-portion sachets. Likewise tartare sauce, cranberry sauce and redcurrant sauce.

Every single jar and bottle in my fridge is well beyond its 'once opened, use within X days' suggestion, by over a year in some cases.

I need to stop buying packets of 4 baking potatoes when only 3 of us will eat them. That 4th spud always gets put back in the fridge with good intentions of being used up somehow...

It pains me to say it but we waste a lot of perishables as we just dont eat stuff before it gets past it. Not things in tins or jars usually as like a PP we dont abide by the best before dates on those . However fresh things like Bread if it goes mouldy rather than just stale has to be thrown out. Cooked meat goes off -turns slimy and smelly even if still in date. Salad stuff wilts and goes brown .
Very rarely cheese if its too hard or mouldy.

Milk and bread. I often end up making scones with the sour milk, but the bread gets fed to the ducks or thrown away

@EskewedBeef- cook the other one with them- you can make it into wedges the day after. I always cook too many potatoes!

My baking powder, cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda are rather old!

Parmesan and salad dressing.

Also, fresh herbs.

I do take notice of dates really but it still pleases me to use things by the deadline. We had done olbas oil that was out of date in 2001 that we have just finished!

The last quarter of bags of exotic salad leaves, the ends of cartons of cream, though I don't stick to BB dates at all.

Things like vanilla essence I would carry on using well past the BB date, for as long as I thought it looked & smelt alright.

Salad 🤦‍♀️

Olives. Recipe only calls for a few and the rest go mouldy.

I always used to end up chucking the ends of cream cartons, but I've started making toffee sauce for the children to have with ice cream with them instead which they LOVE. You only need a couple of tablespoons to make a small amount.

Wilty salad leaves/herbs and chillis.

Gym membership

Never in my life have I finished a lip balm. Mr. Noodle goes through them like mad but mine seem to never end, and I end up chucking them because they've gone manky!

Boil the last potato then fry in oil. Gorgeous!

For me its the same as most - old veg and salad in the veg drawer. Also, mango chutney. Used once in a while if we get a curry in then its thrown away.

Celery! Why are they only available to buy in packs of about 8 stalks I only need 2. Now I chop the leftovers up and freeze them to put in Bolognese.

I was going to say lemon juice! Not as in looking at BBE date, but as in using before it goes mouldy in the fridge. But - I've solved the problem, now have a silicone ice cube tray & I freeze it as lemon juice ice cubes, then just take out as much as I need for a recipe. (I've also discovered that fridge-cold water with a lemon juice ice cube in it is a great drink for a hot day)

Vacuum packed beetroot

Yep celery!! Only use the stuff for bolognaise and only need 2 sticks of it! Other than that spices, I usually buy something specific for a recipe, use a teaspoon of it and then it just sits going hard and crusty in the cupboard forever!