To serve best by end Sept 2012 pud for Christmas lunch

[OhMerGerd]

I think not - I always understood that the alchohol preserves and it's a large Tesco Finest with courvoisier from the 2011 Christmas range. Found it in the back of a cupboard during an epic tidy and recalled mum gave it to me, well... in 2011.

I gleefully reported my find last night and mum's reaction was 'I'll be having the trifle then', and DH gave me the look he reserves for ' I'm not going to say anything because it will lead to an argument but if you think I'm going along with that plan you've got another think coming'.

The whole point of Christmas pudding is to preserve stuff. There's nothing really to go off anyway as it's basically dried fruit

My mum always bought them in the sales for the next Christmas so they were always out of best before date. There's a difference between best before and useby.

Let that be a lesson to you OP. Next time just don't bloody tell them. Hide the box.