AIBU to use this in pancakes later?

[2468whodoweappreciate]

Plain flour, BBE Oct 2013
Eggs, BB 2nd Jan

Flour been in a sealed container. I've spread it out on a dark plate & no sign of movement to indicate weevils, is it safe to eat?

Eggs kept in fridge & I tested them in water, they sink, so still use able...?

Or am I putting us all at risk!! I hate food waste & I'm short on time to shop, obviously I don't want to make us ill but nor do I want to throw away food if it's actually fine to eat, too much of that goes on in the world. WWYD?

I once ate some feta that I found at the back of the fridge that was 8 months out of date. It was fine. Remember that cheese has often been aged for months or even more than a year before it reaches the shops. Sticking a use by date of a few weeks on the packet is ridiculous.

I would check that the flour did not have weevils and the eggs did not sink and then yes, I would use both. I am too tight to care.

I'm totally on it BBE dates, then I go to my Mums' or MILs and (after we've eaten it) see the dates and they are months/years/decades out.

Only a problem once when the ham was totally green, I gave it to the dog and she was sick !

Note: Dried herbs from 1986 stick in your throat even if they've been well cooked in a spag bog..

I would OP. In fact I am sure I have. I'd love for someone to explain to me how exactly flour 3 years out of date could go bad and not be edible. The food industry has a lot to answer for IMO. The amount of food waste in this country is shameful. I know someone who keeps jam in the fridge and throws it out after a week of being opened as it "might have gone off". I'd use the eggs too having cracked them open to check. I grew up on a farm and we'd often find eggs in the hay bales we had no idea how long has been there. Mum always used the 'bucket of water' test and cracked them open into a cup to check them.

"Milk and cheese, for example, is often thrown away unnecessarily."

I am a bit of a stickler for use by dates, but I use my nose for milk and cheese and won't throw it out unless it is off.

OP if you rarely use eggs and flour just buy a pancake mix where you just add milk or water.

It's so obvious is an egg is off. I'm surprised people just bin them without seeing.

I'd probably use the flour. It doesn't rise as well if it's old but that's not exactly an issue in a pancake. I make so many cakes I never have out of date eggs and flour.

"The amount of food waste in this country is shameful."

I agree soupmaker, but one of my problems is that often food is packaged in too large a quantity for people to use within an allotted time. So people either eat too much or use half and keep the rest in the fridge until it goes off. I have some salad cream in the fridge, which I expect is still OK, but strictly speaking it is past its use by date. And I did buy the smallest bottle.

Two of the three pancake mixes for sale on the Asda website require the addition of egg and water. So they will be a mix of flour and dried milk then?

If you search for 'pancake mix' the website also brings up flour, eggs and milk.

I would just eat them as long as the eggs smelled ok.
I'd have to make sure DH didn't see though as he is a strict date-obeyer.

I have been doing a little I-told-you-so dance since the news about the milk BB date proposals

I'm usually very lax about use by dates, but the flour is a bit too old, even for me.

The eggs, however, I'd check them & see. It's obvious if they are off.

I wouldn't use these and I hate food waste which is precisely why I would have used them in or around their bb date to ensure I didn't waste them

I had scant regard for BB or UB dates but that changed when I had salmonella last year, it was fucking dreadful. Eggs were, admittedly, a smidge over 4 weeks out of date but DID NOT SMELL. Admittedly, I lost 10lbs on the ShiteFast diet but I will never eat an egg out of date. Milk, yoghurt, chocolate and cheese, on the other hand, no bother.

I'm all for going beyond the sell by use by date, but this is a step too far.

Flour costs at most a couple of quid as does eggs. Presumably you will not be using milk that is a week outside it's use by date? I have to add don't use old butter for pancakes.

Carrying on with the ridiculousness of pancake mix, I think we have a winner (yes I do have better things to do, which is why I am engaging in such a pointless task).

Mrs Crimbles Pancake Mix at £2 for 200g , to which you need to add eggs, milk, sugar for sweet pancakes and baking powder for fluffy ones.

So just flour. OK, it is gluten free, but you can buy a kilo of gluten free flour for less than this little packet.

You can use syrup well beyond the sell by date, but I would not be happy after two years.

We keep hens so I've never had a bb date on eggs but if they sink I've always found them to be fine - I'd probably taste the flour to see.

Cheese is fine beyond the sell by, use by date as most certainly is chocolate (because of the sugar). Yoghurt and milk absolutely not.

I'd use the flour, probably not the eggs.

I can't believe there are people who throw away milk.

It doesn't last 5 minutes in our house

No!!

I wouldn't. If anything they'll taste stale (and I use things past their bb date a lot).

I don't adhere strictly to BB or UB dates, and there is very little food waste in this house. However, 3 years for flour and 2 months for eggs is a step too far for me and I would chuck them.

I lost 10lbs on the ShiteFast diet

That's something I will commit to memory

It doesn't last 5 minutes in our house

It's like those wine boxes that claim to last for 3 months after opening.

You don't use plain flour much then? 2013?

I would have no problem using your ingredients. If the flour looks ok and the egg is not off it is fine.
We are obsessed with stuff being off these days.

I would use them without a doubt. If the eggs don't float and the flour has no creatures in it, they're fine.