Lots of out of date food in cupboard - would you?

[buckeejit]

I'm of the opinion that all of this stuff is ok as it's basically long life anyway but is there anything from this list with how long past Best Before date that you wouldn't consume?

Tin of condensed milk -2 years
Quinoa-6 months
Oats-1 year
Cashews-2years
Flaked almonds-1.5 years
Sesame & sunflower seeds-2 years
Golden syrup - 2 years

I feel terribly guilty finding this - was at back of corner cupboard that I've been getting round to sorting. Thank you!

You could feed the birds with some of the nuts/seeds maybe then they wouldn’t be wasted, they may be a little rancid by now

Yes I would use all, and have used things further out of date than those . My only criteria is if it looks or smells wrong then it goes in the bin.

The oats, quinoa and golden syrup should be ok, the milk may have gone off as UHT milk seems to go off at its BBE date

I wouldn't. I'd do what a PP said and try to make some bird cakes for them

Put them in flapjacks, they’ll be fine.

Yes, the majority would be absolutely fine. I found a Christmas pudding once which was 4yrs old, and it was like new!

Just use your nose and eyes.

Nuts and seeds (due to high fat content) often go off soon, especially if open, so as the other poster said, feed to birds if they teste 'off'.

Check the quinoa and oats for moth eggs, dead moth bodies, weevils or little web like structures in the packet. If you see any, again, don't eat.

The condensed milk could be made into fudge or caramel- yum.

(Except the milk)

Yes definitely. Nuts may have gone rancid though and check grains for weevils. Tins will be fine unless they’ve blown but you’ll know as soon as you open them if they’ve gone, the contents will taste really metallic. Most things in unopened jars will be fine for a year or two but you will be able to tell
quite easily if they’ve had it just from looking and smelling.

would anyone use raisins, all sealed and never opened.
Use by Nov 2019?
Wanted to make biscuits and cakes but not sure if to open them or not.

I would use all of that. As raspberrycordial says, if it looks or smells wrong, don't eat it. You could make Back-of-the-cupboard Flapjacks* with all of that bar the quinoa! Only missing ingredient is butter.

I've just made this up but Soupdragon*'s flapjack recipe is on this site somewhere and it's wonderful. You just melt butter, golden syrup and condensed milk together and stir in oats. Spread out on lined swiss roll tray and bake until golden on top. Mark into portions while still hot from oven, but don't remove from tray until cooled. You could easily add nuts or dried fruit or seeds to that.

Yes use the raisins! They will be fine- they are dried so preserved. Then put in a packet- a second preserving.

Condensed milk will be fine. It's a highly processed food - heat treated, sealed in a tin and has lots of sugar added, which is a preservative in its own right. It's not in the least like ordinary milk.

Yes-soupdragons flapjacks is exactly what is needed here! Thanks for the reassurance all. All packs are unopened apart from oats but they're sealed.

Will check it all carefully & whip up some flapjacks later 🙂

Raisins will be absolutely fine for yonks!

If I’m honest - I would bin it all

The raisins will be fine. You'd know on opening the packet if they weren't. I did once find a very old packet of raisins (or might have been sultanas or currants) which had gone off and it was unmistakeable. In that case, though, I think it had been opened and then forgotten about. A packet that's never opened should be fine so soon after the best before date.

If it does say 'Best before' on the packet or tin, that's another indication that the food inside will last a lot longer than that. 'Use by' is a step up from that and means there might be some risk of food poisoning if you use it after that date. 'Best before' just means it might not be quite as fresh after that date, but it's usually perfectly safe to eat. If you have someone in the household with a compromised immune system, you'd need to be extra careful, but for most of us this is just not an issue.

Oh other than raisins in cooking

Everything other than the nuts and seeds will be fine. I think it's the oils in them that go off. But just taste one first.

We ate some pasta I found at the back of the cupboard bb 2012 yesterday! No I'll effects.

I'd make flap jacks. You'll need to toast before hand the nuts as they might be soggy.
Taste them before adding, also taste the seeds. If they taste bitter then feed the birds.

Yes, it's all ok to use if you taste beforehand.

The tin if condensed milk is fine. Can you use it to make some millionaires shortbread? It's a lovely luxury item that will make a little chocolate go a long way (if you can find some).

Syrup is sugar and lasts for years and years past it's date. They only thing that happens is it can crystallise. This is fixed by using it in cooking.

Already have been using it.

We had rice dated March 2019 last week.

I have loads of half empty packets of dried fruit in the cupboard - it's dried, it's sugary, it's preserved. Never checked a date.

Tins of golden syrup or treacle last about 5 years+ in this house. Again, it's liquid sugar, nothing is going to live in that.

OMG I have turned into my mother

This little beauty came into its own this week 😉

Thanks for the advice about the raisins, I'm going to make some cakes and biscuits. Had nothing else to put in and no toppings etc, so would have been just plain.