Unopened but out of date jars and tins

[moveblues]

We have been sorting through our food cupboard and found quite a bit of stuff which is say 1-2 years out of date.
I'd eat it but I don't eat these items any more. Or I just have too many! Eg chutneys etc. Lentils. Flour.
I hate waste so I definitely need to get better with this, but is there anything I can do with this stuff? Food banks won't accept as far as I know

Watching for ideas. I find that once tinned food has gone a few months past the date it tastes metallic. I think my food bank has a trolly outside for things past the best and people can help themselves. I just bin things like this if it's more than say a few months past the date and resolve to buy less. Its things like soups at the back of cupboards. Rice pasta lentals etc I would eat

If they aren’t items you eat, could you offer it to friends/families/neighbours? I’d take a bag of out of date lentils if offered.

I have no issue using things past a best before date, which is not the same as a use by date. These things are not unsafe, just (arguably) a little past their best, but still perfectly edible.

Could you offer them to local friends or neighbours who you know aren't going to have conniptions about the date on the packet? If anyone I knew offered me this stuff I'd certainly be willing to take it.

Tinned stuff I'd use. Jars of chutneys, jams etc probably, yeah. Flour no way.

You could try giving it away on olio.

I'd check the flour. No big deal to chuck it if it has gone off.

Chutney and jam, unopened, I wouldn't even bother to look for a best before date. Works of fiction. Sugar, salt, vinegar and spices are preservatives so jam, marmalade, honey, chutney, pickles, ketchup and similar will all last for ages unopened, and even after opening they will be fine for a long time, especially if kept in the fridge.

Frankly, no one is going to want foodstuffs that are a year out of date; it would be weird to offer*

When we were small, periodically my mum used to clear out her cupboards and let us do pretend cooking in the garden stirring up all the expired ingredients into horrible concoctions. Great fun.

Our you could make a big batch of play dough with the flour.

*Tinned stuff does often taste a bit metallic once it's gone past its date.
*Plain flour is possibly ok but check carefully for flour weevils. SR flour should be def be chucked was as as the raising agents won't work well after so long.
*Chutneys are the most likely to be ok I would have thought but if you don't eat them.....

Odd to make such a sweeping statement. At least three people have already said on this thread they'd take them. Perhaps we aren't real people.

I don't even look at BBE dates on things like lentils. 😅

Tins that are way past it, I am not a fan of. Had a bad time with a cream of tomato soup a few years back that has left me scarred. But if I were hungry enough...

Anyway, when I moved house last year I found a bunch of stuff with dates varying from "a bit old" to "very old". If it was unopened (because my Foodbank wouldn't take it) I put it all in a box and advertised it on Freecycle. Someone collected it the same day.

Different areas have different rules on food so do check before you post.