Pushing use by dates to their limit and beyond

[likelysuspect]

I feel like I am on a mini mission inside my own head to push these dates as far as I can. I enjoy getting one over on the date!!!

Im just finishing some clotted cream, use by date of 11th Feb

I havent just opened it either, I opened it ages ago. Its fine.

I’m with you on this OP. I knew a restaurant owner in Devon whose locally famous baked cheesecake was actually made of clotted cream on the turn which they would otherwise be throwing away.

Cool 👌

Oh that is a very good idea

My dad said that in the 30s and 40s they didnt have a fridge and his mum would just drink warm, going off milk. Which Im guessing was a bit like a sort of kefir type of flavour.

I'm just about to use up some creme fraiche that's a month over.
I sniff everything - quite a problem when I lost my sense of smell for a while due to Covid !

Let us know how it goes. Did you open it already or is it still unopened?

I'm another one who treats stuff as a very vague guideline. I've just cooked us a chicken biryani with chicken that went out of date on 5 May, so 4 days ago. I'm always doing this and I've not poisoned anyone yet. I give it a good sniff and if it's off then I will throw it away.

But most things are fine a few days out of date. Not sure I'd be using cream from Feb though! That's brave.

I find dairy almost indestructable. Ive eaten cheese which is unopened, particularly halloumi, paneer and feta, months and months later and its fine

Which surprises me because they're slightly lower in fat than normal cheese and I think the fat makes things last longer.

Yogurt/kefir/cottage cheese/mascarpone/ricotta. I never look at the dates. Just open and use.

Cheddar and other cheeses. Never look at the dates, just look for mould! Milk, particularly low fat lasts for days beyond the date.

Dairy is kind of indestructable! I'm curious to see more extendable dates on products that I extend myself but can't remember right now what they are!

Oh yes I remember Ive had ancient ricotta in the past too.

I found a Philadelphia cream cheese in the back of the fridge. It expired Nov ‘25. I thought I’d open it before I threw it away just to see how bad it was. It was fine. I’ve been eating it and I’m still alive!

Yoghurt seems to last ages, I was eating a tub that was over a month out of date in April.

I think eggs last forever too. Once they get very out of date (like, at least 4 weeks after) I crack them into a little bowl first before using them just in case. But apart from the yolk losing structural integrity I don't think I've ever had an egg properly go off, even 5-6 weeks out of date.

Maybe I'll do something with the unopened feta that's been in the fridge for two months then! I keep meaning to throw it out.

I have. It was only about a week past it's use by date.
I cracked the egg into a dish and had to bin it all.

Re eggs do the float test. Fill a bowl or jug with water, place egg in water. If it lies flat across the bottom it’s still fresh, if it sits on the bottom pointy end upwards, use in the next day or so, if it floats bin it, it’s off. Never fails.