how long after their best before date would dried chick peas be ok to use?

[lucysmam]

I inherited some from mil earlier today who thought I may get some use out of them as they've been in her cupboard for a while. The best before date is sometime this month although I couldn't exactly make it out. Will they be ok for a while yet or would I be better throwing them away? It seems like quite a waste to me so if they're not keepable as they are, could I maybe freeze them or soak and then freeze them?

Hope that makes sense to someone! tia

oh yes I'd totally use them.

They are dry so there isn't any moisture for bacteria to breed. I'd use them.

good point Avena, never thought of that! they'll be used quite quickly anyways so won't have to waste them. Can cross them off my shopping list now

Oh they'll keep for ages. It is only a best before date not a use by. At the worst they might not cook as well a year past the bb date. No point in freezing - they are preserved in the most suitable way in their current state.

5-10 years I would think

Definitely use them - when they were "new" they prob had a date about 2 years ahead, hardly likely to go off overnight.

IMO all useby dates are a con to make us throw out food and buy more. If it looks and smells OK, it is OK.

BigBadMousey, they'll not be in my cupboard a year and gagarin definately won't be there in 5 years!!

whatdayisit i didn't think so but thought it best to check, never throw anything I don't have to!

You sound like a nice healthy eating family! I think several members of our household thing chickpeas are poisonous - not that that stops me using them to bulk things up (I think DD1 enjoys hiding them under the rim of her plate anyway )

lol@ your dd hiding them under the rim of her plate. I've been trying out new stuff as was getting bored of the same stuff all the time and am cutting down on shopping costs. Try to be healthy as poss without living on rabbit food (salad to everyone but oh!) he doesn't notice when i bulk stuff up with them/lentils/veggies anyways and full of protein so why not!

years imo

yup, years.

I've got DH interested in lentilly things like Dahl and a vegetariam mousakka (sorry excuse sp - bad migraine atm ) but they require too much time and attention atm with babyDS to look after too. I'm hoping that I don't have to go through the 're-introduction of new foodstuffs' all over again with them - was bad enough first time round

lol, my oh is open to suggestions but lets me know if he doesn't fancy something else again. They do need time & attention though as I found out when trying dahl for the first time the other week but was worth the effort for sure

Yes definitely worth the effort. I would make in bulk and freeze but it never lasts long enough to get to the freezer ....also I always burn the bit at the bottom of the pan so I have to add 2 hours of pan-scrubbing to my timescale

Totally safe to use - a best before date is just an indication of when the quality of the food can be guaranteed until. It's not like a 'use by' date which is more about safety.

You see! Everyone agrees (a rare occurance on MN surely? )

lol@rare occurance on mn! if that's the case I will buy some next time local co-op reduces them to 20p, never bothered before simply because of the date on them! My freezer's too full atm to make anything in bulk unfortunately, so will be eating out of there all week I think since most of it's frozen left overs!

I burn the bottom of the pan too, think it's a bit hard to watch constantly when you have kids around so you can't avoid that happening