Best Before?

There was a piece on the BBC news the other day about a proposal to stop having Best Before dates on food stuffs as they are encouraging people to throw away food which is still good to eat even if it is past its Best Before date.  I have to say that I've pretty much given up on Best Before dates in the last year or so (although Use By dates are something else entirely), and have recently been using wholemeal rice which is two months past its date (it tastes just the same as usual) and this lunchtime had a bag of Ready Salted crisps which are nearly five months past their Best Before date (I would say they're actually tastier than usual, and I'm not really a great fan of Ready Salted.)

With so much food ending up in landfill it seems ridiculous to me to have Best Before dates on foodstuffs that are really not going to do you any harm if you eat them when they're a bit past their best (unlike the Use By dates on some perishables).  The UK government have started the Love Food Hate Waste website to try and counteract the problem.  There are storage tips, recipes and general information about how to use up food that's gone a bit past it. 

Judging from my own experience, reading the storage information on labels helps too.  It's only quite recently (after using the stuff for five years) that I read on the back of some dried yeast that it should be kept refrigerated once opened.  Well, whad d'ya know, keeping it in the fridge has certainly helped keep the yeast much more efficient than just keeping it on a kitchen shelf.  That'll learn me to read instructions properly.

By trial and error I've also discovered that keeping potatoes in a black cotton bag prolongs their life amazingly.  Last night we had jacket potatoes that I bought at least a month ago and they had no sign of green or shoots and all because they'd been kept out of the light.  No doubt, everyone else knew this trick a long time ago but somtimes I've VERY SLOW on the uptake.  Like actually peeling bananas that have gone black to check how manky they are inside before binning them.  (And even if they are manky using them up in banana tea bread.)  I was about to chuck some wrinkly apples in the bin yesterday when I thought, hang on a mo, I'll cut them up first and see if they can be stewed.  I found they were fine inside and now we've got some stewed apple in the fridge for pudding later this week (after we've eaten up the heavily-reduced and a little battered strawberries I got in Somerfield yesterday.)  Today I've made a soup from the leftover Sunday veggies, plus a bit of the wonderful Marigold Bouillon, which we'll have as a starter this evening.

Any good tips that don't involve freezing (no freezer chez Making Good Use) for using up foods or storing them for longer?  Also, I'd love to hear what's the longest you've eaten stuff past its Best Before date with no ill effects?  My personal best was some HP sauce which was three years out of date.  Tasted fine if a little bland.

Comments

[Teresa]

Interesting post MGU. I saw the feature on the TV too and realised I've not given the BBE date much thought, although we generally tend to use most of what we buy before the date is up. I'm sure I must have used food after this date with no ill effects although I can't remember details off-hand.

[attila]

Hi, I've often found fruit reduced because it had reached it's best before date, and it wasn't even ripe! Bananas, mangoes, plums.

[French Knots]

I tend to 'sniff it and see' most things are fine after the BBD. I'm going to check my yeast and see if it should be in the fridge after opening - might explain why some of my loaves are a bit flat. I like to use up leftovers but too often find I am a human dustbin and eat them just because they are there!

[sharie]

I didn't know about keeping spuds in a black cotton bag.... have to go and buy some black cotton now :-)

[Heather]

Well done Elizabeth on all the food you have salvaged. Our parents and Grandparents coped without best before dates, common sense really! I have eaten chocolate that was out of date and had white bits on it and lived to tell the tale!

[Caroline]

I'm very interested in the black cotton bag for potatoes - my potatoes are ALWAYS going green and sprouting. Now I've just got to find where I can get one!