Washington - Facing my overflowing freezer and the multitude of jars, boxes and cans that have accumulated in my kitchen is downright daunting.
How do you know whether a food is salvageable or spoiled, whether to keep it or toss it? Here is a primer, along with some simple ways to keep food waste to a minimum.
Expired packaged goods
The “best by” or “use by” date on canned and packaged foods can be a helpful indicator of shelf life, but passing that date does not necessarily mean you should throw the food out right away. The date indicates the manufacturer’s estimated window for optimal quality, not whether a food is safe to eat.
So an energy bar that is past its stamped date may be a little less crunchy, mustard less pungent or dried fruit less plump, but chances are you would not even notice the difference in an unopened package for months or even a year past the expiration date. (An important exception is infant formula, which should not be used after its “use by” date.)
Consider the expiration date as a guide for quality, therefore, and throw away any canned goods that are bulging or deeply dented, which means they may be contaminated with botulism, a toxin that can be deadly even in minuscule amounts.
But beyond that, evaluate a food’s colour, texture, taste and aroma yourself. If it seems fine, it probably is.
Oils, nuts and whole grains
Oils, nuts and whole grains are especially prone to rancidity, meaning the fats in them break down to produce unpleasant odours and tastes and potentially form unhealthy free radicals - oxidised compounds that can damage the cells in our bodies. (They are what antioxidants protect against.)
So make a sniff test of these items regularly and throw away any that smell off or unpleasant.
To avoid waste down the road, do not buy giant jugs of oil and large bags of nuts or whole grains - they are not a better deal unless you go through them quickly. Do not be tempted to keep oil by the stove; instead, store it, tightly sealed, in a cool, dark place. Same goes for nuts and whole grains, which also can be stored in the fridge or freezer to extend their shelf life.
Baking mixes and leaveners
Because a leavener’s potency degrades over time, abide by the expiration dates and throw out old self-rising flours and baking mixes for optimally fluffy baked goods.
If the product still smells good and you are determined to salvage it, you can use it, but you will get a less puffy end result (or you can add a little extra baking powder to the mix).
To test whether a box of baking soda is still good, put one-fourth teaspoon of it in a half-cup of warm water with one-fourth teaspoon of vinegar. If it fizzes, it is still active; if not, toss it out. You can do the same test for baking powder, omitting the vinegar.
Mouldy items
Certain moulds, such as those used to make cheese, are beneficial, but others can cause allergies and respiratory problems, and produce toxic compounds.
When a food has a thick surface layer of mould, root threads and a potentially poisonous substance have also spread throughout the food, so even if mould is visible only on the surface, you cannot salvage it by scraping the mould off the top. Toss any containers of food or soft cheeses that have mould that is not obviously one used in the production of the food.
Since mould cannot penetrate deeply into hard cheeses, such as Parmesan and cheddar, you can save them by simply cutting off the mouldy part, removing about 2cm of the surface layer.
Also, with dry-cured sausages and hams, you can just scrub off any mould that may have formed on the surface.
Frozen foods
These are technically safe to eat indefinitely. But over time, their textures suffer, and they develop unpleasant tastes, especially if they have not been wrapped properly.
Throw out any freezer-burned or unlabelled meat and make a point of soon thawing and cooking raw meats that have been in the freezer for over a year, or prepared foods that have been in there longer than four months.
Remember to label frozen foods with the date and contents to make it easier on yourself.
The Washington Post