I never know what foods to stock to feed The Pony while he's home. I did pick up a case of ramen noodles (beef), and a box of Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies. But The Pony does not live by ramen and Debbie alone. He was foraging one afternoon, and asked
"Do we have any peanut butter? I'd have some with one of those apples."
Who knew that The Pony would want an apple? Not this ol' Val. Hick just happened to have five or six Golden Delicious in a bag laying in the fruit bowl by his bananas, plus a new bag that I picked up for him, not remembering how many he had left.
"Um. I don't remember the last time I bought peanut butter. But look in the pantry. There might be some. Check the date!"
"Uh...it expired in 2015. I'm throwing it away!"
Obviously, The Pony did not inherit the frugal gene from his grandma. I did.
"Wait. Let me see. It hasn't been opened yet. Still got the foil sealed on top."
The Peter Pan Honey Roast Creamy looked okay. It smelled okay. I refrained from tasting it.
"I can get some when I go to town tomorrow. It probably won't hurt you. It was sealed. It hasn't separated into oil."
The Pony shrugged his shoulders. "Well... if I get sick from it, it's YOUR fault!"
Sheesh! You'd think I tied him down and pried open his mouth, and pinched his nostrils shut after jamming a ladle full of peanut butter down his throat! The Pony ate some peanut butter with an apple. And the next day, before I got back from town with a fresh jar, he ate twice as much. With no ill effects.
I think the statute of limitations has passed now.
I think those best by suggestions are on the extra conservative side.
ReplyDeleteMy college Jr. is here for two weeks and he has turned our schedule upside down. Mrs. C doesn't know who to blame when she can't find something...actually she still blames me, she is a pushover for her stepson.
There has to be some expired food laying around that you can get rid of by "allowing" your son to find it and eat it! I'm pretty sure he will look under a towel for a treat that's supposed to be off-limits.
DeleteUnopened, still with the foil seal, it's fine. Unlike a jar of PB sitting on my daughters table which has been there, slightly used for a couple of years now. I'll toss it next time I visit and I bet she doesn't even notice. It's actually gone grey with age.
ReplyDeleteUnopened PB that has separated with oil on top will also still be good, just needs the oil mixed back in, use a long blade spatula and stir that right up.
I've never seen grayed peanut butter, but it has to be better than what I saw crawling in a jar of peanut butter when I moved into a college house for the summer, and started cleaning up. Let's just say that my new roommates had many roommates they didn't know about.
DeleteDo not eat anything that says "Best if used by end of Stone Age"!!
ReplyDeleteOkay, that will be where I draw the line!
Deletefishducky's comment reminds me of a cartoon I cut out of the newspaper several years ago. I must see if I can still find it and take a photo to post it on my blog.
ReplyDeleteHope you find it!
DeleteWhen our son visits he goes through the shelves in my fridge and tosses all the opened stuff that is beyond the marked dates. It pains me to waste food and he loves me, so he does it for me! I would pass on gray peanut butter, though.
ReplyDeleteJust today, I poured out a half-full jar of Sweet Banana Pepper rings. They were much darker in color than the other half-jar I opened a month ago, even though both said they expire in 2020. No need to eat brown peppers when you can have the yellow-green ones like they're supposed to look.
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