My mother may come back to haunt me for writing this post, but I have to tell you that my Mom (and her mother) were notorious for stretching food expiration dates. It’s not that they were bad housekeepers; it’s just that they did not want to be wasteful. All the same, there were times when we pulled things out of Mom’s refrigerator that looked like science experiments. She also used to say that scientists had used the spices discovered in the pyramids and found they were still suitable for consumption (none of us believed her). I should note that we all survived and are doing very well, but I do tend to be a bit paranoid about the shelf life of food, especially now that my husband is on a Parkinson’s medicine (Azilict) that specifically warns patients that they should avoid aged foods.
Imagine how pleased I was (given my childhood refrigerator experiences) to discover there is a site called StillTasty: Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide. You can search for the shelf life of many foods and learn a lot about how long they can safely be refrigerated or frozen. The site also gives detailed information about expiration dates, use by dates, etc. In addition, you can search the site for information on how to best store fruits, defrost meats, etc. It’s a great resource site for those of us striving to store food safely without wasting leftovers.
Other sites where you can learn about food safety include:
