Shelf life

[ceptimus]

I just noticed a can of corned beef in the cupboard. It is labelled 'BEST BEFORE END JUN 2009'. I don't know how long it's been in there - probably a couple of months already. I might have some other items with even more distant 'best before' dates - I've not checked yet.

Anyway, this made me wonder, what are the longest shelf life items present in Freethoughters' kitchens?

[Ymir's blood]

None actually present in my kitchen, but fast food ketchup packets have an expiration date so far in the future that it could be referred to be a half life.

[slimshady2357]

Chili con carne spice mix - Jan 2008

Adam

[ceptimus]

I searched a bit more, and found a packet of minestrone soup (the dehydrated powder kind) that was marked 'best before December 2003'. I had it for lunch, and it tasted fine.

If I suddenly stop posting during the next few hours, you'll know what to suspect as the cause.

[viscousmemories]

I also have canned corned beef in the pantry, and it says "Best Before June, 2008".

And there are some Wylers Chicken Boullion cubes dated 09-JAN-97.

Both were left by previous tenants. I've never eaten canned beef and I'm unlikely to start now.

[Bella]

How long is the shelf-life for ramen? I can't find a date.

[MonCapitan2002]

It is probably so long that it will still be edible 9999 CE

[Dingfod]

I have about five or six pounds of Anasazi beans (http://www.ellenskitchen.com/recipebox/beanspeas2.html) in a burlap sack. I've had them since 2000 and just cooked up a pot of them a few months ago, they were still good, very good. If they'll last 1500 years in a clay pot in a cave in New Mexico, they should be good for well past 2008.

[Shake]

Our local pizza place has their salad dressings in sealed plastic pouches, and they always give us more than enough, so I'd saved some in the fridge thinking they'd be good at a later date. Well, we had some friends over one night and got pizza and wings from a different place, so I broke out some of the dressings from the other place that we'd had lying around. I opened one up and was treated to the smell of something gone wrong. No evident pre-existing puncture marks or anything. I ended up tossing out several such packets. Oh, and the same with those plastic tubs with the foil/paper tops.

I guess I just assumed that sealed meant that it would stay good -- obviously not indefinitely -- for a good while, especially under refrigeration. And it had maybe been a few weeks at the most, not months or longer! Now, if I don't think they'll get used within a week or so, out they go!