[Closed] Those half-used jars lurking in the back of the fridge

Just get new... it's Christmas after all and Rishi wants you to spend all your money to boost the economy

Unless it's mouldy, it stay in my fridge, much to my missus annoyance (due to lack of space). That said I use anything sweet (chutney/cranberry Sause/etc), instead of ketchup, to sweeten stews and the like to finish off the jars.
As for the picacalli, how do you have old piccalli? Is there something wrong with you?

Excellent question, very timely with looming food shortages and excess dry turkey meat. For me the answer is in the pantry - if there’s a new bottle of whatever it is, then the fridge “old friend” is laid to rest in the recycling. If the panty is bare then the “old friend” is revitalised by discarding the the top layer and giving the rest a healthy stir. No GI disturbances to report after using this approach for as long as I’ve had my own fridge. Hope that helps 👍👍

As for the picacalli, how do you have old piccalli? Is there something wrong with you?

FTFY

 

What about preserved lemons?

I've got a massive jar of home made chipotle paste that'll outlive the apocalypse cockroaches. It's lovely, but you need very little, god knows when I'll finish it.

Found three opened jars of capers in the fridge yesterday, two were past use by dates. I used capers for one of those in my pasta and tuna - no ill effects yet.

Edit: Mini and Micro are also fine.

If it helps, I had some cranberry sauce at the weekend that had a best before date of July 2016. I ain't dead. The main constituent of all these things is sugar and vinegar, neither of which go off, basically, ever.

If it's mouldy, just scrape the mould off with a teaspoon.

Unless it looks off I'll generally eat it, still around not tell the tale and haven't had food poisoning in forever

Mix them all together to make a special sauce for Christmas!😋

Remember you won't get any replies from people who got botulism.

how do you have old piccalli? Is there something wrong with you?

This.

*Adds another piccalilli to the shopping list*

I did however also find an unopened jar of mint and coriander chutney in the arse end of the tins cupboard only 4 months out of date...sounds like a strange combo but think I'll bin the pickled willy and use this instead. Win!

We just ignore sell by/use by dates and must be used in x amount of weeks of opening. If it looks, tastes and smells ok, it gets eaten.

**** forgot the pickle on today’s shop.

Thank you!

I've started marking the 'opened' dates on stuff like that. Surprising how long your half jar of curry paste can lurk in the fridge, I'm usually ok to double it from 6 to 12 weeks but the wife seem to think everything is freshly open and will just throw it in the pan!

Timely thread,one of the jobs today was ‘making space’ in the fridge.

Now let us get one thing perfectly clear, only one jar in the vast army of opened jars was put there by me ,so I removed all the space invaders and asked my SO to judge how many need (and I mean really need) to stay in the fridge. 🙂

“All of them” she said .

It wasn’t all bad though, she has now agreed to go on a dish washer staking awareness course before Xmas 😉 🙂

I recently discovered a half bottle of Hendo's relish in the back of a cupboard from a vintage year. Needless to day, it's fine.

We don't do "best by" or "eat by" in our house.

After being diagnosed with "IBS" in the mid 90's and still not being able to ID any triggers except alcohol... I just eat it if it looks and smells ok. I still can't tell if it was bad or my IBS...

NB - not had a solid stool since around then...

Sorry 😜😜😜

I had a clear out recently. Goose fat was one, from when I did xmas dinner. Seeing as I’ve been to my brother’s the past 2 Xmasses, it was nearly 3 years old. Bet it was still ok. Olives were mouldy, so they went.
Still got the capers, yep.

Nowt lasts long in our fridge, there’s a jar of miso that’ll never get used though.

I do have a bottle of olbas oil in the bathroom that expired in 2006 and I bet half the people reading this thread have one too...

Remember you won’t get any replies from people who got botulism.

Why what stops the 90-95% of botulism sufferers who survive from replying?

Since high acid, high sugar and high salt prevent botulinum from multiplying (and ambient not fridge temp, and no oxygen (so not opened containers)) the risk of botulism from most pickles, jams etc is pretty low.

Same as most of the above- stuff is kept and used until it’s empty or if I have a particular worry about it’s safety then it gets bunged in with a slow-cooked chilli.

We have a family history with old jars of Pickled onions.

The men in the family like them, the women don't.

The women outlive the men and the next generation inherits.

Grandads cellar had some 1935 - 1937 pickled onions in it when he died in 1990. My dad was an amateur with 1983 still sealed in 2010 when he died.

I tried both along with some shop bought fresh ones as a trial and decided I don't like pickled onions

Got a bunkhouse at work, so until there's a clear out, our mess room fridge often has about 20 part bottles of brown sauce that no one wants. Occasionally you can see an evolution of branding. Always find takers for all other sauces, pickles and condiments.

We've moved house a couple of times since 2013 and is surprising how out of date jars have moved with us. Spices as well. I'm sure I've remembered buying things fairly recently but no,  it was actually years ago and here they are two houses later.

our mess room fridge often has about 20 part bottles of brown sauce

That’s very hygienic keeping brown sauce, ketchup etc in the fridge. They are cupboard items here and the use ‘within 3 months of opening’ can get in the sea.

surely the whole point of pickling stuff is to preserve it for ever.

I pickled some eggs at the start of lockdown, ready for Christmas. I don't even like vinegar or sour things but pickled eggs are like an addiction.

there are jars of jams in the back of our fridge from when we moved in 7+ years ago. Ill be eating them on my croissants christmas morning as per.

If only it was only one of each, my wife and kids have a habit of opening a new sauce because they cant see didn't bother looking for the old one.

About 50% of the fridge is ketchup bottles and then 2 or 3 of each of the things we use. I think some towards the back moved house with us!

I’ve started marking the ‘opened’ dates on stuff like that. Surprising how long your half jar of curry paste can lurk in the fridge, I’m usually ok to double it from 6 to 12 weeks but the wife seem to think everything is freshly open and will just throw it in the pan!

Your wife sounds sensible, you don't.

We just had a bit of a clear out, lots of old Xmas hamper bits from 2017!
Highlight was a Red Bull shot that was 10 years out of date!
Looked OK, didn't taste any worse than it would have on Day 1. I only had a taste and have put the rest to work on a 2cent coin to see if it eats it!!

Point of note, "best before" and "use by" dates are not the same thing. Use By is best observed, Best Before could last for years.

Still got the capers, yep.

There you go, make your own Tartare sauce! Much better than the commercial stuff by miles.