Maybe this is silly, but in re-arranging my pantry I find dried
chipotles, other dried chiles, and sun-dried tomatoes. They are old I
know, but they look--please don't laugh--lifeless. The dried
mushrooms, that may or may not be as old, still look good. Is there an
expiration date? I hate to through them out if they can still be used,
I'm sure I paid a fortune for them at some specialty store. Any ideas
would be appreciated.

thanks, Bliss

timbrel > wrote:

>Maybe this is silly, but in re-arranging my pantry I find dried
>chipotles, other dried chiles, and sun-dried tomatoes. They are old I
>know, but they look--please don't laugh--lifeless. The dried
>mushrooms, that may or may not be as old, still look good. Is there an
>expiration date?

I've probably used dried New Mexico chilis that were two years
old. Since they are only produced for a few months each autumn,
it's pretty routine that people use them up to say 10 months old.
The flavor is best in the first few months, in my experience.

Dunno about the tomatoes or mushrooms though.

Steve

In article om>,
says...
> Maybe this is silly, but in re-arranging my pantry I find dried
> chipotles, other dried chiles, and sun-dried tomatoes. They are old I
> know, but they look--please don't laugh--lifeless. The dried
> mushrooms, that may or may not be as old, still look good. Is there an
> expiration date? I hate to through them out if they can still be used,
> I'm sure I paid a fortune for them at some specialty store. Any ideas
> would be appreciated.
>
> thanks, Bliss
>
>


As for safety, they will be fine forever (properly stored). However, the
flavor slowly degrades over time.

--
Peter Aitken

timbrel wrote:
>
> Maybe this is silly, but in re-arranging my pantry I find dried
> chipotles, other dried chiles, and sun-dried tomatoes. They are old I
> know, but they look--please don't laugh--lifeless. The dried
> mushrooms, that may or may not be as old, still look good. Is there an
> expiration date? I hate to through them out if they can still be used,
> I'm sure I paid a fortune for them at some specialty store. Any ideas
> would be appreciated.

I have a plastic container of dried chile flakes, about equivalent to a 14
oz can. It was half as much for that big jar as it was for one of those
tiny spice jar size bottles, so it seemed like a good deal. I use a pinch
of chillies on a dish about once a week. I t is about half empty now, and
I have had it for at least 15 years. Those chilli flakes are still hot.

Steve Pope wrote:
> timbrel > wrote:
>
>> Maybe this is silly, but in re-arranging my pantry I find dried
>> chipotles, other dried chiles, and sun-dried tomatoes. They are old
>> I know, but they look--please don't laugh--lifeless. The dried
>> mushrooms, that may or may not be as old, still look good. Is there
>> an expiration date?
>
> I've probably used dried New Mexico chilis that were two years old.
> Since they are only produced for a few months each autumn, it's
> pretty routine that people use them up to say 10 months old. The
> flavor is best in the first few months, in my experience.
>
> Dunno about the tomatoes or mushrooms though.
>
> Steve

"Lifeless"? Gray? Exposure to light might bleach them.
How old? 10 months, per Steve's example , or 10 years?

If they're not obviously "bad", rehydrate and try some. Unwanted
odors/tastes could have been absorbed, depending on how they were stored.
I suppose they could lose flavor over time, like herbs.

I've used chipotles that may have been three years old old and they were
fine.

My guess is they're safe, but maybe bland, weak. Just a guess...

--
Dave S

In article >,
Dave Smith > wrote:

> timbrel wrote:
> >
> > Maybe this is silly, but in re-arranging my pantry I find dried
> > chipotles, other dried chiles, and sun-dried tomatoes. They are old I
> > know, but they look--please don't laugh--lifeless. The dried
> > mushrooms, that may or may not be as old, still look good. Is there an
> > expiration date? I hate to through them out if they can still be used,
> > I'm sure I paid a fortune for them at some specialty store. Any ideas
> > would be appreciated.
>
> I have a plastic container of dried chile flakes, about equivalent to a 14
> oz can. It was half as much for that big jar as it was for one of those
> tiny spice jar size bottles, so it seemed like a good deal. I use a pinch
> of chillies on a dish about once a week. I t is about half empty now, and
> I have had it for at least 15 years. Those chilli flakes are still hot.

I'm using some that came from Egyptian tombs...... just kidding.
Actually I've used some at about five year and they were still amazingly
good!

On Mar 7, 5:23?pm, "timbrel" > wrote:
> Maybe this is silly, but in re-arranging my pantry I find dried
> chipotles, other dried chiles, and sun-dried tomatoes. They are old I
> know, but they look--please don't laugh--lifeless. The dried
> mushrooms, that may or may not be as old, still look good. Is there an
> expiration date? I hate to through them out if they can still be used,
> I'm sure I paid a fortune for them at some specialty store. Any ideas
> would be appreciated.

Did you think like maybe to taste some... if kept dry and in a closed
container they'll probably last more than your life time... I'm sure
they're all perfectly fine. I have a few jars filled with various hot
peppers for at least 40 years, still hot as hell... I have them that
long because they're too hot, I've been hoping they'd cool some.

Sheldon

Sheldon wrote:
>
> On Mar 7, 5:23?pm, "timbrel" > wrote:
> > Maybe this is silly, but in re-arranging my pantry I find dried
> > chipotles, other dried chiles, and sun-dried tomatoes. They are
> > old I know, but they look--please don't laugh--lifeless. The
> > dried mushrooms, that may or may not be as old, still look
> > good. Is there an expiration date? I hate to through them out
> > if they can still be used, I'm sure I paid a fortune for them
> > at some specialty store. Any ideas would be appreciated.
>
> Did you think like maybe to taste some...

That makes no sense, Sheldon. Why would someone
trust their own senses, rather than the collective
wisdom of an entire newsgroup? One person could
be wrong -- she could be deceived by the flavor
and aroma of the goods in question -- but the
nattering nabobs of RFC are entirely objective
because we are _not_ influenced by such factors.
Or something like that. :-)

I forgot to mention earlier that I freeze my dried peppers.

Emma Thackery > wrote:

>I forgot to mention earlier that I freeze my dried peppers.

Would that extend their useful life, or shorten it??

Steve

timbrel wrote:
> Maybe this is silly, but in re-arranging my pantry I find dried
> chipotles, other dried chiles, and sun-dried tomatoes. They are old I
> know, but they look--please don't laugh--lifeless. The dried
> mushrooms, that may or may not be as old, still look good. Is there an
> expiration date? I hate to through them out if they can still be used,
> I'm sure I paid a fortune for them at some specialty store. Any ideas
> would be appreciated.
>
> thanks, Bliss
>

Chiles really loose their punch after a while. When they get that gray
color I think they are down to 10% of their original flavor.

Dried mushrooms last for a really long time and I would just use them as
usual.

In article >,
(Steve Pope) wrote:

> Emma Thackery > wrote:
>
> >I forgot to mention earlier that I freeze my dried peppers.
>
> Would that extend their useful life, or shorten it??


Lengthen it. I vacuum seal them too.

On Mar 8, 1:06�am, (Steve Pope) wrote:
> Emma Thackery > wrote:
>
> >I forgot to mention earlier that I freeze my dried peppers.
>
> Would that extend their useful life, or shorten it??

Probably extend it some but who cares if they last ten years longer,
dried capsiums last probably hundreds of years out in the open anyway,
so long as they're kept well dried. People who live in the arid
regions where they're grown hang them out in the sun for years and
they stay just fine. I had a big bunch of jalapenos I grew hanging in
my kitchen to dry, they were there three years when finally I decided
to crush them, talk about dust and heat... I'll never do that again.
They are still way too hot, at least ten times hotter than the typical
crushed red pepper sprinkled on pizza. I always have to warn folks to
go easy with it.

Sheldon

Emma Thackery wrote:

> > I have a plastic container of dried chile flakes, about equivalent to a 14
> > oz can. It was half as much for that big jar as it was for one of those
> > tiny spice jar size bottles, so it seemed like a good deal. I use a pinch
> > of chillies on a dish about once a week. I t is about half empty now, and
> > I have had it for at least 15 years. Those chilli flakes are still hot.
>
> I'm using some that came from Egyptian tombs...... just kidding.
> Actually I've used some at about five year and they were still amazingly
> good!


Maybe if I used them more I would learn to tell the difference :-)

Should have known that someone would come up with a criticism. What is
it with lists these days? Glad someone didn't notice that I wrote
"through" rather than "throw"!
Now, as it happens I found several packages of peppers. It was late
evening, I was working at the computer anyway, so a message was a fast
way to get opinions and help me decide whether to toss everything (I'm
trying to declutter my life) or do something else. And I enjoy the
discussions here, in any case.
As it happens, what did not occur to me was the suggestion made here
to rehydrate some and taste. My only thought was to hold them longer
and try them in a recipe. So as soon as I get back home I'm going to
try just that. Thanks for everyone' s opinions and guesses. I enjoyed
them.
Now I'm going to post another request for opinions as I decide on a
menu for a dinner party on Saturday.

Bliss

On Mar 8, 12:59 am, Mark Thorson > wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
>
> > On Mar 7, 5:23?pm, "timbrel" > wrote:
> > > Maybe this is silly, but in re-arranging my pantry I find dried
> > > chipotles, other dried chiles, and sun-dried tomatoes. They are
> > > old I know, but they look--please don't laugh--lifeless. The
> > > dried mushrooms, that may or may not be as old, still look
> > > good. Is there an expiration date? I hate to through them out
> > > if they can still be used, I'm sure I paid a fortune for them
> > > at some specialty store. Any ideas would be appreciated.
>
> > Did you think like maybe to taste some...
>
> That makes no sense, Sheldon. Why would someone
> trust their own senses, rather than the collective
> wisdom of an entire newsgroup? One person could
> be wrong -- she could be deceived by the flavor
> and aroma of the goods in question -- but the
> nattering nabobs of RFC are entirely objective
> because we are _not_ influenced by such factors.
> Or something like that. :-)