On 1/22/2011 11:53 PM, Julie Bove wrote:
> I have eaten "best by" things that were past their date. Some seemed to
> taste fine. Others, like chips, did not. I just ate sourdough bread that
> expired on the 18th. It wasn't moldy but was a bit dried out. Would have
> been fine for toast or a grilled cheese sandwich. But it was kind of
> crumbly for my turkey sandwich.
>
> I have bought the kind of cheese that was cut from a big wheel. It tends to
> go moldy if much past the "sell by" date. I used to buy a flaxseed bread
> that I could never eat all of before it expired. It was always moldy by the
> "sell by" date and often moldy three days before! I quit buying it.
>
> Would I take expired food if someone gave it to me because it was free?
> Nope. But I have seen people who would. Example, some kind of potato chips
> at my daughter's dance studio. They could not sell them because they were
> expired but employees there were eating them and they were also offered to
> me.
>
> When I did eat the expired chips, I didn't realize they were expired until I
> tasted them. They were not very crisp and had a dull flavor.


Bread is completely different. I don't think bread left out even in a
bread box storing system is good for keeping it more than a day. I
freeze bread as soon as I get it home and thaw as needed.

Cheese also is a food I don't leave for long. I vacuum seal portions
and cut them open to use, then seal again.

The only foods I'm referring to that are past their "best by" date are
canned foods, or prepared foods. I admit to using Hamburger Helper on
occasion, and I made one up from a box that was "expired" and in that
case, it wasn't consumable. It was horrible.