Near-death experiments in food

[NT2C]

Oatmeal.

This can was gifted to me by a former girlfriend, back in 2001, so I guess it qualifies as an adult cereal now.  Tasted and smelled just fine.

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I suppose this also means that, in the ZPAW there will be oatmeal cookies.  Might want to look twice at the "raisins" though.

[Ever (Zombiepreparation)]

Tried some 10 year old freezer food I've been hanging onto.

Sharp cheddar cheese cubes I'd made from a larger block. Each piece haphazardly cut to one bite, not securely wrapped in wax paper tossed into ma Ziploc.
Very freezer dehydrated. Almost dusty rather than typical. Taste was good enough for camping trail food.


And some at least 10 year old breaded chicken bits stuffed into a good freezer container although the moisture release made them look sorta like they were packed in ice. Again not bad edible but wouldn't call them tasty.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Oatmeal.

This can was gifted to me by a former girlfriend, back in 2001, so I guess it qualifies as an adult cereal now.  Tasted and smelled just fine.

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I suppose this also means that, in the ZPAW there will be oatmeal cookies.  Might want to look twice at the "raisins" though.

I look twice at raisins even now.

Too many times have I had trail mix from Walmart and thought I was eating raisins when they actually were cranberries.

[Ever (Zombiepreparation)]

Last night ate a 12 year old can of peach slices. Would have needed to eat alongside a fresh can to notice any difference in smell, taste, or texture. No negative physical reactions noticed. 👍

[NapalmMan67]

Found another jar of Corn Relish from 2009, opened and ate some of it yesterday.

Also had a can of chicken noodle soup dated "Best by 2013".  Still kickin today...  
.

[NT2C]

Pasta with sweet Italian sausage and tomato sauce tonight.  This is the pasta the wife got me from the pantry:

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[majorhavoc]

Since expiration dates figure prominently in this thread, I thought I'd submit this. 

NPR Planet Money - Best by, sell by, use by

Whatever your feelings are about NPR, if you stay the hell away from their overtly political coverage, they cover some universally interesting subjects.  I find their financial and economic (and arts/culture) coverage in particular to be presented in an accessible, informative and entertaining way. 

I heard this piece when it first aired back in July.  I caught it again today as part of NPR's retrospective of the year's coverage.  It's very enlightening and appropriate for this thread.

[NT2C]

Since expiration dates figure prominently in this thread, I thought I'd submit this. 

NPR Planet Money - Best by, sell by, use by

Whatever your feelings are about NPR, if you stay the hell away from their overtly political coverage, they cover some universally interesting subjects.  I find their financial and economic (and arts/culture) coverage in particular to be presented in an accessible, informative and entertaining way. 

I heard this piece when it first aired back in July.  I caught it again today as part of NPR's retrospective of the year's coverage.  It's very enlightening and appropriate for this thread.

I've been preaching this for decades.  Most people shrug it off as me not knowing what I'm talking about.

[NT2C]

Test subject: Mrs. NT2C

Product: Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut granola bars (peanut flavor)

Best by: 01/01/15

I'm keeping an eye on her.  No signs of distress...yet.

[majorhavoc]

One of the prepping activities I posted in EBuff75's 30 Days of Prepping - 2023 thread was going through my criminally neglected get home bag (GHB), which lives permanently in my car.  So let me preface this by pointing out that it is therefore stored for years in the wild temp extremes you'd expect from a daily use, non-garaged vehicle in northern New England.  Sub zero overnight temps in the winter to 130 deg and higher left out all day in the summer heat with the windows rolled up. 

Based on the ancient "best by" dates on some of my GHB food supplies, it was well past time to rotate them for fresh stocks.  Rather than just tossing the old rations like any sane individual would, I, my fellow UFoZSer's and/or the morbidly curious, undertook to consume said highly questionable food items as part of my 30 Days of Prepping activity for today: a 4 mile backwoods hike and picnic - sort of a mock day trip bug out.  Where I accurately modeled the levels of dire need and extreme desperation that would motivate someone to consume expired foods such as these. 


First the setting: a lovely stream coursing over an outcropping of granite, spilling down into a secluded pool, complete with a sandy bank.  The perfect spot for rest and respite sorely needed by a lone prepper fleeing some cataclysm to an undisclosed bug out location ...

 

Said bug out began at home, so this refugee pressed his GHB into service as a bug out bag (not really, I just threw the expired food items along with a spare camp stove into a day pack - I'm spinning a yarn here, people.  Stay with me ...).  Severely regretting not keeping his emergency supplies more current, our tired and frightened prepper pulls out:

• Trader Joe's Indian Madras Lentils: seemed like a good idea for a shelf stable, heat and serve lunch item.  Best by: Sep 30 2020.
• Old El Paso Flour Tortillas ("Super Soft"!) in resealable package. This is probably a lot closer to the unleaven bread that Moses and his tribe fled Egypt with than what is called matzo today.  "Better if used by": 17JUL20
• Belvita Golden Oat Breakfast Crackers.  Best by: 07MAY2019.  Ouch.
• Smuckers single use creamy peanut butter packs.  No idea of the best buy date, but I probably pinched these from a hotel breakfast bar somewhere, likely no later than early 2020 and possibly a LOT earlier than that.

As I type this 5 1/2 hours later with no ill effects, I can report that either I have the constitution of a goat, or this food was still safe and nourishing. 

The Madras Lentils were tasty and hearty; but not nearly as Indian spiced as I had hoped.  Age-related flavor diminishment maybe?  Wish I had brought a pack of hot sauce or something.  Still it was quite satisfying heated up and served on the:

Flour tortillas.  The July 2020 best by date means I purchased them no later than January, 2020, likely earlier.  3 years out of date and except for being just a touch drier than freshly bought, they were perfectly fine.  It's not even one of those tear off the top edge and reseal with a zip lock strip packages either.  It's the kind of resealable package that's just two overlapping edges of a slit up the side that you pull apart and then press to reseal.  I have no good explanation why it holds up so well, except maybe the potassium sorbate and calcium propionate listed as preservatives.  Better living through chemistry! 
 
Belvita Breakfast crackers.  These did exhibit evidence of being past prime.  But mostly with the texture (crumbly and soft, rather than crisp and rigid).  Taste was maybe just this side of stale but still perfectly edible.  They're basically just a peanut butter delivery system anyway.  And PB covers up a multitude of flavor sins.

Smuckers Peanut Butter.  It's PB - does this stuff ever go bad?  Seems like it should eventually go rancid or something.  But I've eaten far older PB than this, and it never tastes any different than the day you buy it. 

 

[echo83]

One of the prepping activities I posted in EBuff75's 30 Days of Prepping - 2023 thread was going through my criminally neglected get home bag (GHB), which lives permanently in my car.  So let me preface this by pointing out that it is therefore stored for years in the wild temp extremes you'd expect from a daily use, non-garaged vehicle in northern New England.  Sub zero overnight temps in the winter to 130 deg and higher left out all day in the summer heat with the windows rolled up. 

Based on the ancient "best by" dates on some of my GHB food supplies, it was well past time to rotate them for fresh stocks.  Rather than just tossing the old rations like any sane individual would, I, my fellow UFoZSer's and/or the morbidly curious, undertook to consume said highly questionable food items as part of my 30 Days of Prepping activity for today: a 4 mile backwoods hike and picnic - sort of a mock day trip bug out.  Where I accurately modeled the levels of dire need and extreme desperation that would motivate someone to consume expired foods such as these. 


First the setting: a lovely stream coursing over an outcropping of granite, spilling down into a secluded pool, complete with a sandy bank.  The perfect spot for rest and respite sorely needed by a lone prepper fleeing some cataclysm to an undisclosed bug out location ...

 

Said bug out began at home, so this refugee pressed his GHB into service as a bug out bag (not really, I just threw the expired food items along with a spare camp stove into a day pack - I'm spinning a yarn here, people.  Stay with me ...).  Severely regretting not keeping his emergency supplies more current, our tired and frightened prepper pulls out:

• Trader Joe's Indian Madras Lentils: seemed like a good idea for a shelf stable, heat and serve lunch item.  Best by: Sep 30 2020.
• Old El Paso Flour Tortillas ("Super Soft"!) in resealable package. This is probably a lot closer to the unleaven bread that Moses and his tribe fled Egypt with than what is called matzo today.  "Better if used by": 17JUL20
• Belvita Golden Oat Breakfast Crackers.  Best by: 07MAY2019.  Ouch.
• Smuckers single use creamy peanut butter packs.  No idea of the best buy date, but I probably pinched these from a hotel breakfast bar somewhere, likely no later than early 2020 and possibly a LOT earlier than that.

As I type this 5 1/2 hours later with no ill effects, I can report that either I have the constitution of a goat, or this food was still safe and nourishing. 

The Madras Lentils were tasty and hearty; but not nearly as Indian spiced as I had hoped.  Age-related flavor diminishment maybe?  Wish I had brought a pack of hot sauce or something.  Still it was quite satisfying heated up and served on the:

Flour tortillas.  The July 2020 best by date means I purchased them no later than January, 2020, likely earlier.  3 years out of date and except for being just a touch drier than freshly bought, they were perfectly fine.  It's not even one of those tear off the top edge and reseal with a zip lock strip packages either.  It's the kind of resealable package that's just two overlapping edges of a slit up the side that you pull apart and then press to reseal.  I have no good explanation why it holds up so well, except maybe the potassium sorbate and calcium propionate listed as preservatives.  Better living through chemistry! 
 
Belvita Breakfast crackers.  These did exhibit evidence of being past prime.  But mostly with the texture (crumbly and soft, rather than crisp and rigid).  Taste was maybe just this side of stale but still perfectly edible.  They're basically just a peanut butter delivery system anyway.  And PB covers up a multitude of flavor sins.

Smuckers Peanut Butter.  It's PB - does this stuff ever go bad?  Seems like it should eventually go rancid or something.  But I've eaten far older PB than this, and it never tastes any different than the day you buy it. 

 

This is awesome, thanks for posting it up! I live in a similar climate and treat my GHB the same. The only big difference is that I have lifeboat rations (criminally heavy, but shelf stable and actually likely to be eaten by my picky kids) and Mountain House (criminally delicious, and actually likely to be eaten by me unless stored out of reach in my GHB.)

The only food that I pack that can actually expire is Clif bars, which I kind of cycle out on a kind of regular basis. You've definitely inspired me to try some more "real" foods, as my wife would call them. 

I take my GHB on every hike, whether it's 500 yards or 4 miles, but I've only ever made hot cocoa for the kids on a hike. They love Belvita and peanut butter, so I'll throw some in for the next walk in the woods. 

Are those lentils boil-in-bag? Or did you take them out of the pouch before cooking?

[majorhavoc]

a 4 mile backwoods hike and picnic - sort of a mock day trip bug out.  Where I accurately modeled the levels of dire need and extreme desperation that would motivate someone to consume expired foods such as these. 
[snip]

• Trader Joe's Indian Madras Lentils: seemed like a good idea for a shelf stable, heat and serve lunch item.  Best by: Sep 30 2020.

This is awesome, thanks for posting it up! I live in a similar climate and treat my GHB the same. The only big difference is that I have lifeboat rations (criminally heavy, but shelf stable and actually likely to be eaten by my picky kids) and Mountain House (criminally delicious, and actually likely to be eaten by me unless stored out of reach in my GHB.)

Criminally heavy maybe, but you then save weight not needing a stove or cooking pot. Lifeboat rations are designed to be absolutely the most calorie-dense and minimal volume form of nutrition. So "heavy" only means "less heavy than if you tried to have the same caloric intake in a form that requires supplemental heat/water to make editable."

but I've only ever made hot cocoa for the kids on a hike. They love Belvita and peanut butter,

That's what it's all about, brother.   

Are those lentils boil-in-bag? Or did you take them out of the pouch before cooking?

[dope slap] Well ... yeah. That sure would have been swell if I thought to boil them right in their bag, huh?  I could have even used unfiltered water from that stream ... 

No, I confess that [embarrasingly] didn't occur to me - I emptied the pouch into that little cook pot. Burnt the bejessus out of the inside bottom of the pot too, because I didn't stir it enough.  And then spent 10 minutes using that river sand to scour the pot clean. 



RE: your 30 Days of Prepping thread.  That's one part of why it's such a good idea and you need to do it every year: when people like me post something to your thread, it makes us realize there's a whole topic here that will add to the knowledge base here at UFoZS.com.  The very best forum threads are the ones that spark good discussion and spin off topics.

[EBuff75]

RE: your 30 Days of Prepping thread.  That's one part of why it's such a good idea and you need to do it every year: when people like me post something to your thread, it makes us realize there's a whole topic here that will add to the knowledge base here at UFoZS.com.  The very best forum threads are the ones that spark good discussion and spin off topics.

That was actually the point behind the original 30 Days 30 Ways as well.  It was designed to be a social thing, where you would share what you were doing each day, both to encourage one another and also to get ideas from what other people were doing.  I'm really glad that other people are joining in and adding more threads!  This is great!

[Rednex]

I used to get the Jif peanut butter singles for lunch, bags. I found the oil would sperate after a umm 2 months or so and make then unappetizing ,but edible.

I get the Belvita's  for my daily lunch snacks at work. I found Nature Valley granola bar biscuits with peanut butter or almond butter. They have replaced the Belvita. I need to check the shelf life  on the 2.

BRB

Ok so the Nature Valley look to have about a 6 month longer shelf life then the Belvita's from what's in my pantry.

[EBuff75]

I found on of those Kraft Mac & Cheese cups in my pantry today that had a use by date of June 2015 and had it for lunch.  So far so good.  The taste is a little off from what I remember, but it's been many years since I ate one of these, so it might be normal.  Still, it wasn't bad.  Given the ultra-processed nature of this "food" I'm not surprised that it has survived well beyond the official date!

[flybynight]

I found on of those Kraft Mac & Cheese cups in my pantry today that had a use by date of June 2015 and had it for lunch.  So far so good.  The taste is a little off from what I remember, but it's been many years since I ate one of these, so it might be normal.  Still, it wasn't bad.  Given the ultra-processed nature of this "food" I'm not surprised that it has survived well beyond the official date! 

And on the plus side. Even if it kills you. Embalming won't  probably be needed. 

[majorhavoc]

I was replacing an inner tube on my bicycle the other day and discovered an old Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Clif bar crammed into my seat bag where I stash tire levers and other roadside tools.  Best buy date of 26MAY21, so 2 winters in my unheated storage shed that also gets quite stuffy in the summer.

Ate it yesterday and it was fine, if a bit misshapen and a little sticky.  Makes me realize that Clif bars are perfectly fine as high energy emergency food for bug out bags, 72 hour kits, etc.  I have little doubt they're good for at least 3 years, which isn't too shabby compared to the 5 year shelf life of specialized survival rations like Datrex, SOS, UST, etc.  Bet they taste better too.

[MacWa77ace]

NICE @majorhavoc !
Cold and freezing conditions are usually not detrimental to food preservation. I give you... the 'fridge.


I think if I left it in my garage in the summertime it would have slow cooked, heat and pressure expanding the wrapper until it popped and then the contents would have been eaten by ants.

When I'd find it, two years later, I'd be asking why I left an empty wrapper in there. 

[echo83]

I was replacing an inner tube on my bicycle the other day and discovered an old Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Clif bar crammed into my seat bag where I stash tire levers and other roadside tools.  Best buy date of 26MAY21, so 2 winters in my unheated storage shed that also gets quite stuffy in the summer.

Ate it yesterday and it was fine, if a bit misshapen and a little sticky.  Makes me realize that Clif bars are perfectly fine as high energy emergency food for bug out bags, 72 hour kits, etc.  I have little doubt they're good for at least 3 years, which isn't too shabby compared to the 5 year shelf life of specialized survival rations like Datrex, SOS, UST, etc.  Bet they taste better too.

I ate a 2021 Clif Bar this week too! 

It was from my GHB, which was sitting in the back of my car. The rollercoaster of New England temps over the last 2 years has been indescribable. 

Very hard texture, but tasted absolutely fine. It was one of the chocolate espresso flavors with 60 mg of caffeine. Maybe it's psychological, but the caffeine definitely seemed more intense. 

[slipkid42]

Instant oatmeal packet, apple cinnamon.  Best by date10/21. Are it this morning no I'll effects.  Tasted slightly cardboardy but otherwise fine.