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Stuff in my Fridge


AndrewM

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I'm just wondering about the shelf life of certain things in my fridge. Like chipotles in adobo. I'll sometimes have them in tupperware in the fridge for quite awhile. How long do they keep?

And chorizo (spanish, not mexican). How long does this stuff keep (unopened, opened)?

When in doubt, I generally toss things in the trash, but I'm sure some things get tossed that don't need to be.

thanks! :smile:

andrew

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I'm just wondering about the shelf life of certain things in my fridge. Like chipotles in adobo. I'll sometimes have them in tupperware in the fridge for quite awhile. How long do they keep?

And chorizo (spanish, not mexican). How long does this stuff keep (unopened, opened)?

When in doubt, I generally toss things in the trash, but I'm sure some things get tossed that don't need to be.

thanks!  :smile:

andrew

Having just finished a 'fridge clearout, I sympathise with you, big time. I like to see the mold and stuff on top - it relieves some of the guilt and answers the question immediately - the rest - like you - I have no idea! I'd love to see all food labelled as one bottle of tomato passata was labelled - "Refrigerate after opening and use within 5 days." Now THAT'S good food labelling.

I do know that for chipotles in adobo sauce - I use what I need and then make little piles of one pepper in a bit of sauce on some foil and cut between the blobs, wrap securely and freeze - voila - I can grab one or more for my next recipe. They thaw very quickly. Hope that helps for your next can!

Anna N

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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I'm shameless. And CHEAP. Unless something has fuzz of an unexpected color growing on it, or is heaving and bubbling, or has exuded a strange gooey fluid when none existed before, or smells like it could be used with a piece of newsprint to clean windows, I keep it and use it until it's gone or develops one of the above conditions. I've never had to toss chipotles in adobo, or UNOPENED packages of chorizo (although I usually keep that in the freezer). My guess is that there are enough natural preservatives (e.g., vinegar; hot pepper) in them that they'll outlast me.

The point about "when in doubt, throw it out" is a good one. I just have a very high threshhold of doubt. :blink: And we've never yet gotten sick from anything I've cooked at home.

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What does not kill you makes you a nice lunch. -Fritz N

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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The chipotles I figured I'm fairly safe with as long as they don't look moldy or start moving. And I did in fact use some last night and survived to tell the tale.

The chorizo I'm less confident with since it's meat. Dry sausages like these are meant to last a long time though, aren't they? The package in my fridge is probably a month or so old, unopened, not labelled with an expiry date or anything like that.

andrew

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Doesn't chorizo--in fact all sausage/salami/etc. have three different states? Wrapped, unwrapped and sliced (the first two states not being different at all for the dry stuff) . . .

I know that the "expiration date" I often see on sealed packages of most sausage/salami are often as far as a year off. And remember, they hang the stuff up intentionally for months before you even get it...

Sliced or unsliced. That's got to make a difference.

Errr . . . I'd say smell it if the package were open and/or the chorizo was pre-sliced for some insane reason inside of the package. But if its not . . . just eat it.

Edited by jhlurie (log)

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

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I definitely go by smell.  If it smells good, it probably is good. :smile:

I am a smell person too, that and a small taste seems to be the best judge of a product past its prime.

I have had chiles en adobo go moldy, so I would use that as a judge.

Anna N thanks for the hint on freezing the chiles en adobo, I will do that next time.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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How long does this stuff keep (unopened, opened)?

What's the temperature of your refrigerator?

Drink!

I refuse to spend my life worrying about what I eat. There is no pleasure worth forgoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward. --John Mortimera

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I do know that for chipotles in adobo sauce - I use what I need and then make little piles of one pepper in a bit of sauce on some foil and cut between the blobs, wrap securely and freeze - voila - I can grab one or more for my next recipe.  They thaw very quickly.  Hope that helps for your next can!

Anna N

So that's how chipotles should be stored! The only addition I would add is rather obvious: toss the foil packets in a zip-lock that's been labelled. And the only question: does the adobo react with the metal enough to cause an off flavor?

The question of how to get my mate, who's from Philly orginally, to come within ten feet of chipotles is, sadly, my own problem.

We'll not discriminate great from small.

No, we'll serve anyone - meaning anyone -

And to anyone at all!

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that's easy.

make a salsa (but use it sparingly)

make the salsa often enough and sooner or later, he'll become acclimated, and voila! lol

I can post a recipe (and also the archive) if you like. But for that to happen, I have to get home first. It's 12:15 am as I type this and I'm still trapped in the office. :sad:

Soba

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What's the temperature of your refrigerator?

Don't know the exact temperature in degrees but I would say quite cold, not a problem.

andrew

Edited to add thanks to Anna as well for the chipotle freezing tip.

Edited by AndrewM (log)
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Don't know the exact temperature in degrees but I would say quite cold, not a problem.

I keep mine at 36F which is about 4 degrees lower than the typical default setting. Things last much longer with that extra 4 degrees. Milk lasts 2-3 weeks past expiration, and very few things get moldy. I do have to be careful with greens, however. Sometimes it'll be too cold for them and they wilt.

Drink!

I refuse to spend my life worrying about what I eat. There is no pleasure worth forgoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward. --John Mortimera

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I, like Suzanne, am shameless and cheap, and I RARELY if ever throw anything away. I scrape mold, I spoon mold and slime, I heat to kill anything I've missed, and I make sure I eat what I buy. A couple of months ago, I was on a sort of quesadilla kick, and ran out of tortillas. While waiting for them to go on sale, my refried beans and my salsa got a bit of the green stuff. I took off what I could see, and threw them into the freezer. I just bought my tortillas and defrosted the two items, MIXED two items in a pot, heated for a good while, and ate my yummy quesadilla again.

Never gotten food poisioning ever, and I really push it with "spoiled" food.

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So that's how chipotles should be stored!  The only addition I would add is rather obvious: toss the foil packets in a zip-lock that's been labelled.  And the only question: does the adobo react with the metal enough to cause an off flavor?

The question of how to get my mate, who's from Philly orginally, to come within ten feet of chipotles is, sadly, my own problem.

I'd thought the same w.r.t. the adobo reacting with the aluminum -- perhaps individual heavy-duty plastic packets would be an alternative?

And Soba's, right, SWW: start with very small amounts of chipotle and gradually increase over time. Your partner's taste will adapt, and soon he'll be asking you to kick that salsa "up a notch"!! :wink:

Oh, and claire797 has a recipe in the archive for a great chipotle and bacon cornbread. Make a batch of that, but use one rather than three chiles to start; and be sure to seed it well.

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