Table of Condiments that Periodically Go Bad

[akebono]

an invaluable resource:

That ain't cucumber dressing...

[highchef]

I thought fish sauce was good forever. I mean, how do you know it's gone bad? The smell??

[johnsmith45678]

Interesting chart. But I've used several condiments listed quite a while past what's shown - like soy sauce and worchestershire sauce (both one year).

[chezcherie]

sugar=2 years? what is going to happen to sugar after 2 years? and pepper=4 years? it seems really arbitrary to me (not that i have any 2 year old sugar, but...)

[divalasvegas]

Very amusing chart akebono, definitely to be taken tongue-in-cheek though. For instance, blue cheese going bad in 2 months? Because of the molds used to make the various types of bleu cheese, doesn't it kind of start out "bad" in the first place. And honey going bad in 8 months, well I remember hearing that honey is the only food that never rots, that it's been found by archaeologists at ancient sites and it was still good. I do love how all of the synthetic stuff like saccharine, baco bits, and aspartame seem to have a shelf life of infinity.

[andiesenji]

I have found that some things last much longer than as listed on this site. And I agree with divalasvegas about the staying power of honey.

I have re-liquified honey that has crystalized and was probably at least 10 years old, (the bee people who produced it retired and sold their property that long ago) and it was perfectly good.

I have an unopened (sealed) half-gallon jar of sorghum molasses that was shipped to me from home several years ago. I finished the last of the other container during my pre-holiday baking last November.

Sugar, once refined, does not "go bad" - brown sugar, with its higher liquid molasses content may harden, but it can be grated and used, even when very old, and will be perfectly fine.

Before we had granulated sugar, sugar "loaves" or "cones" were shipped around the world on sailing vesses that might spend two or three years at sea and the sugar may have been stored for many more years before being used.

In fact, sugar actually prolongs the life of some foods.

Some preserves have lasted for many years, as long as they remained well-sealed in a glass container and maintained in proper storage.

Mustard itself has proven to also be a preservative and if properly prepared, canned and maintained, can last for years with no difficulty.

I have a 60-year-old Balsamic vinegar that is exquisite and there are 100-year-old Balsamics available if one wants to pay the price.

(Some people age better than others also.)

Edited July 4, 2006 by andiesenji (log)

[johnsmith45678]

Sugar, once refined, does not "go bad" - brown sugar, with its higher liquid molasses content may harden, but it can be grated and used, even when very old, and will be perfectly fine.

←

Really? Damnit! I've thrown away several bags of brown sugar once they hardened.

I've kept flour around for a long time too. If you keep it sealed well it doesn't appear to get the mealy worms.

[andiesenji]

I can guarantee that a microplane works fairly well on rock-hard brown sugar or on jaggery.

However I have an ancient and rather large, coarse wood-shaping rasp with big teeth that I use because it is flat on one side and curved on the other and one stroke produces a heaping tablespoon of grated sugar.

If you have room in your freezer, place any grain product in the freezer for 48 to 72 hours, allow to come back to room temp and store in a tightly sealed container (I prefer the Cambro containers) with a couple of bay leaves and you will avoid weevils, moths, etc.

I store dried corn and cornmeal, grits, whole wheat, and other grains, seeds and nuts subject to rancidity, in the freezer.

Edited July 5, 2006 by andiesenji (log)

[squids]

Sugar, once refined, does not "go bad" - brown sugar, with its higher liquid molasses content may harden, but it can be grated and used, even when very old, and will be perfectly fine.

←

Really? Damnit! I've thrown away several bags of brown sugar once they hardened.

←

I had to make cookies this weekend in order to use up some old contents in the cupboard...the brown sugar will also soften if nuked in the microwave a few seconds. My only question, is that once it hardens, isn't it actually losing moisture? Couldn't that then effect the measuring and quantity when used in baking? Not that I bake that often, but I know it is more of an exact science than I prefer to wrestle with that often!

[jsolomon]

Bacos?

Yeah, I believe those are a condiment...

[johnsmith45678]

Sugar, once refined, does not "go bad" - brown sugar, with its higher liquid molasses content may harden, but it can be grated and used, even when very old, and will be perfectly fine.

←

Really? Damnit! I've thrown away several bags of brown sugar once they hardened.

←

I had to make cookies this weekend in order to use up some old contents in the cupboard...the brown sugar will also soften if nuked in the microwave a few seconds. My only question, is that once it hardens, isn't it actually losing moisture? Couldn't that then effect the measuring and quantity when used in baking? Not that I bake that often, but I know it is more of an exact science than I prefer to wrestle with that often!

←

Hmm, I don't think so - I've always either never opened the bag, or resealed it well (bag had a zip-lock), so I don't think moisture is getting out. I once had a bottle on honey crystalize on me - could probably be the same process.

[Badiane]

I have been wondering about my fish sauce lately...it's about 2 years old and has developed all these wierd transparent rocks at the bottom of the bottle. But of course fish sauce is soooo expensive that I just keep using it anyway Hasn't killed us yet. But I do wonder what the rocks are all about.

[johannafin]

My fish sauce has rocks in it too! I'm not sure how old it is, but it is well more than two years old. I can use just so much of it, and it comes in large bottles. I have lots of old condiments and spices. I got a bunch from an old boyfriend's parents, that I just couldn't throw out. My currrent boyfriend decided that if the label on the spice box didn't have a zip code, it had to be thrown out. I figured that was a safe rule.

I have been wondering about my fish sauce lately...it's about 2 years old and has developed all these wierd transparent rocks at the bottom of the bottle.  But of course fish sauce is soooo expensive that I just keep using it anyway    Hasn't killed us yet.  But I do wonder what the rocks are all about.

←

[scubadoo97]

I have been wondering about my fish sauce lately...it's about 2 years old and has developed all these wierd transparent rocks at the bottom of the bottle.  But of course fish sauce is soooo expensive that I just keep using it anyway    Hasn't killed us yet.  But I do wonder what the rocks are all about.

←

I suspect the rock may be a salt precipitate.