Stored Milk gone wrong...

[jennyjj01]

I have a stash of powdered milk which is unsurprisingly wayyyyy past BBE. Three sorts....

Sainsburys skimmed milk in sachets BBE Dec 2019
Tesco skimmed milk in 'tubs' BBE Apr 2018
Nido full fat in cans. manufactured 2018: BBE Aug 2020

I'm working through some of the NIDO and it's flawless. Tonight, I opened a tub of the tesco stuff to try it.

Oh Boy, was that stuff expired!!!!!

Opened to find a shrunken lump of 'plaster'. dark ivory in colour. I crumbled some off and tried to dilute it. Pah. It was having none of it. just sat like a gritty suspension that was decidedly dark plaster coloured. Though it did not smell, I was not tempted to taste it.

Next up, the Sainsbury sachet. this was OK!
Came out of the satchet just like powdered milk. Dissolved easily with a bit of a stir. Tasted like milk. If anything it was a bit frothy.

So. Those Tubs..... Sort of plasticised foil like inner and outer, but fundamentally cardboard. There was no inner bag. Theye were not visibly damaged.

A quick check of the pantry revealed that gravy granules, custard powder, drinking chocolate and nutritional yeast extract use those cardboard 'pretend' cans. Avoid, or decant into air tight containers or vac pack unless you intend to use promptly.

Sachets seem to last longer, being non permeable, though I have had sachets of biryani go bad.

[Frnc]

Seems risky. I don't really see the point. I rarely eat anything past the date. I am using some Knorr Zero salt veggie stock cubes about 3 months past best before date, as I bought 8 on ebay and they arrived with only a few months before date.

Best before is only an advisory, you can use your judgement. Use by is totally different, and should be stuck to. It seems most things only have a best before date, but I could be wrong. I usually only look at the date, and only see which kind of date it is if I'm thinking of going over.

Best to keep track, rotate, use within date, and not have massive stockpiles in my opinion. I probably need to up my stocks a bit, as I seem to be gaining a bit of space in the cupboard. I don't keep ordinary food on shelves any more, only things like parsely sauce mix and vegetarian gravy powder, and things like psyllium husk powder and inulin, which come in big bags, and get decanted into smaller plastic tubs.

[jennyjj01]

Seems risky....
Best before is only an advisory, you can use your judgement. Use by is totally different, and should be stuck to. It seems most things only have a best before date, but I could be wrong. I usually only look at the date, and only see which kind of date it is if I'm thinking of going over.

Best to keep track, rotate, use within date, and not have massive stockpiles in my opinion....
I don't keep ordinary food on shelves any more, only things like parsely sauce mix and vegetarian gravy powder, and things like psyllium husk powder and inulin, which come in big bags, and get decanted into smaller plastic tubs.

All true, of course. Massive stockpile: Yes. Guilty as charged
I've confessed my stock rotation failings and I try to do better, but powdered milk was outside of stock rotation because it's not in my regular diet.

'Use by' is only ever on very short life, fresh or deli produce. Seldom seen, nowadays.

I've happily used cans six years past BBE, but equally, I've chucked some clearly degraded products even before BBE.

There is typically some conspicuous degradation in tinned soups etc after five years. Soups go gloopy and sauce jars may separate or crystalise, but are usually fine after a shake and stir. I trust the warning 'pop' button on jars and cans as my defense against the deadly botulism. I also chuck rusted cans or any that have gone grey inside.

I too, keep most perishable boxes and tubs in the precious kitchen cupboard with only two of each kind of canned food. This powdered milk was an exception. All other canned food is in the less accessible storage space and gets rotated in quite well. Some cartons and bags get vacuum wrapped or decanted before storing away.

My point to the original post was to be aware that these 'pringle type' tubs are porous and not shelf stable.

I don't regret my three tubs of powdered milk going to waste. They were bought at the start of my prepping journey and served as insurance. They'll be replaced by sachets now I know how much longer they last.

[GillyBee]

I have had a few things go over but not too many. I dont worry about mylar but do have a good dry steady temperature.
Dried yeast now lives in the fridge and even then only has 18 months shelf life. If SHTF I think the best bet will be a continuous sourdough starter. Ditto for yoghurt starters.
Dried tomato powder just oxidises into a solid lump. Tomato paste seems better for me.
My dried milk has been fine in all container types but these days it is mostly NIDO.
I did once get weevils in the pasta so that does need to be well sealed and oxygen free to keep.
Grains and beans all seem fine but may need pressure cooking to soften properly as they age. I have only had trouble with one batch of gram flour that got damp. I do now wrap paper bags with plastic.
Tinned fish may be technically safe but can get unpleasant as it ages. I no longer keep as much as I did as we dont use it fast enough.
Syrup was a problem in tins but is fine in the squeezy bottles. The tin didn't last 6 months unopened before the seam leached into the syrup. Honey in glass jars is no problem.
Sugar/Salt/Bicarb of soda/Citric acid all seem to keep forever.
Tea may lose a little flavour but was fine.
Veg and olive oil can do 2-3 years without blinking if kept dark and cool. Probably longer but we use it all.

[jennyjj01]

Dried yeast now lives in the fridge and even then only has 18 months shelf life. If SHTF I think the best bet will be a continuous sourdough starter. Ditto for yoghurt starters.

I keep mine two years if it's in sachets. I buy separate beer and wine yeast as that expires before the cans or syrups they're with.

Dried tomato powder just oxidises into a solid lump. Tomato paste seems better for me.

I've had tubes of puree go really bad before BBE.

I did once get weevils in the pasta so that does need to be well sealed and oxygen free to keep.

OOPS. I better check that.

Grains and beans all seem fine but may need pressure cooking to soften properly as they age.

I've had chickpeas go too hard and ropey.

Tinned fish may be technically safe but can get unpleasant as it ages.

I never noticed that. Should probably check.

Tea may lose a little flavour but was fine.

Here I'm very successful at rotating.

Veg and olive oil can do 2-3 years without blinking if kept dark and cool. Probably longer but we use it all.

Olive oil can sort of separate and look well dodgy with temp fluctuation. warm it up just a little and it recovers.

I will give some thought to a full bodied separate 'food storage/longevity' thread.

[Omega]

I regularly get calls from some exotic countries like Qatar, UAE etc asking me if I want going there for a year. This is when I realise that my food stock is a burden because it needs rotation, sorting and review
That’s why I decided to gradually replace my food with freeze dried and maybe keep up to 1 month worth of canned food that is anyway in rotation - pickles, flour, some beans, pasta, tinned fish, tomato paste, powders like protein, husk and broccoli etc
My biggest worry is what I will do with my alcohol as I have quite a bit of homemade wine and ale

[mcprepper]

I have exactly the same problem with powdered milk - because I don’t actually use it, it’s not part of my stock rotation. I’ve quite a few tubs about to reach their BB so I need to start being a bit more inventive. I also find it goes damp wherever I store it (same with custard powder and gravy granules). I like the idea of using it in cooking (cheese sauces etc) so I might try that. Some tinned stuff I use all the time (chopped toms/chick peas/kidney beans/baked beans etc) so I’ve been experimenting with my cooking recently to try to help rotation of the things I basically don’t use:
1. Tinned potatoes - now being added to curries - I used to add chopped, boiled potatoes but you can’t taste the difference with all the spices!
2. Condensed soups - being used as a base for casseroles in the slow cooker.
That type of thing. All suggestions welcome!
But Spam - oh dear God why did I buy Spam …?!

[mcprepper]

I never have a worry with what to do with alcohol
I do have exactly the same problem with powdered milk - because I don’t actually use it, it’s not part of my stock rotation. I’ve quite a few tubs about to reach their BB so I need to start being a bit more inventive. I also find it goes damp wherever I store it (same with custard powder and gravy granules). I like the idea of using it in cooking (cheese sauces etc) so I might try that. Some tinned stuff I use all the time (chopped toms/chick peas/kidney beans/baked beans etc) so I’ve been experimenting with my cooking recently to try to help rotation of the things I basically don’t use:
1. Tinned potatoes - now being added to curries - I used to add chopped, boiled potatoes but you can’t taste the difference with all the spices!
2. Condensed soups - being used as a base for casseroles in the slow cooker.
That type of thing. All suggestions welcome!
But Spam - oh dear God why did I buy Spam …?!

[mcprepper]

Sorry for double post - brain not working …

[ForgeCorvus]

Mcp: I'll have you know that some of us (sick puppies) actually like spam

You can always send me your spam mountain, I'll trade you a double handful of .700 lead balls and a pack of heirloom chilli seeds or fishhooks per flat or a bowie/hogback seax made from a smith's rasp for three flats..... Hang on, we're not PAW bartering yet are we?