Out of date cans?

[Decaff]

I think coffee goes stale in an opened jar, Mr D is always moaning about stale coffee at his mothers, she drinks a different blend so every time we go up there she brings out the previous visits jar and its not nice. But sealed in packets "should" be OK, I would do a test on a batch before stocking up at monthly intervals.

[BadgerSE]

I think coffee goes stale in an opened jar, Mr D is always moaning about stale coffee at his mothers, she drinks a different blend so every time we go up there she brings out the previous visits jar and its not nice. But sealed in packets "should" be OK, I would do a test on a batch before stocking up at monthly intervals.

Sounds like a plan. I might buy 10 sachets and go from there.

I think with tea it's a safer bet, so I'm getting the catering bag to add to my stockpile. The bags that are on offer have a BBE of August 2017, so probably good for a few years after that.

[grenfell]

the coffee will set only f it gets damp

Reminds me of an incident many years ago. I don't drink coffee but kept a jar purely for visitors at the time , un married and living alone. Friend turns up one day and for a change asks for a cup of coffee rather than the usual tea. Goes to the cupboard to find the coffee has gone hard in the jar , there's about 2" of solid in the bottom. Not wanting to disappoint I start chipping away with a knife but at one point probably with just a little too much force and end up knocking the bottom out of the jar. Friend went back to tea.
A quick search on the net reckons around 2 years shelf life for tea and coffee but I've had tea bags much older than that without problem.

simple quiet solution to set coffee , pour in hot water so soften it then guess

Yes that occurred to me , and I've done it with other things in the past, but being let's face it mean , I didn't want to waste a whole two inches of coffee just to make one cup.

[preparedsurrey]

I've do that in the past when the coffee has got a bit damp, instant coffee does go stale once opened reasonably quickly. Ground stuff to use in a percolator seems to last much much longer once open.

[DustyDog]

I seem to remember reading, (may have been here) that someone was given cans of corned beef from the war in the the early seventies and apart from not having much taste, was completely safe to eat, i have just found a jar of cook-in-sauce, a year out of date and some cans of rice pud, several months gone, the pud is just fine, as someone else has said, bbe's are just a way of making more profit.

[jansman]

Best before dates are just that - what it means is,this product is at its best ,taste and nutritionally,before this date.It is still edible,but not as good or pleasant.

It is not a money making scam.

OTOH ,the USE BY date is just that,as it is attached to high risk foods,usually pre cooked,ready- to - eat. If you choose to eat it beyond that date then that's your lookout.The legal angle has been covered by the manufacturer.

You may see DISPLAY UNTIL,often on fruit and veg,but that is a retail thing.

And please ,please remember,there is NO such thing as a SELL BY date,and has not since the 1991 Food Safety Amendment.

[Jamesey1981]

Quite often best before dates are down to the packaging too, take plasters for example, they have a best before date not because they're going to go off, but because that's the length of time that the manufacturer can be reasonably sure it will remain sterile in its packaging, I would guess a similar thing goes for tins, like others I don't worry about eating a can long past its date as long as the contents aren't under pressure and it smells ok, just watch for major dents as you can make a hole without realising it or damage the plastic coating inside the can if it has one, causing the food to spoil, so if you have dented tins then it's worth using them soonish rather than storing them long term just to be on the safe side.

Also if a can is dented then it's more likely to lose its label, mystery cans are a pain!

[Brambles]

Quite often best before dates are down to the packaging too, take plasters for example, they have a best before date not because they're going to go off, but because that's the length of time that the manufacturer can be reasonably sure it will remain sterile in its packaging, I would guess a similar thing goes for tins, like others I don't worry about eating a can long past its date as long as the contents aren't under pressure and it smells ok, just watch for major dents as you can make a hole without realising it or damage the plastic coating inside the can if it has one, causing the food to spoil, so if you have dented tins then it's worth using them soonish rather than storing them long term just to be on the safe side.

Also if a can is dented then it's more likely to lose its label, mystery cans are a pain!

I always write contents and BBE date on the tin in marker pen after having several 'mystery tin' surprises.