I don’t bother to clean out the expired things because I know my sister or BIL will inevitably need that item and find it for me. My response is ”Oh? Then don’t use it. Sorry.” Sometimes I add ”while you’re at the store, can you also get (whatever)?”

Off the top of my head, I can remember it happening with pain reliever (more than once), neosporin, cocoa powder, and ketchup, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there have been other items.

(This is the same BIL who shows up, every visit, and needs a toothbrush. Since I use an electric, I end up with a stockpile of freebies from my dentist. I guess they don’t have a use by date, or he overlooks it in his need.)

Sue, you are NOT elderly, but nice try!! I, at 80, am elderly!! :)

Last week I found a can of baking powder inadvertently pushed behind some other things — it expired in … a long time ago.

Question: if furniture is considered an antique at 100 yrs, and vehicles at 25 yrs, what food age would be considered an antique?

hhireno I have the same toothbrush stash - no use by dates required!

Jilly I don't want to think about eating antique food and pretty sure the value does not increase with age! Baking powder is my nemesis - infrequently used, almost always out of date. but easily tested and then I'm sometimes off to buy a new can.

Lol, I'm sure there are at least 5 items in my cupboards that are expired. I'll have to check it out tomorrow.

Also, I always have several cans of sweetened condensed milk on hand. I make flan quite often.

My confession - cornstarch 2016 & old bay 2017. But, they say best by, so not technically expired. 😂

You would be amazed at the dates on some of my spices, but if it smells and tastes like it should, I'm going to continue to use it. The poultry seasoning I used at Thanksgiving said sell by Oct 08, but it was still pungent and tasty.

I put spices in a different category - they might not taste as intense as they should but they aren't going to hurt you. You just use a bit more! Kitch4me and Fun2BHere I 'decant' most of my spices so the jars are all the same and fit better in the drawer. - the use by dates disappear!

I had a jar of cornichons in my pantry for eons. I might have moved it a time or two, even. I have no idea what the recipe was that caused me to buy them.

My neice says she doesn’t want the ”best by” date. She wants to know what the ”will kill you” date is!

I don't know if sardines in oil go bad, but I know there's a tin of them in my pantry that I have looked at for the last.....I don't know how many years every time I open the cupboard door. And I really like sardines so don't know why I never ate them.

I make a type of chocolate fudge with condensed milk. I could also eat it right out of the can, but only a few teaspoons because it is very rich/sweet! My mother comes from a country that uses condensed milk for many desserts, so I grew up eating it and still like it.

I had a friend who used condensed milk in her coffee. She would by it by the case when it was on sale.

Ok, I have to win this one! Last week I found a spice jar in our cabinet that expired in 2003. 😮

Sweetened condensed milk: Well, that's for 7-layer cookies. Amazing and I should make some for my kids for the holidays:

I'm sure I have a can of sweetened condensed milk in my pantry sitting next to some evaporated milk. I never use either product (I use heavy cream in my pumpkin pies), I don't know why I have them. They must be expired. Sorting through and checking dates has been on my 'to do' list for a few weeks now - not easy to time since I try to do it when DH is not here and he's retired now, home much more 😁 I'm sure his mother wasted nothing. She had 10 children and must have gone through food like lightening, nothing would have had a chance to get old.

I'll see an interesting type dried pasta and think it would be one to really hold a sauce, buy it and forget it. I've found pastas 'a few years' past their best by dates. I did open a jar of dried dill last week when making a dip that had no scent at all. I had an unopened back up so no quick trip to the store.

I really dislike wasting money on food so I think I'm better now than I used to be, but we've had some major distractions in the last three years so I can't say I'm perfect and I surely have some things to toss.

Does telling you I'm really good with things in my freezer redeem me at all? My larger freezer is manual defrost - on purpose, it keeps food at better quality than self defrosting - and I faithfully defrost it every 6 months. Anything approaching a questionable date gets used - if its a piece of fish or bread that looks decidedly dried out it is tossed.

DH would like to take my car for new tires one day next week. He'll be away. I'll plan a pantry work party and add any true surprises here.

What's an expiration date? I would be shocked if any of my offspring were in my pantry--especially not looking at expiration dates. Probably because they know for most things I don't fall for the gimmick of them. An odd ingredient could be held over/forgotten I suppose but I've never been one to have an overflowing pantry. Another challenge of a small kitchen I suppose, but for the most part what's in there is on the menu this week. Back in the day I regularly made a bar recipie. Basically with a cake mix and sweet and condensed milk you can add a ton of things and get a new taste sensation bar. Quick, easy little fuss no mess.

On one or two occasions 30 or 40 years ago, I made Paul Prudhomme’s creme d’ange. I’ve checked the internet for the recipe with no success, but it doesn’t matter. I’m not likely to make it again. Here is what I remember - pour a can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk into a pie plate. Set the pie plate in a water bath. Cook at 425 for 1 hour 20 minutes. Serve with whipped cream. The sweetened condensed milk caramelizes. It is so sweet that the whipped cream is needed to cut the sweetness. 😬

My favorite easy vanilla ice cream recipe

Right now, I’m on a quest to find and pitch all of the toiletries languishing in the backs of linen closets, medicine cabinets, under sinks, etc, that are so old they’ve turned rancid.

My sister had an ultra organized friend, who isn't a cook, helping her to organize her pantry. She advised my sister to get rid of all but her favorite 8 spices. Yeah, that doesn’t work if you cook.

bbstx I would think the vinegar keeps pickled items safe for a very long time. Cornichons are great on a charcuterie board. A Will Kill You By date - love it! That pie! Ugh my teeth hurt just thinking about it but the ice cream sounds very tempting and easy. For some reason I am very much on top of toiletries - those get pitched faster than food.

schoolhouse I have a can of sardines as well - my son bought them the last time he was here and said they'll be fine till he returns. I will get opened this time so we shall see. Did your friend use sweetened condensed milk or regular unsweetened? The sweet is SO sweet one can would last forever in my coffee.

chispa I wish I liked fudge. Love chocolate but never cared for fudge. I could make some then give it away - not a bad idea!

gigtn that's pretty good but I'm betting there are things in pantries from before the Y2K fiasco!

Mrs S that's the layered thing I was talking about!

morz I am totally with you on non defrosting freezers. We have a small chest freezer but I am not on a schedule like yours - probably should be. What could possibly happen to dried pasta? I don't see how the flavor could even change - could it?

arcy my kids all cook, love to take over the kitchen when they are here and end up looking through everything I have in deciding meals. I also pre-buy in advance of their arrival so we are fully stocked.

ratherbesewing I think you are the winner! I'd keep those just for the labels! Do they have dates on them?

hhireno - Obviously that friend is not a cook - only 8?! In that case organization isn't everything it's cracked up to be. I do alphabetize (mostly) though ;-)

Rather, I can see someone wanting those for display in the Hoosier cabinet or vintage kitchen. They are cute!

In re condensed milk - our Brazilian nannies used to use it in a blender with either avocado or mango for a shake. When my family volunteered in Cambodia at a school, the kids fave treat was a baguette covered in condensed milk. I only use it once a year, for pumpkin custard.

In re 8 spices --- yeah, no, my samosas use that many spice all by themselves!

In re expired foods - not guilty! Simple reason. We usually rent our Maine house when we travel each summer. Before the guests come (same family for several years now), I try to make everything pristine. In the K, I discard anything expired. I also purge anything but pristine hot pads, dishtowels, etc. It's a good discipline for me!

I always seem to have something expired - time flies. I cleaned out my pantry cabinets not too long ago so I don't have anything terribly old - other than my collection of spices in metal containers. I don't use them, just keep the collection since they don't make them like they used to. Another useless thing someone will have to get rid of when I die. I see a lot of them in antique stores - never looked to see what the asking price is - can't imagine anyone would pay much for those.

I had food poisoning a couple of months ago (my fault and boy was I sick) and afterwards I went through all my cupboards and the fridge and got rid of everything that was even just past their best before date.

Now about Quinoa - is the best before date just a suggestion.

We have a nearby food pantry. I go through and clear out MY pantry...often! The neighbor gave me 2 HUGE bags of pine pellet kitty litter. I said I could use it, then looked it over..nah....and donated it. I also tried Borax to soften fabric and new blue jeans...didn't work....donated. I was volunteering, trimming hedges @ the lodge...left for a minute...came back...and there were 6 bags of groceries sitting on the porch. (I called the delivery place, they said, "keep it") Donated! I LOVE Cesar salad dressing. I have a brand I covet. I purchased a case. It expires February 2025....so the other day, I donated half of my case.

Make a Pumpkin pie to use that sweetened condensed milk. I've tried it...it's pretty good! Link to recipe

I try to keep up with the pantry. It isn’t that big so it should be easy. Well, just to prove my point I thought I would double-check before I posted that. Surprise! A bottle of red wine vinegar best by 2014. I know I have looked it up in the past, looked it up again, and supposedly there is no ”kill you” date, that’s why it is still there. I know I used to use rwv for cooking, but now DH does the cooking and he does not use it. In fact, I used to buy and use a lot of ingredients that he doesn’t use, that’s why he also does the grocery shopping.

DH will toss the spices after 12 months.

I’m debating the best-by-2021 unopened, still paper-wrapped, Lea&Perrins.

We are pretty good at using everything but yes, the less frequently used items are another story. @bpath just to let you know, we also had an old"er" bottle of lea& perrins and used it. We actually used it up and went and bought a replacement. Then mistakenly bought another one so this may happen again. haha

Generally though, we are pretty current.

I use sweetened condensed milk to make lime pie, and yet it is very sweet, but not sickeningly. I made this pie often when I had a lime tree in my back yard.

I also use SCM to make Cherry Cream Crunch. I got this recipe from an Orowheat Bakery cookbook, Cooking With Gourmet Grains back in the 1970s. Back then, the SCM cans were 15 oz instead of 14.

When we moved this year, I discovered many pantry items that I had forgotten that I had, but I have kept them for now. I have a lot of Thai curry paste in cans and jars, as well as a lot of spice mixes that I never got around to using. I don't know why I bought so much curry paste, as I generally make my own, and I have a lot of tamarind in various forms, as well as dried and frozen galangal. I had a kaffir lime tree in L.A. and also grew lemongrass, and so those ingredients were always on hand.

oh yes I meant to mention I too have a can of condensed milk and the only time I ve used it was to make key lime pie. I should probably go look and see how old it is. :)

One category that I threw away recently is bandaids. The plastic ones disintegrate after a few years. Who knew?

Canned stuff is good for almost forever unless dented or bulged. Pay no attention to dates.

ETA: after the end of the world, if for some reason I am still alive, I would eat whatever cans ecist.

ooh in the pantry we also have a shelf with OTC meds. That was an adventure. We do buy cold meds and all that stuff. Very rarely do we get sick but when we're sick we want that . Then of course, we overbuy because who wants to be sick with the flu and not have any tylenol or cold/flu meds. But of course, then we have the over supply that expired July 2021.

Same with bandaids.

Since we have advantage plans and they give you OTC spending cards, we are verywell stocked on our OTC needs and actually do periodically go through that stuff as well

I read somewhere that, the worst case with OTC meds is that their effectiveness slowly diminishes... but over 10+years

I pulled a bottle of Trader Joe’s Balsamic Vinegar out of the pantry last week. I don’t know when I used it last, but it is vinegar and IIRC vinegar doesn’t go bad. Well, I had the exception. The sediment that is usually found in the bottom of the bottle - generally just a little bit - had taken over ~1/3 of the bottle! I pitched it after I used a splash for the onions I was sautéing. 😁 I never could find a ”best by” date on it.

bbstx that's the 'mother', not an indication that the vinegar has gone bad. For future info, you can strain that out if you don't like it. It's kind of like sourdough starter - you can start a new batch of vinegar with it. Not harmful.

DLM, I had never seen that much mother in a bottle of vinegar! There wasn’t that much liquid left. Does it grow?

Sure it grows - it's a living thing feeding on the vinegar.

I did read that the aged OTC stuff would not harm but would lose effectiveness. I did not know that it has such a long life. I just figured if I need it, I want it fully helping, not partially.

Years ago I worked with a pharmacist who used to (only half jokingly) say that his kids grew up on expired food and health and beauty aids. and thrived.

The only thing I’ve ever been told by a pharmacist about expired OTC meds is if it smells like vinegar, pitch it.

DLM2000, I don't recall which my friend used - sweetened or unsweetened. She didn't dilute it, which I thought was necessary with condensed milk.

ratherbesewing, those boxes of spices could be sold on Etsy as vintage decor! They would look great on a shelf in my kitchen.

Chispa, I used to make a platter of PB fudge that was so good. It would only give me a headache now from the sugar. Much like the stove top choclate oatmeal PB cookies.

When my dad died 8yrs ago, I thought I would take their pantry items to our financial advisor company's holiday food drive. My guessimate was 4-5 boxes, able to carry size. Nope. One. The freezer was packed to the point of nothing else could fit. I remember giving them leftovers after a November holiday, and Dad said he had the last bit of it over a week later.

I've always been good about keeping pantry items and seasonings organized. Since our pantry is so small (or because my eyes are starting to go) I've started using a Sharpie and writing the MM/YY on cans where easily seen so we can use the closest to expire first.. The pantry is VERY small, so are about to add a small shelf section to the right that matches the left side.

DH hoards unused RXs "just in case." So did my dad. I had a decent sized small box of those to take to the PD for disposal.

I read an article years ago how pantry items that have powder packet should not be eaten after the expiration date because the powder could start growing something, making one sick.

DH hoards unused RXs "just in case." So did my dad. I had a decent sized small box of those to take to the PD for disposal.

Most people do. Good for you for disposing of them responsibly.

In my lifestyle worcestershire sauce gets used once every 5 or 10 years (what did I want it for in the recent past that I discarded my vintage bottle and purchased a new one?) Seems like recipes that call for worcestershire have a bunch of other ingredients, I wonder if it even makes a difference?

bpath please share the secret to "... DH does the cooking and he does not use it. In fact, I used to buy and use a lot of ingredients that he doesn’t use, that’s why he also does the grocery shopping. " That's the stuff my dreams are made of!

@Lars the Cherry Cream Crunch actually sound appealing to me but I don't care for the goo around the cherries in canned pie filling. Wonder if I can use plain canned cherries instead?

In the category of expired OTC meds, I probably hold the record. When my dad died in 2004, I boxed up all his expired meds (HUGE bottles of Tylenol and Advil plus whatever else) when I was cleaning out his retirement apartment. Never got around to disposing of them and the box sat taped up in our basement for 10 years! In 2014 when our house sold in a weekend I went into hyper drive selling, donating, packing and never got around to taking that box to our police station for disposal. Moved the darn thing with us to NC where it sat with lots of other boxes in the house we rented while we built. It wasn't until we moved into our new house in 2017 and I unpacked in earnest that I found it. Drove it to our sheriff's office for disposal. Finally.

DLM, it’s just that he likes to cook, but not follow a recipe, let alone a menu. I actually miss my routine of it.

I have a cold with a cough. As I was digging through the linen closet looking for something to stop the cough, I came across a bottle of Robitussin. It went out of date in 2012, which means I have moved it twice, at least. 🙄

8 cans of pumpkin, no idea. Apparently, I perpetually think I have a shortage. Use 2 or 3 cans a year for muffins or a family favorite cake recipe.

I use condensed milk for chocolate dipped macaroons for Passover. Since one can't save the leftover (and there's always leftover) once the cookies are done, it gets tossed. So there is never an expired can of that in my pantry.

Maybe the only thing guaranteed to not be expired!

I have the worst pantry. Narrow and deep. Things get buried and forgotten. There is always ALWAYS something back there that is expired. By a lot.

Of course, I blame my narrow deep pantry, but if I'm honest there is often expired something or others in my kitchen cabinet too.

I did find a very VERY old jar of peanut butter in my fridge not too long ago. I mean, like maybe from the early 2000s. We don't eat a lot of peanut butter here.

My first goal when I retire next year is to clean and organize every closet/cabinet/corner of my house. Hopefully if you ask me this question again in a couple years, my answer will be very different! Goals!

<Lars the Cherry Cream Crunch actually sound appealing to me but I don't care for the goo around the cherries in canned pie filling. Wonder if I can use plain canned cherries instead?>

You can use plain canned cherries in that recipe. I've made it using my own cherry pie filling recipe using fresh cherries, and you can control the sweetness this way. Canned cherry pie filling can be too sweet. If it comes out too tart by using plain cherries, you can put powdered sugar on top.

Thanks Lars - love the idea of powdered sugar after it cools - that would be so pretty!