Expired Products - Do They Have The Right To A "second Life"

Our days are not a time for particular pickiness, besides, the whole planet is concerned about ensuring the abundance of food in any corner of the planet. This does not mean at all that you should buy expired products or eat obviously spoiled food, risking your own health. However, if you suddenly find an expired product in your refrigerator , do not rush to throw it in the trash.

Many manufacturers (and this is encouraged by the regulatory standards of the food industry, including in Ukraine) put a certain amount of time in the expiration date so that the product does not disappear before its expiration, but retains its nutritional and organoleptic properties. After all, the fact that the expiration date is indicated on the package does not mean that such a product cannot be eaten.

Doug Rush is an American adventurer who opened a special grocery store in Boston, which eventually grew into a whole chain. The uniqueness of these stores is that they sell expired products . After all, if the expiration date indicated on the package has expired, it does not mean that the product cannot be eaten, says Rush.

American expert nutritionist Alan Aaron assures that a change in the usual appearance, smell and consistency of a product is not always a sign of product spoilage to the extent that it cannot be eaten.

Do not rush to throw expired products in the trash: with their help, you can prepare delicious dishes. The main thing is to correctly determine that the products are really suitable for consumption.

Rule #1

The more thermal and chemical processing the food has undergone, the longer its shelf life . Why, you can not worry, even if you have a 50-year-old can of canned pineapples in your hands (of course, if it is not damaged).

Also, the more heat you subjected the product to during cooking, the safer it is.

Rule #2

Always drain the liquid - it is the most favorable environment for the development of bacteria that can cause contamination of the product . Store food products in appropriate packaging and under appropriate conditions — this way you will not only extend their shelf life , but also ensure their safety.

Rule #3

Be guided by your own feelings. The main indicator of the suitability of products for consumption is not the date indicated on the package, but their appearance, smell and taste. Often there are obvious signs of food spoilage - mold, a rotten or sour smell, rotten areas, etc.

Also, don't hesitate to trash moldy yogurts, cheese, cream, sour cream, all kinds of vegetables and fruits with juicy flesh - tomatoes, peaches, mangoes, etc., pieces of bread, meat and meat products, and , juices and compotes, jelly, jam. No matter how bad it is . A moldy product can cause serious food poisoning.

Some types of mold are poisonous and can produce carcinogens that, gradually accumulating in the body, can contribute to the development of cancer. And the mycelium, invisible to the naked eye, penetrates deeply into the layers of the infected product .

Also, be very careful with moldy or blackened nuts and dried fruits, or cereals that have been lying around for a very long time. Even if nuts or dried fruits are simply bitter, it is better to throw them away immediately. Such an aftertaste may be a sign of the presence of aflatoxins (carcinogens).

Milk and dairy products

Expired milk should be allowed to sour - pour the milk into a glass jar, do not seal tightly (just cover with a napkin, etc.), leave for a while. When the milk sours, it can be used to make fritters, pastries, and cheese.

Kefir or yogurt can be consumed even after the expiration date , if it was stored in a closed form in the refrigerator. It will contain less useful substances, but everything else will remain unchanged and safe. Of course, when you open the yogurt, you need to check it for changes in appearance, taste and smell. To be absolutely sure that such a product will not affect your health, prepare a dish from it so that the yogurt undergoes heat treatment. Yogurt can be used for almost any kind of baking, for omelets or pancakes. 8

Cheese

If the homemade cheese is not of the first freshness. But if it hasn't gone rancid and moldy yet, you can make cheesecakes, cheese casserole, and pastries. The longer the cheese is stored, the better it is to prepare a dish from it that will be baked in the oven, rather than, for example, cheesecakes. In this case, it will be processed at a higher temperature, which will make it safer.

Before that, it can be "resuscitated". Put the cheese in a pan, pour boiling water with salt (1 teaspoon per 1 liter of water) and bring to a boil, then strain the cheese using cheesecloth and a colander.

The storage time of hard cheese depends on its variety. Before you are going to consume this or that cheese, check if it has turned yellow, there are no affected areas, and there is no mold. If the product is good, you can safely use it for pizza, pasta, casseroles or pies.

Bread

You can restore the softness of the bread. To do this, wrap it in wet paper and place it in an oven heated to 150ºС for about 3 minutes. The bread will become soft and fresh again, as if freshly baked.

Also, you can cook many dishes from bread. Crackers from stale bread can be added to soup or salad. Or toast delicious croutons, make hot sandwiches. By the way, there are even recipes for casseroles made from stale bread, as well as pastries based on flour from crushed stale bread. In summer, you can try to make homemade kvass. As an option: soak a piece of stale bread in water or milk and grind it in a meat grinder together with minced meat - you will get excellent cutlets. There are many similar recipes with fresh bread.

Another option is to make breadcrumbs from stale bread. Dry the bread in the oven at a low temperature, grind it with a blender or pass it through a meat grinder, and then send it to the oven again for 60 minutes. The shelf life of such crackers is about six months.

If the soup turned out to be very thin - add a small piece of stale bread to it - the consistency of the soup will become thicker.

Meat and meat products

Of course, if the meat, sausage or sausages are rotten, it will be immediately clear by the smell, and in this case they will be sent to the trash. .

It is better to defrost meat that has been stored in the freezer for a long time at room temperature, and then cook it for a long time. When preparing broth, it is better to drain the first portion of boiled water with foam.

Unfrozen meat that has spent a long time in the refrigerator should be thoroughly washed, dried with a towel, cut into pieces and marinated in large pieces, having previously made many holes with a knife.

Canned food

Peeled tomatoes, canned tuna, mackerel, peas, beans, corn, and other canned goods can be consumed even a year after the specified expiration date , if they were stored in appropriate conditions (a dark, cool place). One condition is that the cans must be in perfect condition, without damage or swelling. Canned food must be heat treated before consumption. That is, you can make soup from such canned goods. Sauce for pasta, add to roast, etc.

If the can has deflated, or upon opening it, the product (fish, caviar, vegetables, mushrooms) seemed strange to you - cloudy color, unpleasant smell and color - such canned goods should be thrown away immediately.