Did You Know – Food That Doesn’t Expire
Did you know that not all food expires? Here are five foods that don’t expire, how many of these did you know?
SALT:
Salt is a mineral which is one reason it can enjoy an indefinite stay in your pantry without spoiling. Salt has been used to preserve foods (especially meats) for centuries because it’s so effective at inhibiting bacteria; the mineral is able to break down enzymes that help germs grow while also dehydrating food and removing water that bacteria needs to thrive. Its ability to repel water keeps salt unlimitedly useful, though there are some kinds of processed salt that are more likely to deteriorate in quality over time — specifically those with additives such as iodine or anti-caking agents (these kinds are best used in under five years). As for plain salt — it can last forever, especially if kept in a cool, dry place.
VINEGAR:
Most foods produce a noxious smell when they’ve spoiled, but vinegar always smells pretty potent, so it may be hard to use the old-fashioned sniff test to guess at its quality. Luckily, you don’t have to, since vinegar doesn’t expire. Vinegar is a fermented product, created when yeast consume sugars or starches to create alcohol; that byproduct is then exposed to oxygen and a bacteria called Acetobacter, which continues fermenting to create the final acidic product. That acidity actually makes vinegar self-preserving, which is why it generally doesn’t need to be refrigerated. Over time, vinegar can become hazy or develop sediment, particularly a gelatinous substance called “mother,” though that doesn’t mean you need to toss it – in fact, vinegar mothers (aka a colony of healthy bacteria that forms in fermented liquids) can even be used to create a new batch of the multipurpose solution.
WHITE RICE:
White Rice is a great food for long-term storage. White rice — which starts as brown rice but is milled to remove its exterior husk, bran, and germ — keeps best, so long as it’s properly stored away from moisture and pets. At temperatures under 40 degrees Fahrenheit, white rice’s life span pushes upwards of 25 to 30 years, but even when stored at warmer temperatures, it can last up to 10 years if packed with oxygen absorbers. However, not all rice keeps long-term; opened bags should be used within two years, and brown rice lasts about six months at room-temperature storage because of its naturally occurring oils, which can go rancid.
SUGAR:
Sugar has a particularly sweet characteristic: It doesn’t really go “bad.” Granulated sugars (along with some syrups, like corn syrup) are so inhospitable for bacteria that they’re often the primary ingredient used to preserve jellies, jams, and canned fruits. However, like all long-stored pantry staples, helping sugar maintain a long shelf-life means keeping it away from any source of condensation or moisture, which is easily absorbed and can leave behind a hardened block. Even with its ability to last indefinitely, food storage experts say sugar is best consumed within two years of opening. — just another reason to mix up a batch of fresh cookies.
VANILLA EXTRACT:
Pure vanilla extract can be a grocery store splurge, but if your oven is known for taking a hiatus between bursts of baking, it could be worth the extra cost. That’s because real vanilla extract doesn’t spoil thanks to its high alcohol content — over time, it can actually develop a deeper flavor. Imitation vanilla extract, however, has a drastically shorter shelf-life. While real vanilla is created by soaking vanilla beans in alcohol (which acts as a preservative), the flavoring dupe is made from vanillin, a manufactured substance that replicates the sweet and syrupy flavor. On the shelf, imitation vanilla lasts just six to 12 months before beginning to degrade and losing its flavor.
SOURCE: http://www.InterestingFacts.com
Images: WP AI
http://www.InDianesKitchen.com
Share this:
Categories: Did You Know, Rice, Sugar, Vanilla Extract, Vinegar
Thank you for reposting Ned!
Thanks for this. I had never even thought about it. I once used a curry sauce that was seven years past its sell by date – no after effects.
You’re welcome! From everything I read, the only problem after the manufacturer expiration date is it may lose some flavor. If you smell it first, and it smells ok taste it. If it tastes ok probably is. I have used canned goods two years after the expiration date and I’m still here too Derrick. Lol
🙂
Yes, I knew that 🙂
You must spend a lot of time in the kitchen too.
The knowledge that comes from my grandmother 🙂
I didn’t know about pure vanilla extract!
I make my own pure vanilla extract and have for years. I keep a mother bottle in my basement canning room then refill a small bottle in my kitchen. When my mother bottle gets about 1/4 empty I strain it, buy fresh vanilla beans and refill with more Vodka.
good to know
We waste so much food and with the prices today I don’t want to waste anything. Thank you Beth!
Good list, Diane. I did not know that about white rice! I would also add honey to the list, from what I’ve read about it.
Yes honey doesn’t expire, even if it turns solid. We always buy a huge bag of rice and I store it in mason jars. I have hand held vacuum with lids and keep full quart size mason jars full of the rice.
Thank you for the post……Its so informative!
You’re very welcome, have a great day
Thank you!
Thanks, Diane. We are arriving home soon after being gone for 8 months. I always have ingredients to bake chocolate chip cookies (my husband loves them). I thought of throwing them all away until I read this. I will keep the sugar and the vanilla. I’ll check the others for expiration dates. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes when I am home. Thanks!
You’re welcome Betty and safe travels home!
Hmm, 30-year-old white rice. Who’d of thought?
It would never last that long in our house! 🤣
Thanks for the education, Diane. These are good to know.
I have also read that honey keeps virtually forever. A jar of it was (allegedly) found buried with a 5,000-year-old mummy, and its contents were still good. (!)
P. S. A stand-up comedian was chuckling about the trendy sea salt that boasted on its label that it was thousands of years old – and had an expiration date in 2026. lol
Oh yes pure honey never spoils, I actually did a post on that a year or more ago. That is so funny you mentioned the mummy, my husband told me about that too a while back. That is hilarious about the sea salt!
And don’t forget…TWINKIES!!
Haha They wouldn’t expire in my house, down the hatch!
Rather interesting thank you. Don’t know this about rice. 🙏
I store mine in quart sized Mason jars to keep it dry.
That’s good to know. I regularly go through my cupboards and fridge to check the expiry dates but I know some items are still okay after the dates. I just can never remember which ones lol
It’s so easy to forget about food that gets shoved to the back of the refrigerator, I hate wasting food. I try to mark the date purchased on my items like spices, opened sauces etc.
That’s a good idea to mark the dates on them when they were purchased.
That was interesting Diane – you had told me about the longevity of canned items which I had previously thought to throw out in case I got sick from them being expired, so I appreciated that.
They all make sense to me.
Signs of a good cook!
Fascinating to know.
Thanks for stopping by Gina!
Good to know about the rice since we’ve had the same rice on hand for a while now.
We buy large bags then store the rice in Mason jars in the basement.
Wow!!! Okay, I remember “helping” my grandma clean up her kitchen and found a bottle of vanilla extract from 1930! I insisted that she throw it away, but she would not! I was worried about eating anything she cooked… (not really…well, kind of 😜🤫) after all the things she kept that were wild expired. I should say this happened in the 90s.
OMG We went to a family members house a month ago. She gave us salad and all of the dressing expired last year. Your grandma must have had quite the quantity of vanilla extract if she didn’t use it all by now or maybe she stopped baking. 🤣
I think when you grow up extremely poor, it shapes the way you see value in things—you not only learn to save everything, but sometimes you overbuy… maybe even hoard, dare I say! She had the most beautiful glass bottles and containers, the kind that were once staples in every kitchen but are now mostly replaced with plastic. It’s kind of sad, really. But she saved every single one—glass, tin, even the old aluminum ones. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had thousands.
It’s funny how we get obsessed with things. I did that with Beanie Babies when they came out. Piled them in boxes and bags in the basement and never looked at them. One Christmas I donated them (all but the teenie beanies from McDonalds) to a store that gives toys to low income kids at Christmas. I didn’t bother looking up the prices and selling them. My husband just told me a few days ago that he was listening to a podcast and they talked about how poor people become hoarders because they never had anything growing up or in cases like Katrina and people lose everything.
Yes John had a laugh at a box of Sea Salt that had an expiration date. He said – “good thing they didn’t keep that salt in the sea too long it would have rotted”- ha!
Funny but true! Lol
Thanks for sharing!
You’re very welcome!