Following directions can be difficult (and sometimes confusing), particularly when it comes to following use-by dates on packaged foods. Are you a fly-by-the-seat- of-your-pants person or are you a stickler about sticking to those dates?
We looked at a variety of sources to do a bit of use-by-date decoding. Then, we turned to our trusty experts to see where they stand when we asked them: Do you always follow use-by dates? The answers may surprise you…or maybe not!
“We try to be as safe as possible with our food, so we always toss perishables by their use-by date. We have, however, heard that eggs are the one thing that you can keep past their date — so we tend to be a little less strict about those!” – Editors at Food52 [1]
“I generally follow dates for vulnerable foods, such as packaged hummus, but I have found many preserved foods that continue to pose no threat and are palatable beyond their expiration dates.” – Sharon Palmer, The Plant-Powered Dietitian [2]
“No, I use my senses to let me know if something is off.” – Melissa Clark, food columnist for the New York Times and cookbook author [3]
“No. It depends on the food. Storage and temperature conditions can extend the life of the food. When it comes to really risky foods though, like deli potato salad, I follow the use-by dates.” – Michelle Dudash, RDN and chef consultant [4]
“I usually don’t have to unless it’s dairy because we make so much from scratch. But, I think those dates are usually pretty generous so I recommend following them.” – Ana Sortun, chef, restaurateur and cookbook author [5]
“I do with milk and cream but I fudge a little with eggs. Well I take that back… My husband grew up on a chicken farm where they sold eggs. He’s kind of a stickler about respecting the dates on egg cartons and always talks about how they used to make a hole in the fresh eggs when they were kids and he and his brother would suck the fresh egg out of the shell. He said the flavor was super sweet. I decided that if I went beyond the use-by date, the eggs wouldn’t be sweet anymore. Plus I love buying fresh eggs at the farmer’s market. They taste so much better!” – Joan Weir, chef, restaurateur and cookbook author [6]
After hearing where the experts stand now we want to hear from you: do you follow use-by dates?
Links
[1] http://food52.com/
[2] http://www.sharonpalmer.com/
[3] http://www.melissaclark.net/
[4] http://www.michelledudash.com/
[5] http://www.oleanarestaurant.com/team.asp
[6] http://www.joanneweir.com/index.php