Cookies, Crackers and Chips
The stale taste of cookies or chips becomes very noticeable as they age. However, if it doesn’t smell funny (the oils in the cookie can spoil over time) and doesn’t break apart in your hands, you can eat it.
Chocolate can keep well past its best before date, depending on the quality, storage conditions, and whether or not the package is opened. Your chocolate goods should ideally be stored at a temperature of no more than 21ºC (70ºF) in a dry, cool environment. Semisweet chocolate chips can be kept for two to four months after the printed date in the pantry, for six to eight months in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container, and for two to three years in the freezer. After the printed date, milk chocolate can be stored in the freezer for up to eight months. Additionally, don’t confuse sugar bloom or fat on your chocolate with mold. It is still safe to eat or use in the baking of your favorite chocolate desserts, even with its splotchy appearance.
Smooth and crunchy peanut butter can be kept in the pantry or refrigerator for up to a year after its best-before date if it is kept unopened. Once opened, both can be stored in the pantry for three to four months or the refrigerator for six to eight months after that date. After its best before date, natural peanut butter only lasts two to three months in the pantry or three to six months in the refrigerator. It’s quite normal for your natural peanut butter to naturally separate the oils. You can use it for cooking by pouring it out or by stirring it back in. It’s time to discard your peanut butter if it became hard and dry or if it darkened in color from smooth and crunchy to crunchy.
Not everyone likes the same cereal in a household. If different brands of cereal are preferred by family members, those boxes of cereal can accumulate and take longer to finish. As long as you can tolerate the stale flavor, cereal can be eaten up to six months after the best before date!
Open or closed, pickled cucumbers, peppers, beets, or other veggies keep for a year or two after their best-before date and can be kept in the pantry or refrigerator. They are still safe to eat even though they might eventually lose their crunch. If the top of the jar lid has a rounded or dome-shaped shape, it means the jar was not sealed properly. This is one way to tell if pickled goods have gone bad. There should be a pop when the seal on a fresh jar of pickles breaks.
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I was going to make stir-fries tonight, but I’m not feeling well, so I’m going to do that tomorrow instead. Use by date for the fresh egg noodles is today. Am I ok to serve them tomorrow?.
