What's the oldest food you've ever eaten?

[izzyscout21]

Branching off my pudding thread, I was thinking.

We all put food up and many of us largely ignore expiration dates.

What is the oldest packaged food you ever ate? How old was it? How was it packaged? How did it taste?

Give us a review. It may help others like me have a rough idea how long we can keep certain types of food and they still be ok to eat.

I'll go first.

I ate pudding mix from 1998. Tasted fine. No ill side affects.

I've eaten 10 year old MRE's. Everything was fine except for the applesauce and cheese. Those had gone bad.

I ate 40 year old C-Rat crackers. Still crispy and not stale.

[Evolver]

This isn't the oldest but by category it is,

5 month of of date bottled Mayo. I was right at the throw away stage so 4 months it's still ok.

2 year out of date Kraft Mac & Cheese Thich 'n Creamy stored in original box on the shelf. Noddles still are good but Cheese is rancid.

1 year out Toothpaste, Thicker but still toothpaste.

7m out caned Chef Boyardee Ravioli, Still tastes the same.

2yr out Jiffy corn bread and Bisquick "Heart Smart" baking mix , Our buddy tried this and both didn't rise due to the "leavening" agent (baking Powder), *Baking Powders shelf life IS correct.

More too come.

[Gunfixr]

Hhmmm, 10yr old MREs recently, still good.
3-4 yr old canned goods, still good.
That's all I can think of at the moment.

[Sparrow]

20 year old green split peas.

They were in a big glass jar hiding in the back of my parents pantry. They took a very long time to soften! They made a very yummy soup.

[izzyscout21]

so far, you get the longevity award.

Anyone else?

[RedJohn]

10yr old MRE is a given, but fairly recently, I had an over 8yr old can of sardines in oil, and a 6+ years can of cassoulet (beans, beef, pork and goose).

Eating can that passed the date is safe if you follow 2 basic rules

1/ watch the top for curves and/or air popping out when you open it.
2/ look rust inside the can. I never buy bumped cans.

[Sniper-T]

Cleaned out an old cupboard at the family cabin a few years ago. all this stuff was essentially 'forgotten' and/or left for emergencies. All items were in the original packaging, stored in a dark wooden cupboard, with no 'modern' storage techniques...
Also, they underwent hot/cold cycles every year, as the cabin is closed up for the winter, and with the exception of a few sno-mo trips would get -40C. In the summer, all closed up it would hit +40C in there as well:

No-name brand mac and cheese, 1988
Canned sardines, 1984
unknown brand maple syrup, 1982
kraft mac and cheese, 1980
bisquick, 1979

(no label-hand written on tin):
canned pork and beans , 1976
canned peaches, 1974
canned plums, 1974
canned fruit cocktail, 1974
canned klik, 1974
canned milk, 1974
Bagged oatmeal, 1974
cream of wheat, 1974
macaronni, 1974
Long grain rice, 1974


* all of this stuff got used for bear bait... but I wanted to see what it was like, so I tried some of everything, before dumping it into the barrel.

synopsis:

All of the canned goods tasted ok, but were basically mush in a can. resembled babyfood to look at, and was all darker than what it should have been.

One can of klik had a serious dent in it, more like a crease, but there was no difference inside to a normal can.

All of the mac and cheeses were fine (cheese and all)

The oatmeals/cream of wheat tasted stale... but was still edible

Rice and pasta were fine

To put this into perspective... this is a remote cabin, that is a 3 hour drive, then a 1/2 boat ride, or a 1-1/2 hour sno-mo ride to get to. We had a serious incident out there in 1974, and after that, my dad built a cupboard and slid it under one of the beds. He stocked it, and we all basically forgot about it. The more 'current' stuff in the list was in the normal cupboard, just shoved to the back. most of the 1974 items were multiples of everything.

I don't know if you guys do this too.... but out there, and for me, even at home, I use a sharpie, and label date/month on the top of all my canned goods/pantry items.

Incidentally, there were also boxes of wooden matches (redbird) - good
can of Naptha - evaporated out
zippo - dried out, but ok
can of butane - evaporated out
gun solvent - evaporated out
gun oil - fine, possibly a little thicker
propane mantels - fine
Sparkplugs - assume ok... no longer have the outboards that they fit.
tools - oiled in a plastic bag - like new

[Gunfixr]

Nice to know.

Yes, we date all foods with month and year, and eat the oldest first for rotation.

[JustAPrepper]

Velveeta Cheese Block...one year out of expiration date...gray and nasty looking. Didn't want to take the chance...tossed it.

Kraft Deluxe/Velveeta Shells and Cheese...anywhere from six months to a year outside expiration date...cheese sauce is thick, a little off color and VERY salty - like the moisture has evaporated and you're left with a Salt Lick - edible but don't recommend

[JustAPrepper]

DelMonte Fruit canned in Juice as opposed to Syrup. Anywhere from a few months to a year outside expiration date. I've opened several now so I know it wasn't an isolated incident. They are still edible but contain a heavy amount of "mother" (cloudy liquid) and seem to breaking down to a softer mush than normal canned fruit. In the future I'll stick with fruit in syrup as the sugar helps act as a preserving agent. Maybe it should also be noted that these cans are the new Pop-Top style. I wonder if that has anything to do with it?

Cherry Jell-O - 11 months out of expiration - I noticed as I was dissolving it in hot water that it wanted to seperate. I couldn't figure out if was the sugar, coloring, gelatin or what. Added cold water and could still these little granules floating around. Added sweetened condensed milk and fruit, but it still wouldn't come together like I'm used to seeing. After it was chilled you can see little granules of "??" below a very thin (1/16 inch?) clear coating on top which I assume is gelatin. It tastes just fine, just looks a little funny if you look close enough.

Aldi Stonemill brand Brown Gravy Packet - 11 months out of expiration - still dry and powdery and tasted just fine.