Bakers and foodies alike,
These tips of the day are meant to practical, simple and some times self-evident. They are not meant to poke your toque off!
These are just things that I have learned along the way. Some of them you may already know. Others, maybe not. No need to leave the comment equivalent of "DUH", no need to send me emails telling me how silly a TOTD is. Just take 'em if you want 'em and if not, so be it.
So here is the first "practical, simple and self-evident" tip....
Date....
Date everything you buy with a sharpie. Write the date on the bag, jar box or can the minute it is opened.
For spices, throw away six months after opening.
For oils and vinegars, one year after opening.
For flours, baking soda and baking powder, throw away four months after purchasing.
For sugars, a year if kept in an air tight container.
For refrigerated items, follow the instructions on the container
But for the love of all things baked and cooked, please don't use things (especially spices) after a certain amount of time. There is nothing worse than a pie made with allspice that has been sitting in your kitchen for three years! I'd rather eat rocks or hang out with Sandra Lee for an hour!
DATE your products!
Let's take a look at a picture of four items in my pantry.
Now, of these four items two need to be discarded; the allspice and the chili -powder. The vinegar and the cayenne are fine. The cayenne is not dated but that's ok because I know that it is not possibly six months old since I use cayenne frequently and a jar does not last longer than two or three weeks.
However, it is still probably a good idea to date the things you use frequently since some times items get lost in the pantry and when you find them you have no idea how old they are. By dating, you know exactly when your products need to be tossed.
