We don’t waste much in the way of food at The Compound. I try to cook only the amounts I know we’ll eat. Tom’s great about eating leftovers for his weekend lunches. And any veggies that are left over go right into a container in the freezer to reappear later in soups. I also freeze meat drippings and juices so I rarely have to buy beef stock or chicken broth.
Still, from time to time, I do have to throw out food, and EVERY SINGLE TIME, that action is accompanied by guilt and the sound of my mother’s voice in my head saying, “Waste not, want not.”
When we moved Mother into her 24-hour care home in 2008, I was able to absorb most of her pantry into my own, and everything was used. Except I adopted a box of grits. Nobody here likes grits the way I do, and I don’t eat them often, so I rarely grabbed that box to make a single serving for myself.
At last, today, I boiled the remaining grits to add to my Thursday breakfast. As I was throwing the box into the recycle bag, I glanced at the “best by” date on the top.
Good grief: Does that mean 2003 or 2010? Either way, Mother would be so proud.
I think it was April 3, 2010, but I’m sure she would have been very proud. Grain products usually don’t go bad. Grain buried with the dead in ancient Egypt has actually been germinated by scientists. Unfortunately, eggs from weevils and drugstore beetles that are in the grain can also hatch over an extended period of time. Practical facts I learned from my time spent as a food inspector in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps.
I pay little attention to “best by” dates–mostly I care about expiration dates, and then usually on dairy, meats, and meds.
best if used by date reads month day year so 10…
As a GRIT yourself I am a little shocked you did not eat your grits like you should have!
Don’t worry; I eat enough grits. I prefer them in microwavable packets. Eating 1/2 to one serving at a time means it takes a long time to get through a box.
I was really hungry for grits the other day…I should have come over! 😉
I still have grits, just not that box.
I’ve never had grits. I’m not actually sure what they are! Colour me Canadian…
GASP!!!
It’s okay. If it weren’t for Twitter, Dawn, and Anna, I’d have no idea what poutine is, and I’ve yet to eat it.
i had to look that up … fries with brown gravy, I like that … i didn’t know that there was for a word for it!
You left out the cheese curds.
I don’t do curds. Ever.
The curds are the best part!
It’s settled. Marika is a bad Canadian.
Well, when you take that trip to New Orleans, promise me you’ll go to the Clover Grill in the French Quarter for breakfast one morning and order grits instead of hash browns as your side. And remember, embellish them with only salt, pepper, and butter/margarine.
I think that’s a promise I can safely make. Something to look forward to!
When my German grandmother made it, she called it mush. My father always joked that before it became mush, it was known as gruel. I grew up eating Cream Of Wheat.
I tried Cream of Wheat once. Not for me. But I love oatmeal, if that counts.
I love how the manufacturer even provided the time of day on that “best by” date.
One minute later, and those grits were just “okay to eat.”
I may feel guilty for throwing out food as it expires, but at the same time, not getting sick is a good thing.
Oh, yeah, expired food is a different story. But grits are like Cher; they’ll last forever.
are you a yankee, or something? you couldn’t have been born in the south, or you’d know those quick grits are an abomination. everyone knows that good, that is, real, grits have to be cooked for 2o minutes minimum. drop by sometime, i’ll make you some. this all-southern household special orders them from a family-owned mill in wetumpka, al, where they are stone ground the old-fashioned way. quick grits, shudder!
I blame your mother.
I would LOVE to have some of your real grits.