I cooked chicken mince 3 days over use by date

#1

I honestly thought it said 22 Nov on the package, but it said 12, three days ago. Now I know there are a lot of warnings about cooking meats past use by date, especially poultry, I never care about beef as it lasts for a much longer time. But the chicken looked fine, smelled fine and tasted lovely. So I reckon it’ll be fine. Do you ever use meat that’s gone past the sell by or use by date?

#2

I don’t even look at the date, honestly but I always cook the meat I buy very soon or put it into the freezer. I trust my smell and other senses so if it looks fine, I consider it fine :slight_smile:

That’s for processed meat but I never care about the “use it in 2 days after opening”, it’s stupid, they write that for semi-dry sausage that lasts quite a few weeks… Until it’s not moldy or something, it works for me :slight_smile:
I can imagine some people are more sensitive, I think I am quite sturdy, I ate some actually spoiled food in my life without ill effects (very, very rarely but there are times when I am that desperate. I am most careful with meat, I am a human, not a vulture and I have cats to feed suspicious - maybe okay but I don’t wanna eat it - meat to - rarely happens, they usually just get older eggs, I mean cracked raw ones left for 2 days in the fridge - but some other items can’t harm me).

I find it best to use my senses as spoiled meat before its expiration date happens too.

#3

You know, that reminds me. I once bought sauerkraut in a health shop and it said on the package, consume within 24 hours. Or was it 48 hours? I can’t actually remember that detail. Then I looked up on the internet when I came home how long sauerkraut actually will last. And got back: up to a year, lol.

As to meats I too am usually very careful. The mistake was I’d misread the date, and then I was loathe to bin it because we simply just can’t afford to waste good food like that. Obviously if something had seemed off about the chicken mince, look, smell, taste it would have gone right in the bin. It also looked fine inside the packet, the plastic wasn’t raised. Anyway, I formed the mince into cute little chicken nuggets and added plenty of salt. It’s an easy dinner or snack.

No, with lots of things I couldn’t care less about the use by date. Like with beef. Poultry is a bit more tricky. Cheese, cream and yogurt certainly lasts a lot longer than their use by dates. Yes I believe in using a bit of common sense like people used to instead of giving into the incessant fear mongering regarding these things on the internet.

(Karen) #4

All the time as I rarely buy meat that is not at its sell buy or use by date. I get home and chuck it straight in the freezer and sometimes it then sits a day or two in the fridge after it has defrosted. Cant recall ever being poorly from doing that. I do check the packaging for any bloating and give it a good sniff after its defrosted and out of packet. I am a firm believer that my nose will let me know if it is past its best.

#5

Yes me too, I definitely checked for any bloating and there wasn’t any. And the little chicken nuggets were delicious. I’ll eat the rest later. Mince may not be the most exciting meat item to buy as it lacks that certain texture a steak or pork/lamb chop provides, but it can be made into so many things, both main meals and convenient snacks. And of course it’s much cheaper too.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #6

There’s usually a bit of grace there, as they are generally conservative on setting those dates. If it smells bad, or feels slimy, that’s a definite sign not to use it, however.

#7

Oh it was definitely nothing like that, I am incredibly squeamish about such things. No it seemed, upon opening the packet, fresh, I thought, as a daisy and smelled good whilst frying in the pan too. Hopefully my nose and taste buds didn’t trick me.

(Allie) #8

I never look at dates, if it smells good, all is well.
You know instantly if meat is bad.

#9

You’re probably right. Scare mongers would have you believe meat can go bad before you can even detect the changes through smell or sight. But they didn’t go by such advice in the old days long before there even was a fridge or freezer and it was just the pantry. But then I imagine if they got hold of some meat they cooked it right away or preserved it with salts. Not that I’m an expert on that. Last week I purchased some pork chops and my partner commented how the package appeared a bit bloated. But when I openened it the actual pork chops looked fine and smelled fine so onto the grill they went and they were delicious. Maybe the thing with a bloated package is different with pork chops, but as a general rule neither my partner nor myself would look at a bloated package usually and think that was a good thing. But on that one occasion it was fine.

(Allie) #10

Apparently that’s how curry came into being, the spices were used to disguise meat that was past its best.

Bloated packaging just means the packet was allowed to get a bit too warm then cooled down again. Often happens in busy and / or understaffed shops where the delivery isn’t always put away as quickly as it should be.

(Rebecca ) #11

Since I am sitting here, as we speak with a nasty stomach virus since 2 am, I Can’t even think about meat right now!

#12

Oh dear, hope you will be feeling better soon. Have you seen the doctor about it? I can’t offer any advice on the stomach virus, other than to drink lots of water and maybe a fast? To flush out the system, maybe some soup or bone broth when you can stomach it, and plenty of rest.

(Rebecca ) #13

Thanks for your well wishes…no Doctor…just staying home.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #14

The reason the spice trade was so important during the Middle Ages was that the spices were needed to disguise the taste of meat that had gone off. Not to mention to preserve the meat (sausage, etc.).

#15

I’m sure you know best what your body needs, but first thing that always come to my mind when I am feeling rubbish is get plenty of rest. And if you have time and opportunity maybe watch a movie you like or read a book or put on some nice relaxing music. I believe such things to have some pain-reducing effects, if you are experiencing discomfort. And then they’re also just great at putting one’s mind off anything unpleasant, like pain or nausea.

#16

smelled fine it is fine. I would eat it easily.

chicken to me is one of THE best meats to know real fast thru smell and slime…but smells trumps all with chicken for me.

I ate many over date to use chicken and only used the nose to determine if I eat it and I am alive and fine :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

#17

I like the lack of chewiness… But our moms in this country taught us never to buy mince so I can’t do that. I make my own. Mincemeat isn’t really cheaper here but people can’t know what is in it (okay, it’s somewhat true for several food items)… So I don’t know why anyone buys it, actually. Maybe they didn’t have normal moms…

I imagine mince go wrong even easier due to the big surface but probably I wouldn’t throw it out other if it seems, smells just right.

I was shocked when I learned that Japanese people always throw out meat if it expired. It’s fine as long as they never have meat that expires… But they do.
I am super big on not throwing out food. Ours is surely below 1kg per year (it’s easy to do…), not counting our own fruit, some of them spoils very quickly. I never throw out meat.

IDK what is this bloating you folks talk about as I never saw such a thing…

#18

Amen to that!! I sure agree I am one of those people also :wink:

(Jane) #19

I am convinced the advice to refrigerate butter was pushed by the margerine industry! You can’t spread cold butter, but nasty margerine spreads easily right out of the fridge.

Butter will eventually grow some mold if left out too long, but that’s like 2 weeks and mine never lasts that long LOL. If we go on vacation I put my butter dish in the fridget but that is the only time.

#20

If I had a butter dish I’d probably leave the butter out, particularly in the winter. But such things take up room so I keep the butter in the fridge, and since my youngest son prefers his bread toasted I just let it melt on and spread it out. My oldest son won’t have butter. And I otherwise just use it for cooking. But yes, if one was to attempt spreading it onto a fresh piece of baguette, say, it might be a bit more frustrating. Of course, before, I went keto I didn’t even eat butter so when I made a sandwhich, and I ate a lot of baguettes back then, I just threw on sliced cheese and ham lol, I was very lazy. Some days I’d only eat sandwiches. Now I plan every meal and cook most things myself.