In order to reduce the wasted food (well, it's really not "wasted" per se as the chickens eat it), I've been more diligent in implementing "Leftover Night" for supper when there's a plethora of containers scattered in the fridge.
We had a Leftovers Dinner this weekend and while shuffling and picking containers to compile enough foodstuff for that evening I found a jar of yogurt:
It looks like yogurt, smells like yogurt, but I wasn't expecting it to. Because this is what the lid said:
Yup. Yogurt from July of 2010. As in six months ago.
But the strange thing about it was that if I didn't have the little date sticker on the lid, and had I not said to myself, "Myself, I don't remember making yogurt in like, months", I would have probably eaten it. It didn't smell sour, didn't have any funky stuff on top or anything.
I wasn't feeling that adventurous, so I put it in the chicken scrap bucket. And no chickens have died either.
I'm tempted to do a yogurt experiment when I'm flush with milk again. As in make my homemade yogurt with goat milk, seal it up in a small canning jar & date it. Then buy a single-serve container of plain yogurt at the store & keep them both in the back of the fridge for several months to see how they compare. I'll keep you posted when / if I remember to do my experiment.
July 2010??? That jar should have grown a beard by now -- heehee. I've had fresh yogurt last for months for the same reason - the jar got pushed to the back of the fridge. I hadn't realized it was as old as it was and ate some. I'm still alive, albeit barely.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! I wonder if the cultures kept it from going bad?
ReplyDeleteThat's kinda sorta unbelievable! I would have thought it would have a green beard by now. Glad you didn't eat it. As for the chickens . . . I figure if they can eat worms covered with dirt and chicken poop, they could handle a little aged yogurt!
ReplyDeleteP.S. That reminds me, I need to clean out my refrigerator tomorrow. Will you call me on it and see if I actually did it? Thank you.
I had to laugh. I just cleaned out my fridge yesterday. I really hate those jars of stuff with just a little at the bottom that no one seems to be able to eat. Grrr... I really don't see why people need to leave a teaspoon of something in the jar and put it back in... oh, wait, I know- so they don't have to clean the jar... now I see!!
ReplyDeleteJudy
The things we feed our chickens, culinary adventures on the farm.
ReplyDeleteI would have been sorely tempted to eat it! I've scraped pink stuff and spots of mold off the top of my homemade yogurt and used the good stuff underneath. I got some advice from my Amish butcher about doing that with lard and I thought it was worth a shot with yogurt too. ha.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like an excellent experiment...
ReplyDeleteLately I have found that all the store bought milk I buy lasts way longer than the expiration date. I am truly wondering why. Ultra pasteurized without stating on the label, something being added that is not on the label either? It's a mystery to me, and I don't find it comforting.
This is how I feel about refrigerator cleaning! I console myself the same way; it isn't wasted food, the chickens will eat it.
ReplyDeleteThat is another great thing about country living. Everything is returned to the earth eventually. No waste, ever.