Reply to Ras (Was : SC - The Box-longish)

[Micaylah]

Ras,

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your reply but there are some
inconsistensies that need clearing up.

Firstly you said...
>First off, I would like to say that, IMO, the 'scary' feeling you get about
>using dried goods is somewhat smacking of the irrational.  This will not be a
>post favoring your position. 

Irrational is not something that anyone who knows me would apply to my
person. My positon on this is to delete the box from existance and your
posting will not deter me from doing same. It may educate me on the shelf
life of some goods but nonetheless I wouldn't use it knowing that it is only
used MAXIMUM three times a year. Sorry. I realize that you state alot of
valid reasons for keeping a box of dried goods, but given the unfavourable
conditions and humidity in Ontario, storage problems and such, I cannot
condone the use of it even under the conditions you lay out.

Then you assumed...
>Your main concern appears to be hinged around the premise that dried goods
>have a shelf life that indicates when they are not 'safe' to eat.  Since you
>did not mention packaging in your post I can only assume that the products you
>mentioned, e.g., sugar, spices, were stored in airtight or well-sealed
>containers?  If this is true then you have virtually no reason for the fearful
>reaction you are portraying.

I did not make the statement that these goods were stored in anything
airtight and so I shouldn't, given that most of this stuff was in plastic
bags and unlabelled. The things that were airtight and labelled were from
1996 and earlier. Being safe was just a passing thought and I was mostly
concerned with the freshness of spices, raisins etc. 

You then quoted...
>The shelf-life of many dried goods can approach eternity.  Sugar and salt are
>2 of them.

I agree.  IF the products are in stored suitable conditions, which these are
not.

<snip of informatiom on the shelf life of various spices> Thank you btw. Its
good to know.

You then went on to say...
 >Mold is easily detected by
>smell and sight. After lengthy exposure to mold the food will definitely look
>and smell like it should be thrown out. :-)

Sure, I know this and you know this and others on the list know this but if
a novice helper, (getting back to my mint drink example) was not to know
such or even look for same was and making this, how would this person know
what to look for? I for one can think of many better ways to spend my feast
cooking day other than  running around making sure all my ingredients were
the best (or safest) they could be. This is just an example but I'm sure you
see my point.

And you finished with...
>The bottom line is if it looks bad and smells bad, throw it out.  If not leave
>it in the box.  A good box for this type of storage would be the Rubbermaid
>storage containers you see on sale at Walmart and K-Mart.  They are big but
>not unwieldy, easily transported and protect the contents from moisture. And,
>more importantly they are cheap. :-)

As I stated in my posting, we use rough totes (Rubbermaid). They are not,
however, as  airtight as you claim and they sure don't 100% protect from
humidity (notice I didn't say they weren't watertight). At least not in this
clime. Try and see if you can put your hand in a rough tote on the long
sides. I can. At the very least they are not bug proof as I have come across
several little nasties (albiet dead ones) on the bottom as I have been
cleaning this box out.

Given ideal storage and packing conditions, I agree that this would be a
wonderful idea. But after viewing the condition I receive our feast stuff in
(and I'm including the utensils, pots and other commodities here) and the
deplorable shape that other people leave it in when they are fisinished with
it, I am not going to take that chance. You may be able to wash dishes and
pots but I have as yet to hear of a way to wash flour and sugar. :D

My main concern was actually the freshness and not necessarily from a safety
aspect. I am not irrational having ever actually expected to get sick from
someone using this stuff. Just that you could get a far superior end result
by using something that may have been put out in this decade. <grin>

Thanks for your $0.02 it is greatly appreciated if not agreed with.
Respectfully
Micaylah


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"When you look at Prince Charles don't you think someone in the Royal Family
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