SC - The Box-longish

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 8/25/98 11:05:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
dy018 at freenet.carleton.ca writes:

<< What
 I would like to do is get a general opinion of the List, some guidance and
 perhaps some emphatic replies and present it at a meeting and TRY to dispose
 of this box and stop this practice
  >>

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. 

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.

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

Dried, whole spices from topical climates tend to have a rather long shelf
life, 5 or more years in some cases before a noticeable loss of flavor to the
average palette is detected.  Allspice, peppercorns, vanilla beans, cloves,
cassia, grains of paradise, cubebs, galangal, cardamom, musk and ambergris
come to mind.

Other spices and herbs rapidly loose flavor and should not be kept longer than
2 years for exceptable flavor when used as seasoning in prepared dishes.
These are mostly small seeded spices such as dill and celery seed.  Also in
this group would be several leafy herbs.  Basil, Oregano, citrus leaves,
licorice root, tarragon, etc.

Finally, there are spices that can be kept for a minimal amount of time before
they lose their flavor.  This group includes parsley, chives and celery
leaves.  These should be replaced annually at the least.

Dried fish, beans, pinenuts, almonds, walnuts and other dried foods can be
kept indefinitely or until they show signs of becoming rancid.  Both lack of
flavor and rancidity can be detected by smell.  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. :-)

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. :-)

Ras
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