this happens too often (but not usually to this extent)

[darkoshi]

I think of cooking this whole wheat couscous for dinner.
The container is about 3/4 empty, so I could finally use it up.
The contents smell stale, but maybe not too bad. I think fresh couscous may smell the same way?
I read the date on the container...
"BEST IF USED BEFORE MAY 21, 2010"

What, 2010!!!??? How can I have had this in my cupboard since 2010!??

Well then, it probably really is stale and better not to be eaten.

..

I could have sworn I bought these 2 boxes of Matzo Ball mix 2 years ago. I thought that was when I made matzo balls for the first time, for Christmas.
But no, the date on these packages is JUN 27 2018.
And when I check my notes, it was Thanksgiving of 2017 when I made them last, not 2019.
Sigh.
At least these aren't too old to still cook. But it would require more effort than I want to do tonight. Maybe this weekend.

..

So I open a can of stuffed grape leaves to eat with the leftover canned Delhi Saag and Pigeon Peas which I opened yesterday.

But then while heating that I think to myself:
That couscous has been patiently sitting in that cupboard since 2010.. All the things that have happened in my life since 2010!... patiently waiting.
HOW CAN I POSSIBLY just throw it away!? No, I have to at least cook it and see how it turns out.

..
Update, 2021/12/11:
I cooked the couscous with a bouillon cube and a tablespoon of margarine (instead of the teaspoon indicated by the instructions). It tasted pretty good, better than when I cooked it in the past; that must be the right way to cook couscous.

Comments

[frith]

My 20 year old lasagna noodles are still good. I cooked some to add to some reduced-to-clear "tandori chicken" (with a _lot_ of sauce!) and it was good. But Petit Beurre cookies did not keep for a decade. Nor did baker's chocolate. The cake I made with those was much less than ideal. I ate it anyway.

(I have My Little Pony Easter chocolate from 2012, but that's a collector's item and it's in the freezer.)

[darkoshi]

I would have thought bakers chocolate would keep - once melted, anyway. I know chocolate gets brittle and discolored with age, making it not taste as good (that happens to me way too often too). But I thought it was only due to the fats coming to the surface, and melting ought to let the fats get mixed back in.

Hmm well...
https://www.chocolateuniversityonline.com/is-expired-chocolate-still-good/
I only eat dark chocolate, so didn't think about the milk component going rancid in milk chocolates. This page also mentions the possibility of bacteria and mold getting in, which I find hard to imagine, but that would be unpleasant.

[frith]

Yes, I'm pretty sure the problem I had was mold. I tried scraping it off, but it went pretty deep. I hate to throw stuff out. The only thing that goes to my compost pile is coffee grounds. Potato peels get eaten by the llamas. Moldy oranges fly into the woods, never to be seen again. Just like nature intended. *rainbow*

[darkoshi]

:D