Cooking Stack Exchange
Cooking Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [storage-lifetime]

Questions specifically about the expected shelf life of a food item.

If your question concerns the precise amount of time a food will last in storage, use the tag in addition or instead of the tag.

Please look to see if there is already an answer to your question on a general reference site such as StillTasty.com before asking it here. We prefer to see questions in this tag that deal with unusual ingredients/preparations, unusual storage scenarios, or the "science" behind a particular shelf-life estimate (i.e. why does cream last so much longer than milk?).

453 questions
114
votes
12 answers

Is it safe to leave butter at room temperature?

Is it safe to leave butter at room temperature? If so, for how long is it safe to keep it out?
Chas. Owens
  • 1,393
  • 3
  • 11
  • 11
67
votes
1 answer

How long can I store a food in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer?

How do I know if a given food or ingredient I have is still good, or if I should discard it? How can I best preserve a food or ingredient? This broad question is intended as a "general reference" question to quickly answer many how long will food…
derobert
  • 13,152
  • 5
  • 44
  • 69
34
votes
4 answers

Shelf life of spices

The common wisdom I've heard is that dried herbs and spices: have a shelf-life of about a year or 2 keep best in a cool dark place will release more flavor when crushed That's fine but some spices are expensive. We have over different 50 jars on…
Dinah
  • 4,929
  • 5
  • 34
  • 40
32
votes
8 answers

My tea bags are expired, can I still use them?

This box of tea has an expiration date which has passed but I would like to know if I can still use it. What do you think?
TheXed
  • 513
  • 2
  • 5
  • 8
32
votes
3 answers

Why doesn't Bailey's go bad?

I realize it can go bad after a long time, but why does it take so much longer than other dairy products? Does it have to do with the alcohol content? If so, what is the process that is happening?
Jeremy
  • 423
  • 1
  • 4
  • 6
31
votes
18 answers

Is there anything I can add to homemade bread to preserve it?

I love making our own bread - we rarely buy shop bought, but it tends to go off very quickly. Part of the appeal is that it doesn't have any "junk" in it - artificial preservatives - which I'm sure contributes to the lovely flavor. Is there anything…
Bluebelle
  • 2,529
  • 14
  • 34
  • 34
27
votes
9 answers

How long is it safe to drink coffee after brewed?

How many hours/days would you recommend to drink coffee (after brewed) and consider it safe? (For example if you don't want to waste it). What is the difference if it is refrigerated or not? The question is not about flavor since (I think) it is…
Javier
  • 273
  • 1
  • 3
  • 4
24
votes
1 answer

Sniffing out a rotten egg from the dozen

Is it possible to tell if an egg has gone off? I am not referring to those eggs that have been especially brined to look like they've been sitting around for decades, but to fresh eggs you want to use and not feel like being punched in the face…
Eight Days of Malaise
  • 614
  • 1
  • 6
  • 12
24
votes
15 answers

Keep milk (or milk alternative) for a day without a fridge

I like to drink my coffee with milk, but my new place of work has no refrigerator I can use. Is there any milk or milk-substitute I can use that will not taste funny around 15 o'clock, when I remove it from my home fridge at 8? What if I buy 1L of…
Ivana
  • 441
  • 1
  • 3
  • 10
23
votes
11 answers

How long should I keep a cut onion?

Since I only cook for one or two, I will tend to buy an onion and only use part of it, and then keep the rest in the fridge. Sometimes it will be a while before I use the rest. Is there any guidance on when I should finally just throw it out? What…
mbyrne215
  • 473
  • 2
  • 4
  • 7
22
votes
13 answers

Should tomatoes be stored in the fridge?

Storing tomatoes in the fridge tends to make them last a bit longer, but I've heard that the flavor is negatively affected. What is the best way to store them?
rose
  • 867
  • 5
  • 10
  • 13
21
votes
2 answers

Is smell a bad way of determining whether meat is still good?

I have always relied on my sense of smell to determine whether meat (most often chicken) is bad and I thought it was reliable. However, I have just heard that [1] smell is not always reliable, since some of the toxins produced by bacteria won't…
Ben
  • 313
  • 1
  • 2
  • 7
21
votes
2 answers

Do nuts ever go bad?

I have some walnuts I found in the back of my cabinet that are probably 5 years old. The packaging says best if used by 2010. I tasted them and they taste alright, maybe a little tartish but I don't mind. I was wondering if walnuts and other nuts…
amphibient
  • 2,869
  • 15
  • 42
  • 54
21
votes
3 answers

Can heavy cream be frozen?

Sometimes, I want to try a recipe that calls for a small amount of heavy cream. Can the remainder be frozen and then used to make whipped cream? If so, how long will it keep in the freezer?
apaderno
  • 7,052
  • 22
  • 73
  • 106
21
votes
6 answers

How long does cooked pasta last in the fridge?

I sometimes cook more pasta than I intend to eat or use at once and store the rest in a container in the fridge (just plain, cooked pasta). How long would it store safely for?
Daniel Vandersluis
  • 1,405
  • 9
  • 22
  • 29
1
2 3
…
30 31