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Is it still tasty?
Lifehacker’s Adam Pash tipped us off to an invaluable resource to use when cleaning out your refrigerator and kitchen pantry: StillTasty.
StillTasty’s tag line is “Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide – Save Money, Eat Better, Help The Environment.” You can search for a specific food item, or you can browse through the categories to determine how long it is safe to keep a product. The site is easy to navigate and will keep you from wondering if the unopened bottle of ketchup is safe to consume.
There is also a question and answer section. My favorite question so far is “I Left Pizza Out Overnight — Is It Still Safe To Eat?” The answer: No.
The next time you clean out your refrigerator and pantry, keep StillTasty open to help you determine what can stay and what can go.
21 comments posted
Posted by Sherri (Serene Journey) - 03/30/2009
Hi Erin,
Thanks again!
Thanks for passing this on. From what I can see this is a great resource, easy to use and has a lot of information. I wish I had known about this before I did my big pantry purge a few weeks ago but I’ll use for the next one!
Posted by Marci - 03/30/2009
I had no idea there was such a practical resource out there! Thanks for letting us know!
Posted by Meredith - 03/30/2009
Great site–thanks!
Posted by Karyn - 03/30/2009
Bookmarked. This will come in very handy! I already mark my opened foods and condiments as well as my leftovers with the date, so I have an idea of how old things are, but I’m not always sure how old is too old. Having this information at hand will help prevent waste (no more “if in doubt, throw it out” just because I don’t know if the food is still safe to eat), and possibly prevent an upset stomach or two because I *should* have thrown it out.
Posted by Rue - 03/30/2009
EXCELLENT site. I just figured out that I made the right decision by tossing some old pudding and hamburgers!
Posted by knitwych - 03/30/2009
This is very timely for me! Our fridge and pantry both need sorting out. Thanks for posting this.
Posted by Lose That Girl - 03/30/2009
I bet you’ve just spared many a dodgy stomach. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by infmom - 03/30/2009
Yesterday we came home with two bags full of wonderful stuff from Penzeys Spices in Santa Monica, and today I need to clean out my spice shelf to make room for the newcomers.
In contemplating that job I realized that I might not be able to tell whether some of the stuff I already have has expired. From now on, I am writing a date on all spice jars with a Sharpie so I’ll have at least a chance of discarding the stuff that’s faded away.
Penzeys talks about the expected shelf life of herbs and spices in its catalogs, but I don’t see an equivalent on their web site.
Posted by Worker Bee - 03/30/2009
This is a great resource! I’ve been looking for a place to look up this kind of information for a while. Thanks!
Posted by Nunya - 03/30/2009
Great site, thanks. I have a cabinet FULL of dried spices and condiments (Worcestershire, Balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, etc.) that I NEVER use, but don’t want to throw out. I’ve offered it all to people from work with no takers. Would a local soup kitchen take these, or just throw them out since they came from “the public”?
I guess I could just put the contents in the compost heap and recycle all the bottles, which is probably what I’ll end up doing. And as soon as I do that, I’ll need one of the items… *sigh*
Posted by Shalin - 03/30/2009
Soo funny and clever!
Posted by Sara - 03/30/2009
nonsense… I ate next-morning pizza all the time in college and lived to tell the tale
Posted by Declutter - 03/30/2009
That really is a great little site to have. Sometimes it can be very hard to know when to get rid of things or when not to. That site was great!
Posted by Shana - 03/30/2009
Nooooooooooooooooooo! I really like cold pizza. I will pretend I didn’t read this post.
Posted by Sarah - 03/31/2009
It’s an interesting find, but I have a really hard time getting behind this site. Since when have we become so rich and risk-averse that we’ll throw away food that has a 99% probability of not causing disease just because we don’t like that niggling 1%? I know it would never happen due to legal concerns, but I think a far more useful site would be one that told you, “You have a .5% chance of getting sick if you eat this.”
Constantly worrying about the risks inherent in living is mental clutter.
Posted by Barbara Tako - 03/31/2009
Thank you. Excellent resource and you reminded me it was time to clean out my refrigerator! I always try to remember that anything I find that I am concerned about (often, condiments) isn’t going to get safer/better/tastier over more time. It is usually best just to toss this stuff right now.
Posted by Susan - 03/31/2009
I’m with Sara and Shana. Pizza is perfectly good to eat in the morning after being left out on the countertop overnight UNLESS you have roaches or rodents. (If you have a dog or a cat, there will be no pizza left on the countertop to eat in the morning)
Posted by K - 03/31/2009
Sarah, I totally agree with you!
Posted by a - 03/31/2009
Also see The Periodic Table of Condiments at:
http://offthebroiler.wordpress.....ondiments/
Posted by Karyn - 04/01/2009
I always thought cold pizza meant REFRIGERATED overnight pizza. That’s how I always ate it–and liked it.
Seriously grossed out by the thought that some people eat pizza that’s been sitting out all night…
Posted by JustGail - 04/01/2010
thanks for the link. now I can get rid of the old yellowed clipping on the refrigerator.
On a related note, is there a site that you can look up the codes on cans and boxes to see find out how old it is? I have some cans that don’t have the “use by” or “best by” dates, just a secret code.
thanks!
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