Traditional / Old Fashioned Thinking

i just thought of some old fashioned ideology and thinking after i came back from my parents.

older gens they used to just keep everything beyond their use by date and not believe in use by dates.... even when clearly the item doesnt taste anywhere near as good theyd still keep it and consume it when the taste has clearly gone horrible and you can taste its past its date. this whole attitude of thinking the use by dates are a lie and that somehow food doesnt go off and food going off is a modern idea and food back in their days lasted for millennia until you used it. thats one traditional old mindset i wont mind seeing the end of because you really can taste when the food is off its date lol but old people just ignore it and pretend its still fine. 

i guess back in their day resources and food was more scarce so you put everything to use even if its out of date and tastes horrible. they still consumed it and pretended it was totally fine, perhaps a thing to show they was grateful for anything they got even when its off. as they had much less and less options back then perhaps. but yeah, seriously thats one thing they need to get with the times one, they need to take use by dates a bit more seriously and enjoy fresh good tasting products for once.

Do you mean 'Use by' dates, or in fact 'Best before' dates, as there is a difference? Consuming items with an expired 'Use by' date (perishables) can make you feel unwell, whereas items with an expired 'Best Before' date (non-perishables) are unlikely to make you unwell, but may not taste as pleasant.

The older generations were known to hold onto non-perishable items that had long since passed their 'Best before' dates. I can remember helping my great-grandmother to make a trifle once. After adding the 'hundreds and thousands' supplied with the trifle, she decided the trifle needed more decorations. In her pantry, she had a variety of edible cake decorations that must have reached their 'Best Before' date at least a decade earlier.

I'm willing to admit that I too will use food items with an expired 'Best Before' date. Sometimes I will notice a difference in taste (less flavour), but sometimes I won't. However, if I have unused items with an expired 'Use by' date, then I would rather not take my chances. I remember being rather unwell after drinking some milkshake made with milk with an expired 'Use by' date... I hadn't realised it had expired. All I can say is never again!

I lived with my grandmother at times in Bradford in the 90s. I introduced her to her first fridge, until then she'd only stored foods that needed to be kept cool in her cellar. She never really got the hang of the fridge and would treat herself to ice cream but leave it in the refrigerated area of the fridge not the freezer compartment and would end up eating the melted ice cream like a bowl of soup. She would tend to keep perishables too long. I would get my fingers burnt with that at times e.g. I was setting off out one evening and grabbed a Quality Street from her tin on my way out. It was dark as I made my way to the bus stop and I popped the chocolate into my mouth without looking at it or being able to see it properly at that time of night. I can still remember the mouldy taste I experienced rather than the pleasant flavour I was expecting and promptly spat it out 

My grandmother and your mother's homes were food health hazards

My grandmother and your mother's homes were food health hazards