Knowing how quickly food goes bad is helpful because it can help you do your
groceries and plan your meals in a way that minimizes the amount of food that
goes to waste so that you don't have to do all the
research yourself we've put together a list of the top culprits and some of
them might surprise you here are the top 10 foods that expire the fastest tomato
sauce is tomato sauce to kick off this list we have a food item that lots of
people believe lasts way longer than it actually does the best by date on a jar
of tomato sauce might trick you into thinking that this incredibly versatile
product is the last thing in your fridge you have to worry about expiring
unfortunately that date loses all meaning once the jar is open sure you
can store tomato sauce in your pantry for ages without it going bad but once
it's opened you should try to have it finished within five days if not it's
recommended that you toss it the last thing you want is to ruin a perfectly
good batch of pasta by topping it with spoiled tomato sauce what a tragedy that
would be so always take note of how long it's
been since you opened the jar while you might be surprised to hear how quickly
tomato sauce expires this isn't necessarily bad news just think of it as
an excuse to eat excessive quantities of pasta over a very short period of time
you get extra spaghetti and no tomato sauce goes to waste
sounds like a win-win situation if you ask us put too many onions in the sauce
hummus yum-yum-yum-yum yum-yum-yum considering just how trendy hummus has
become it's important to recognize how long its shelf-life really is will give
you a hint this one's a bit of a shocker exactly how long it lasts will depend on
whether or not it contains preservatives if it does you're safe to keep it for up
to a week however it turns out that even if it's stored in a sealed container and
kept refrigerated preservative free hummus is only good for three to four
days luckily people are so obsessed with hummus that the container is usually
emptied long before then but it is important to keep in mind that
isn't just another condiment that'll stay fresh for weeks on end
the good thing about hummus is that it's quite easy to check if it's okay to eat
are you sure that's the best thing right now if you notice mold and off-putting
smell or find that the texture looks completely different from how it did
when you first opened the container you should get rid of it
you should just toss it out the window regardless of how long it's been since
you opened it but that's a good rule of thumb to follow with pretty much any
food it's always better to be safe than sorry
better safe than sorry bananas anyone who likes bananas can confirm how
frustrating it is when bananas go from unripe to overripe overnight there is a
very slim window when it comes to eating the perfect banana this fruit is
notorious for ripening quickly and things are made even more complicated
when you factor in that everyone has different preferences in terms of
ripeness some people like a green banana others prefer yellow and some people
like the peel to have a hint of brown on it we like to call those people wrong
wrong all that to say people are very aware of how quickly bananas go bad but
what many people don't realize is that just one overripe banana can wreak havoc
on all of your fresh produce when they ripen bananas let off ethylene gas which
causes nearby fruits and veggies to ripen much more quickly than they would
have if left to their own devices knowing to keep your bananas separate
from the rest of your produce is a handy tip that can save you an extra trip to
the supermarket while bananas tend to get overripe in two to five days
depending on what you consider an overripe banana to be that doesn't mean
that they're not safe to eat if you're left with brown bananas channel your
inner Martha Stewart and get to baking overripe bananas call for banana bread
shake and bake broccoli
just like any other fresh produce a fresh head of broccoli needs to be eaten
relatively quickly still if kept refrigerated it can remain
edible for seven to ten days not too shabby
but the thing is while it still might be safe to eat at the one-week mark it
won't be as nutritious as it was when you first bought it as time goes by the
nutrients and broccoli actually start to break down this is especially true of
its vitamin C content so even though your broccoli might look fine if it's
been sitting in your fridge for a while you won't be reaping all the benefits
that are supposed to come from eating your greens also take note of the fact
that you shouldn't store your fruits and vegetables side by side as mentioned
earlier some fruit like bananas emit ethylene gas which can speed up the
ripening of adjacent produce it turns out that some vegetables are especially
sensitive to this gas one of them being broccoli buying a bag of frozen broccoli
is a great way to avoid any going to waste especially for people who cook
just for themselves well of course we all know packaged greens kale iceberg or
romaine whatever your green of choice is if it's packaged in a plastic bag or box
well it is here for a good time not a long time while in most cases food is
fine to eat well past the expiration date on the package this is an exception
it's best to eat your packaged greens as early as possible and to throw out any
leftovers a few days before that Best Buy date comes around part of the
problem is the packaging itself it doesn't really allow for circulation
have you ever opened a package of spinach or lettuce and found the Greens
covered in some sort of horrible brown slime you have lack of air circulation
to thank for that for leafy greens like kale it's recommended that you wrap them
in a paper towel then a plastic bag and store them in your refrigerators produce
drawer this is supposed to prevent them from wilting quickly but of course all
food goes bad eventually and the best strategy is always to eat your fresh
produce as quickly as possible if you can make several small trips to the
grocery store during the week instead of making one
big purchase at a time this is super helpful in reducing waste wine where's
your wine say it ain't so because wine is an
alcohol made of fermented grapes it doesn't seem logical that it can go
bad however it definitely can it doesn't matter if that bottle cost $10 or $100
when the cork is popped oxygen immediately starts breaking down the
compounds in the wine after a couple of days the taste starts to go and within a
week it's past the point of no return like many other foods it's pretty
obvious when wine goes bad spoiled wine has been described as
tasting like sauerkraut and smelling like barnyard and vinegar from that
description rotten wine is definitely something you
want to avoid at all costs so what we're saying here is it would be wasteful to
not finish the bottle within a few days of opening it wine goes great with pasta
so you can finish off your wine at the same time as you empty out those jars of
tomato sauce good food and no waste again there is a simple solution to
having good wine go bad it may involve finding an extra big glass but it could
be the recipe for a perfect evening or afternoon we are not judging drink all
day we drink all night fish fish we all have a friend who has told a story often
in too much detail of how they got sick from eating some bad fish or we may have
even been there ourselves usually your nose is a good indicator of whether or
not a food has gone bad however this is one case where something smelling fishy
isn't a deal breaker it's pretty common knowledge that fish goes bad at alarming
speeds even if it's kept in the refrigerator a piece of fresh fish
shouldn't be left in the fridge for more than two days this means that you should
have a game plan in mind when you buy it know how and when you want to cook it
and have all the other necessary ingredients on hand you don't want to
mess around with fish when it goes bad it's really not safe to eat what this
all comes down to is that in the kitchen it's Oh
better to be safe than sorry so when in doubt throw it out just toss it out
story and fish in your freezer is a great way to keep it fresh for longer
but keep in mind that the rules still apply here if you've had a piece of fish
in the fridge for two days or longer it's too late to freeze it you'll have
to take the loss and get rid of it fresh berries nothing says summer like fresh
berries raspberries blueberries strawberries blackberries whether you
love them all or prefer one kind over the others berries can satisfy a sweet
tooth while also being a nutritious snack it's a good thing that they're so
good this means that they're usually eaten quickly and you don't have to
worry about them going bad however if you were to leave a container of berries
out on your counter and they somehow managed to remain uneaten for a couple
of days you would quickly notice them getting soggy discolored and even moldy
this process is sped up when the berries are piled on top of one another which is
usually how they're stored if you can get them into a single layer quickly and
store them in the fridge you'll be able to keep them fresh for a while longer
the good news is that like with bananas berries that are too ripe to eat on
their own don't need to go to waste there are so many different things you
can do with them throw them in a smoothie whip up some muffins bake up
high even try your hand at making a homemade ice cream the opportunities are
endless however there's a line between overripe
and rotten as soon as you notice mold get rid of the lot mold spreads quickly
from one berry to another and can even grow beneath the skin once one berries
moldy they've all got to go
deli meat maybe it's something about the plastic packaging that has us thinking
that deli meat lasts away longer than it actually does whatever the reason for
this misconception it's time to set the record straight it's recommended that
you clean out a package of sliced deli meat within three to five days of buying
it so that means that the package of sliced ham you picked up on your weekend
grocery haul shouldn't be used to prepare a sandwich for your Friday lunch
this is another case where you don't want to cut it too close to the best
before date yes those dates are usually considered guidelines but when it comes
to meat it's always better to err on the side of caution if you still have
leftover deli meat a few days before that best before date comes around you
should play it safe and toss it harmful bacteria can grow on meat and that's not
something you want to risk consuming you can keep your deli meat good longer by
storing it in the coldest part of your fridge whether that's all the way in the
back or tucked into a meat drawer the chilly temperatures will help keep
bacteria at bay if you notice that your sliced meat seems particularly slimy
smells a vinegar or ammonia or if you notice any mold you definitely don't
want to be eating it of course that's pretty much a no-brainer
avocados I'm going to call you avocado soldier now ah the bane of any
Millennials existence the avocado a delicious food that is a fantastic
addition to any salad or sandwich known for its million health benefits the
avocado doesn't come cheap it adds insult to injury when after coughing up
far more money than it's worse your avocado turns to mush seemingly
overnight if you keep them on your kitchen counter you'll be lucky if your
most recently bought avocados last four days in the fridge you might be able to
stretch it to a week however it depends in part on how ripe the avocados were
when you bought them at the grocery store if the avocados for sale will all
be at varying stages of ripeness when selecting which you want to purchase
consider when you plan on eating them there
a very small timeframe when avocados are good to eat but do your best to judge
it's hard to tell exactly how ripe an avocado is without cutting it open but
it can be done to an extent you know an avocado is good to be eaten when it's
dark green and firm but not hard to the touch if its color is getting closer to
a black or dark brown and it's soft to the touch you got there too late sorry
bro it's too late help yourself to more great videos and
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