Keep it or Toss it? How to Spring Clean Smartly

+ a Halibut and Spring Vegetable Skillet recipe

As a self-proclaimed clutter-phobe, I relish a good spring cleaning for my kitchen. It feels so good to get rid of those space-hogging boxes of stale crackers and mystery blocks of freezer-burned food. But I also hate wasting food and wouldn’t want to throw out anything that is perfectly edible. So how do you know if a food is salvageable or spoiled? Here’s a primer on what to keep and what to toss.

Expired Packaged Goods

            The “best by” or “use by” date on canned and packaged foods can be a helpful indicator of shelf life, but passing that date doesn’t mean you should throw the food out. The date indicates the manufacturer’s estimated window for optimal quality, not whether a food is safe to eat. So, an energy bar that is past its stamped date may be a little less crunchy, mustard less pungent, or dried fruit less plump, but chances are you wouldn’t even notice the difference in an unopened package for months or even a year past the expiration date. (The exception is with infant formula which should not be used after its “use by” date.)

Consider the expiration date as a guide for quality and evaluate a food’s color, texture, taste and aroma yourself ---if it seems off, toss it. If it seems perfectly fine, it probably is.

One important exception is to throw away any canned goods that are bulging or deeply dented, which means they may be unsafe to eat.

Oils, Nuts and Whole Grains

            Oils, nuts and whole grains are especially prone to rancidity, where the fats in them breakdown to produce unpleasant odors and tastes, and potentially form unhealthy free radicals. So, make a “sniff test” of these items part of your spring cleaning ritual, and toss any that smell off or unpleasant.

            To avoid waste down the road, avoid buying giant jugs of oil and large bags of nuts or whole grains---they are not a better deal unless you go through them quickly. Don’t be tempted to keep oil by the stove, instead store it, tightly sealed, in a cool dark place. Same goes for nuts and whole grains, which can also be stored in the refrigerator or freezer to extend their shelf life further.