A question of dates ....

barmpot

LOTSW Fanatic
Some four or five months ago I bought a tub of margarine. I find it is almost at its "use by"date yet I have used less than 50%. It was the smallest tub on offer.


Not even sure if it could be frozen to extend life but that would be a messy job sorting it out and, I recall reading that freezing such things can only safely be done for up to three months which would still mean too much margarine in the tub!


So the question is do I throw it away, adding to waste and profits for the manufacturer, supplier or

is it time to follow Compo and advertise for a live in housekeeper who would consume some as well - thus leaving no waste?
 
Does make you wonder Rod, though we stopped using Marg some time back,as chemically it is very close to being plastic, originally developed to feed pigs cheaply, but the pigs got sick, so they played about with it, made it yellow and told us all it was better for us than butter, I wonder what big businessmen came up with that
 
Does make you wonder Rod, though we stopped using Marg some time back,as chemically it is very close to being plastic, originally developed to feed pigs cheaply, but the pigs got sick, so they played about with it, made it yellow and told us all it was better for us than butter, I wonder what big businessmen came up with that


Yes I am considering going back to butter, at least easier to make up into smaller packs to freeze but even then it has a limited life. Why does not some realise there is a market for smaller quantities: in 1970 in Cheltenham there was a grocer who would sell you half a pack of butter (I did not have a fridge then) as there were other customers who also wanted the same. I suspect the same is true today.
 
What have I done today ??.......................Bought a large tub of Flora " Buttery " . Am I in danger ??:confused::eek2:;)
 
Yes I am considering going back to butter, at least easier to make up into smaller packs to freeze but even then it has a limited life. Why does not some realise there is a market for smaller quantities: in 1970 in Cheltenham there was a grocer who would sell you half a pack of butter (I did not have a fridge then) as there were other customers who also wanted the same. I suspect the same is true today.
My local ASDA will not deal in small quantities. You are expected to have family size! There are loads of items they will not stock unless it "FLIES " off the shelves! :13::02:
 
What have I done today ??.......................Bought a large tub of Flora " Buttery " . Am I in danger ??:confused::eek2:;)


Apparently - I have just checked - you can cook with Flora buttery so get your pinny on and make some cakes - we will all help eat them!

Flora light which I have can not be frozen (also checked this) and is not recommended for cooking. Mmm - so only used on brad, toast or over jacket potatoes. As I might use less than a small loaf a week this is never going to happen: do not use spread with meat or tuna sandwiches - only on toast and marmalade which I might have once a week or less.

So sharing is the only way - where is the small ad form?
 
To reduce my consumption of saturated fat, I use a product consisting of half butter and half canola oil (rapeseed on the other side of the pond). There are similar, more expensive, products that use olive oil, and because canola is grown using a lot of pesticides, I buy them instead when I feel like spending lavishly. It has never occurred to me that either butter or margarine couldn't be frozen until I used them up, however long that took. There can be some loss of quality, so I wouldn't serve a product to guests that had been frozen a long time, but I'm unlikely to notice the quality on toast or for sealing the bread's surface from juices in sandwich fillings.

In the States, most margarine is made with soybean oil, which makes me deathly ill, so I haven't used it since I identified the source of the symptoms. Even before that, I gave up all products containing man-made trans-fats, the most ubiquitous being margarine that's solid at room temperature.
 
I have exactly the same problem with my dad's shopping. He as me throw butter out after a few weeks so I have to buy him more, I do buy the smallest I can but people alone just don't eat it that quick. The elderly and single people are not very well catered for in my opinion. I never buy marg, always butter,it tastes much better and if you keep it refrigerated it lasts longer too. Also, I never strictly stick to sell by/use by dates if smells and looks ok I use it, if I'm uncertain I test it on him indoors first, if he lives I'll eat it! :03:



My dad likes to buy the individual pots of marmalade and the small boxes of cereal because he eats it only now and then, I assume the small jars and packets are designed for the elderly and people living alone but I find that they are placed on the highest shelf in the supermarkets making them in some case unreachable :02: :13:
 
My dad likes to buy the individual pots of marmalade and the small boxes of cereal because he eats it only now and then, I assume the small jars and packets are designed for the elderly and people living alone but I find that they are placed on the highest shelf in the supermarkets making them in some case unreachable :02: :13:
My feelings exactly .I use my walking stick to hook them down!:08:
 
... but people alone just don't eat it that quick. The elderly and single people are not very well catered for in my opinion. ....:03:


Guess that was my background thought - but also that at one time local shopkeepers did cater for such people.
 
Sadly Dick you are so right , a lot are small Coop's in villages near myself . I guess it is so hard to make a living like the local shops did in days gone by [when no one perhaps owned a car and there were not out of town superstores] because people in village simply jump in the car and drive to the out of town superstore . In days gone by there would have been a bakery, butchers , greengrocer etc who would provide for all the villagers, now they get all of those items that were sold individually in one big superstore sadly ,on the whole, inferior to anything that would have been produced in those shops of old .:(
 
Sadly Dick you are so right , a lot are small Coop's in villages near myself . I guess it is so hard to make a living like the local shops did in days gone by [when no one perhaps owned a car and there were not out of town superstores] because people in village simply jump in the car and drive to the out of town superstore . In days gone by there would have been a bakery, butchers , greengrocer etc who would provide for all the villagers, now they get all of those items that were sold individually in one big superstore sadly ,on the whole, inferior to anything that would have been produced in those shops of old .:(


Quite - so I continue to have to throw away food as it loses edibility before I can finish the pack. Something to be said for 125g butter packs and so on.
 
At one time you could guarantee a fair deal on small quantities at the COOP. Thats what it was for .The smaller shops that is ( villages all had one) I remember 2 ozs of various things I fetched for my mother. That was when you left your order and a lad on a bike delivered it!:):03:
 
I have just checked and you can get butter in 10g single portions. Only snag is you have to buy 25 of them - which gives you 250 g of butter the same as a normal pack but considerably more expensive and it will still all be out of date anyway when the last packs are being used!

The only 125g butter pack is with added garlic which would not go down well with my occasional marmalade!

So I either eat more butter to avoid waste, avoid butter all together or carry on wasting food - and cash - as I do now. Not overly impressed.
 
So I either eat more butter to avoid waste, avoid butter all together or carry on wasting food - and cash - as I do now. Not overly impressed.

Presumably this information isn't limited to the Organic Valley brand.
http://organicvalley.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/56/~/can-i-freeze-butter?

If the butter you buy comes in a single 250g block, while it's very cold (for easier handling) cut it into blocks sized to last you four months or less, wrap each block in waxed paper to facilitate later unwrapping, put the blocks in a plastic freezer bag with a zip top, then in the freezer. To use, remove one block from the bag and quickly remove the waxed paper before the butter softens and becomes difficult to handle.

The recommendation from America's Test Kitchen is to keep butter frozen until shortly before use, rather than storing it in the fridge where it picks up odors from other food, which affect the perception of its flavor. That would mean that you'd cut up and freeze individual pats, which sounds unrealistically time consuming and tedious. When I use ordinary butter (not the butter and oil combination) I thaw a quarter pound at a time and keep it in a Lock & Lock butter container, imported from the UK via Amazon.com. That container seals so well that I haven't noticed any off odors or flavors.
 
I buy butter imported from Ireland and keep it in the butter compartment in the refrigerator. I don't use butter a whole lot but have not noticed any off flavors. Have not used margarine in years.
 
I have a friend called Elizabeth who we call Betty for short , well by coincidence given the context of the thread I have to report that Betty bought a bit of butter but the butter got bitter so Betty bought a bit of better butter to make the bitter butter better butter ........................ should have just bought I Can't Believe its not Butter or something like it which when you taste it you can't believe its not I Can't believe its not Butter . Think I had better stop there! :08::08::08::08::08:
 
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