You watch the expiration date on your milk and fruit juice cartons like a hawk, but what about the foods you cook and bake with? You can be reasonably sure the eggs you just bought are fresh, but what about ingredients that set in your cupboards until you’re ready to use them? Some items such as cooking oils, flour, salt, sugar and spices may set on the shelves a long time until you get around to using them. Are they still safe to use, or do you need to pitch them? What’s the shelf life for common cooking and baking ingredients?
Nowadays, most food items have expiration dates printed on the outside of their containers. That makes it easier to know if a product has passed its shelf life. But, some food items don’t have “use by” dates. Instead, they only have manufacturer’s codes on them. This is why you need to know what the shelf life is for common items found in your cupboards. Of course, if a food item looks funny or smells bad, it obviously has spoiled. But, you can’t always tell by looks and smells alone.
1. Flour
White flour is a common cooking and baking staple that I never want to run out of. So, I keep a canister filled in my cupboard, plus I always keep a small, unopened bag in the freezer. (Freezing flour ensures that it doesn’t get Flour Weevils in it.) Unopened bags of white flour normally stay fresh for up to a year. Open a bag up and it will keep for another 6 to 8 months.
An unopened bag of whole wheat flour will stay fresh for up to a year as well. But an opened bag should be refrigerated and used up within 6 months before the oil in it turns rancid.
2. Sugar
Unopened bags of white, granulated sugar have a long shelf life of 2 years, as long as they are kept cool and dry. It’s best to use opened bags within 6 months. An unopened bag of Confectioner’s sugar (also called “Powdered” or “Icing” sugar) can last up to 2 years as well.
Brown Sugar, on the other hand, only stays fresh for about 6 months if the bag is opened or not.
Keep in mind, that, just because brown sugar becomes hard, doesn’t mean it’s not good to use.
You can easily make it soft again by placing it in your microwave oven for 30 seconds intervals.
3. Eggs
By law, eggs that are produced at USDA-inspected companies must stamp the cartons with packing dates, according to the American Egg Board’s website. Sometimes, expiration dates are printed on egg cartons, but that’s not required by law.
In the absence of an expiration date, you can judge how long your eggs will stay fresh by using the packing date. If eggs are stored properly- in the refrigerator at 40 degrees Fahrenheit- they should stay fresh for 4 to 5 weeks past the packing date.
To tell if an egg is too old to use, place it in a large glass of water so it has room to move around. If it falls over, or if it stands up, it’s safe for consumption. However, if an egg floats in the water, it’s past its shelf life and you should throw it away.
4. Oils and Shortening
Generally, cooking oils that are stored on cupboard shelves at room temperature have a shelf life of up to a year. Oils such as Sesame or Flaxseed should be refrigerated, though, and not kept in your cupboard.
Check any oil that you’ve stored for a while by smelling it first before you use for cooking or baking.
Solid shortening such as Crisco® has a shelf life of up to a year if the container is unopened. Open it up, and it will only last about 3 to 4 months before it can turn rancid.
5. Spices
Most spices will stay fresh for a long period of time. Whole spices can last for up to 2 to 4 years stored on a shelf. Ground spices last up to 3 years. Spices such as Paprika and Cayenne Pepper stay fresher if they’re refrigerated.
Be sure to rotate the common cooking and baking ingredients you store in your cupboards and refrigerator. Place the oldest ones in the front so they’ll get used up first.
