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Use By, Sell By, Expires By: What Do These Actually Mean?

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You might be used to looking for expiration dates on dairy produces, eggs, and meat.  But it seems like just about everything in the supermarket is now stamped with some kind of date.

I tend not to like food that wiggles but others in my family get their own selection of Technicolor wiggle food, so I checked a Jello container lurking in my fridge for some kind of date.  There it was:  Expires by ___.  Whoops – been in the fridge a little too long – or has it?

What Do The Dates Mean?

According to Weill Cornell’s Food & Fitness Advisor (2/2011), the descriptive terms refer more to the quality than the safety of the food.

  • Sell by date:  how long a store can sell a product
  • Best if used by date:  when the food should be eaten by for the best quality or flavor
  • Use by date:  the last date to use the product for it to be at its peak quality (a lot of food is still safe to eat after this date)
  • Expiration date:  There’s no absolute date that guarantees a food is safe before the stamped date – or that the food is playing house to harmful bacteria after the listed date.

Common Sense, Eyes, Nose, And Mouth

If you want to decrease your risk of a food borne disease from food gone “bad,”  use common sense, and your senses: sight, taste, and smell.

  • Look at it.  If you open a container and there’s black or blue green mold even though it doesn’t expire for three weeks – get rid of it.
  • Smell it.  If it stinks, you might think about doing the same (foods that are supposed to stink – like certain cheeses – require observation other than through the nose!).
  • Taste it.  If it’s supposed to be okay but tastes foul, toss it.  How many times have you poured milk from a not yet expired container only to have it come out in clumps.  Or, worse yet, tasted not yet expired milk only to gag and spit?

Bottom line:  Use the dates as guides both when shopping and consuming, but use your judgment, too.  If you question the safety of the food, toss it.

“When in doubt, throw it out!”  Good advice for any food:  store bought, take-out, or prepared at home.

Try These To Tame A Way Too Spicy Dish

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Have you ever gotten a little too overzealous with the chili powder – or with the amount of peppers you’ve added to that fantastic dish you’re cooking?

It happens — but what do you do?  You can burn the heck out of everyone’s mouth, toss the whole dish into the garbage, feed the compost pile, or maybe somehow salvage what you’ve made.

There are those of you who routinely look for the spiciest food around and are probably thinking – so what’s the problem?  But, for those of you – like me – who would prefer not to have your mouth on fire – there are ways to calm down an over-spiced dish. After some research, here’s a bunch of suggestions (in no particular order). Maybe some will work for your dish, and maybe not, but file them in your memory and give one or two a try when you’re staring at a pot of over-spiced food.

  • First, know your peppers — they vary in the amount of heat they have.  You can always decrease the amount you use. Be sure to remove the inner membranes and seeds which is where the majority of the heat resides. Capsaicin is the active component in chili peppers and the amount varies according to the variety and maturity of the pepper. Habanero peppers are always extremely hot while ancho and paprika peppers can be as mild as a bell pepper.
  • For three alarm dishes, one prime suggestion is to dilute the heat. Make another batch of the recipe and omit the “overly used” or the “heat” ingredient and combine it with the over-spiced batch. Now you have a double recipe with diluted heat and you can freeze the extra. You can also add more stock, broth, canned tomatoes, or beans depending on the recipe – just make certain there is no added seasoning. A can or two of refried beans or mashed canned beans helps  dilute spiciness, helps thicken chili, increases the fiber and protein content, and gives you more servings without the higher cost of more meat.
  • Dairy helps neutralize the spice in a dish (and in your mouth). You can use (full fat is best) milk, sour cream, or yogurt.  Other suggestions are whipping cream or evaporated milk. If you can’t or don’t have time to incorporate dairy into the dish, offer sour cream or yogurt on the side.
  • Serve chili or curry over rice.  The rice tones down the spices and adds bulk to the recipe. Bread and other grains also help.
  • Add some potatoes or another starchy vegetable like corn. You probably won’t even notice the corn in chili.  If you use potatoes, peel and cube a couple and mix them in. Leave them in until they are cooked through. Remove them (or not, depending on taste) and serve.
  • Try stirring in a couple tablespoons of peanut butter (you could also use almond or other nut butters or tahini) to cut the heat. Depending on the dish it won’t really alter the taste but might give a little more depth to the flavor and make chili seem a little creamier.  Because it may not be an expected ingredient, be certain that no one has nut or peanut allergies.
  • Add some lime, lemon, vinegar or something acidic that won’t mess with the other flavors. Acid cuts through heat.
  • You don’t want to turn your dish into dessert, but sugar goes a long way toward neutralizing the spiciness. So does honey. Add a teaspoon at a time and keep tasting.  Some people use sweet or semi-sweet chocolate to mask the spice, but not so much that the dish ends up tasting like chocolate. Sugar combined with an acid like vinegar or lemon or lime juice works particularly well.
  • Any number of additions can help tame the heat without radically affecting flavor.  Add a can of crushed pineapple to your chili — it will essentially disappear but will also helping to counteract the heat.  Other kinds of fruit and carrots may work, too.

When Your Mouth’s On Fire From Red Hot Chili Peppers

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I was recently in a restaurant that specializes in chili – hot, hotter, and hottest.  I happened to be facing a table of four large thirtyish guys. One guy cherrily ordered, “hottest.”

Shortly after this big, burly guy dug into his chili – with gusto, I might add, he was sitting glassy eyed, rivulets of sweat dripping off of his bald head, practically unable to speak.  The waitress, obviously having seen this reaction before, came running over with a glass of milk with orders to, “Drink up.”

Have you ever had this reaction to very spicy food — maybe from that dish you made when you got a little too zealous with the chili powder? Or perhaps, like this guy, from being a little too macho and ordering “hottest” after assuring everyone that you love really hot and spicy food.  Or maybe when you accidentally grabbed the wings known as red hots at a Superbowl party.

What Causes The Burn?

Capsaicin is mostly responsible for the “heat” in chili peppers.  To stop the mouth flames you need to neutralize capsaicin’s burning heat that binds to your taste buds. Capsaisin is soluble in both alcohol and fat so full fat dairy and alcohol are solutions.

What To Do To Tame The Flame

What do you do as your mouth is sending a five-alarm signal, your face is on fire, and you are sweating enough to water every plant in the room?  Here are some solutions that are easy – even when you’re in a restaurant or someone else’s home.

  • The most common flame relievers are full fat dairy, acid, and sugar – although some people also swear by nut and seed butters  (peanut, almond, tahini).  They may all have some degree of effectiveness.
  • Ice and water will feel pretty good, but only temporarily. The burning pain will come roaring back. Because capsaicin is soluble in alcohol and fat, sometimes beer is suggested as a solution. The alcohol helps neutralize the capsaicin molecules.  But beer is about 95% water and won’t really neutralize the capsaicin clinging to your tongue.
  • High fat dairy products like milk, cheese, sour cream, yogurt, and ice cream coat your mouth and can break the bonds capsaicin forms with the nerve endings – and, since they’re cold, they feel good, too. Aha! An explanation for why spicy Mexican food is often served with sour cream.
  • Sugars bind to pain receptors more readily than capsaicin so sweet things may work, too.   Sugar, fruit, honey, molasses, even carrots have all been used.  Highly sweetened non-carbonated drinks may work.  Try some sweet tea.   Hoisin may work for Asian dishes, Lassi (sweet and dairy combination) if you are in an Indian restaurant.
  • Acid can cut through the heat so use vinegar, lemon or lime juice, anything acidic that doesn’t mess with the taste.  Beer with lime?

Ever over spice something that you’ve cooked?  There are ways to remedy that, too.  Check out my next post.

Are You Eating Fake Blueberries?

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Blueberries have so much going for them.  They’re a gorgeous color and they’re one of the few fruits native to North America.

All blueberries, especially the tiny wild ones, are loaded with antioxidants and phytochemicals that may play a role in reducing risk for some diseases.

Fantastic nutrition, too.  One cup has 84.4 calories, no fat, 21 grams of carbs (4 g fiber, 15g sugars) and 1 g of protein and 24% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C.

They’re a good tasting, good looking super food. That’s why manufacturers add them to lots of cereal and baked goods (or at least imply that they do).

So, what’s the problem? Here it is: a bunch of food products that have labels or lovely pictures that suggest that they contain real blueberries really contain types of fake blueberries (not plastic, but not whole fruit either).

Blueberry Crunchlets

In an investigation, the nonprofit Consumer Wellness Center found fake “blueberries” that were actually a mix of sugar, corn syrup, starch, hydrogenated oil, artificial flavors and food dyes blue No. 2 and red No. 40 that were made to look like blueberries. Manufacturers like Kellogg’s, Betty Crocker, and General Mills, use them in bagels, cereals, bread, and muffins. Some products mix real blueberries with fakes.

For instance, Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats Blueberry Muffin variety has blueberry flavored “crunchlets,” not blueberries and General Mills’ Total Blueberry Pomegranate cereal contains no blueberries and no pomegranates.

What Are Crunchlets?

Here’s the ingredient list and description, from their website, for Kellogg’s® Frosted Mini-Wheats® Blueberry Muffin:

It is described as “Naturally and artificially flavored lightly sweetened whole grain wheat cereal, blueberry muffin.”

Ingredients:  Whole Grain Wheat, Sugar, Blueberry Flavored Crunchlets (sugar, corn cereal, soybean oil, modified cornstarch, water, natural and artificial flavor, glycerin, corn syrup, red #40 lake, blue #2 lake), Natural and Artificial Blueberry Flavor, Sorbitol, Gelatin, Reduced Iron, Niacinamide, Blue #2 lake, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Red #40, Folic Acid, Zinc Oxide, Vitamin B12.  To maintain quality, BHT has been added to packaging.

What’s A Consumer To Do?

Your best option is to buy real blueberries and put them on your cereal.

But, what if you crave blueberries in January in the Northeast with multiple feet of snow on the ground and you don’t want to pay a fortune for berries shipped from thousands of miles away?

If you’re thinking of buying cereal or baked goods that claim to have blueberries in them, read the ingredients list on the box to see if the product contains any real fruit.

Items with fake blueberries will have red No. 40, blue No. 2 or other artificial colors listed on the label.  Read carefully, artificial colors and dyes may also be used for components other than blueberries, too.

There are some products with honest to goodness blueberries in them.   Just look carefully.

Did You Eat 23 Pounds Of Pizza Last Year?

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If you did, you’re not alone — actually you’ve got plenty of company!

Our pizza eating habits are amazing.  Whether we buy it fresh or frozen, by the slice or by the pie.  We eat it for takeout or grabbed off of round metal trays plopped on formica tables.  We eat it everywhere and by the ton.

So What’s The Problem?

For the most part:  fat and calories.  Sure, you may not like a particular type of pizza, or perhaps you love round pizzas rather than square ones.  But, if your mouth has started to water at the thought of golden brown crust and cheesy goodness — here’s the downer: that luscious pizza can be a fat and calorie nightmare.  Don’t despair.  Here’s the good news: pizza can be a healthy food choice filled with complex carbs, B-vitamins, calcium, protein, vitamin A, and vitamin C and calorically okay if you choose wisely and don’t eat more than your fair share.

It’s difficult to estimate the number of calories and fat grams in a slice of pizza because the size and depth of the pies and the amount of cheese, meat, or other toppings varies so enormously – and, we all have our preferences..

How Many Calories?

The membership warehouse club Costco has 416 domestic locations, and most of them have a food court that sells pizza, making Costco the 15th largest pizza chain in the US. They  serve a whole lot of pizza and a whole lot of calories. A single slice of Costco pizza is estimated to have 804 calories,  342 of them from from fat.

Mall pizza can be okay — and not okay.  For instance, Sbarro’s Low Carb Cheese Pizza has 310 calories and 14 grams of fat. But, its Low Carb Sausage/Pepperoni Pizza has 560 calories and 35 grams of fat. A slice of the Fresh Tomato Pizza clocks in at 450 calories with 14 grams of fat. Any of Sbarro’s “Gourmet” pizzas have between 610 and 780 calories a slice and more than 20 grams of fat. “Stuffed” pizzas are even worse—790 calories minimum and over 33 grams of fat per slice.

Are You Craving Pizza?

Although we all have out own pizza preferences, the next time you order try some of these tricks to keep your choice on the healthy side:

  • Order thin crust rather than thick doughy crust.
  • Resist the urge to ask for double cheese.
  • Pile on veggies like mushrooms, peppers, olives, tomatoes, onion, broccoli, spinach, asparagus. Some places have salad pizza – great if it’s not loaded with oil.
  • Ask for your pizza to be cheeseless, made with low fat cheese, or “go light on the cheese, please”  (no guarantee but it’s worth it to try).
  • Instead of cheese go for big flavors:  onion, garlic, olives (use them somewhat sparingly because of the oil but they’re a whole lot better than meat).  And Don’t forget anchovies anyone (low in calories)!  A lot of flavor for minimal calories – but you have to like them!
  • Avoid meat toppers. Think about the fat content in sausage, pepperoni, and meatballs.
  • Try to hold it to two slices of pizza and order a salad on the side.
  • If you’re willing (and not embarrassed or grossed out), try blotting the free floating oil that sits on top of a greasy slice. Blotting (it’s easy to do this on the kind of hot slice where the oil runs down your arm)  can soak up a teaspoon of oil worth  40 calories and 5 grams of fat.