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#Post#: 24644--------------------------------------------------
When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
By: Mara Jade Date: January 25, 2019, 12:51 pm
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Any experience or tips / tricks when baking to tell if the
ingredients have gone bad?
First case: I made some Russian teacakes for Christmas, they
tasted pretty good (but not the best). My mom took one taste and
said it was stale. I told her I had just gotten the pecans and
the powdered sugar was new? So she said it must have been the
flour. I keep my flour in a tupperware bin, but it has been a
long time since I've baked. I threw it out and washed the bin.
Anyone have flour go bad?
Second case: I made cookies yesterday, and they were just...
off. I added more salt, which helped a little. The eggs were a
little old, but that's usually not a big deal with chocolate
chip cookies. My guess was that the shortening was old. It was
the last of the container (Crisco brand), and it seemed a little
drier than usual. Anyone have shortening go bad on them, is that
a thing? The baking soda, brown sugar, and chocolate chips were
all new, but I suppose the white sugar could be old? Does sugar
go bad?
#Post#: 24646--------------------------------------------------
Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
By: STiG Date: January 25, 2019, 1:06 pm
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Crisco will go off - it changes colour a little and develops an
unpleasant flavour. At that point, I either throw it out or use
it in something where the flavour won't be noticeable.
Flour bags do have a best before date on them. I don't stick to
that strictly - I haven't had an issue with flour 6 months out
of date, especially if it was unopened. But I can see it going
stale if it is really old and/or open for a long time.
Granulated sugar shouldn't go bad unless it gets contaminated.
Other sugars may become difficult to use due to clumping, like
brown and icing (confectioners) sugar.
The test for eggs is to put them in a bowl of water. If they
float, toss them. Or cook them up to feed to the animals, if
you have dogs. If they stand upright but not out and out
floating, they're on the older side. They should be fine for
baking but if you are making your special omelette or quiche,
I'd get new eggs. If they lay mostly horizontal, not floating,
they're the freshest and will be fine for anything you want to
do with them.
Baking soda and baking powder definitely lose their
effectiveness the older they get. Once baking soda reaches the
best before date on the box, use it for odour control in the
fridge or cleaning but get a new box for baking. Baking powder
is similar; I will use it past the best before date but I
usually add a smidge more for a little extra oomph since it will
have lost some. I believe the jar I have has a date line where
you can write in when you opened it and the advice is to toss it
once it's been open for 6 months.
Yeast is another one. I buy my yeast in bulk quantities. I
only use it a couple of times a year but it still works out
cheaper to toss some of it than it does to buy the smaller
containers or packets. I store it in the fridge and will toss
it every other year. Yeast can be checked, though. Just proof
it before you add it to a recipe. If it doesn't proof? Try a
second go round. If that one doesn't proof? Go buy new yeast.
I take a coffee mug, warm the mug up with hot water, dump out
the water, add in a tablespoon of granulated sugar and 1/3 cup
of hot water, stir and sprinkle in a tablespoon of yeast. I'll
stir the yeast in then put in a 100 F oven to rise. If your
oven doesn't go that low, use a thermometer, heat it to about
120 F then turn it off but turn the oven light on. It will stay
warm enough to let the yeast proof.
#Post#: 24657--------------------------------------------------
Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
By: Sycorax Date: January 25, 2019, 2:08 pm
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I saw somewhere to keep baking powder in the freezer, maybe that
slows its decline?
I also don't bake a tremendous amount, so I usually buy the
smaller bags of flour so I'll be sure to use it up sooner.
#Post#: 24666--------------------------------------------------
Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
By: lowspark Date: January 25, 2019, 3:18 pm
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Oil can go bad. You can smell it and it smells stale. So I'm
sure that shortening could also go bad.
I had some taco shells go bad recently. I opened up the package
and immediately smelled that stale oil smell. So I guess it was
the oil in them that was past its prime. I guess I'd had them in
my pantry for a while! :-[
It's funny the things that can go bad.
#Post#: 24670--------------------------------------------------
Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
By: gramma dishes Date: January 25, 2019, 4:09 pm
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Crisco can definitely get rancid. The taste (and smell) is
identifiable as being old Crisco. Products made with it are
virtually inedible. Not that they're dangerous or anything,
they just taste so bad no one will eat them.
#Post#: 24793--------------------------------------------------
Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
By: Soop Date: January 28, 2019, 8:26 am
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I just tossed some whole wheat flour that went off. It has more
oil in it, so doesn't keep as well. In flour, you can smell it.
At first it smells stale, then later rancid. Of course, if you
see movement, toss it. Side story...I found huge ants in my
container of coarse sugar. They got in somehow and couldn't get
out. Boy, were they moving fast. Zipping round and round the
container.
Shortening, if it's questionable (not yet rancid smelling), I
taste a bit. It should taste pretty much like nothing.
#Post#: 24799--------------------------------------------------
Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
By: Bada Date: January 28, 2019, 9:34 am
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This was timely. Out fridge died earlier in the month and we
threw out most stuff. We were wondering if the yeast was still
alive and I thought the only way to find out was to make a whole
loaf of bread and just throw it out if it didn't work. I saw
Stig's post and tried proofing it. It's aliiiive. Yayy. :) Now
to get out the bread machine...
#Post#: 24805--------------------------------------------------
Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
By: STiG Date: January 28, 2019, 10:14 am
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Awesome! Glad it worked for you.
I use my kitchenaid rather than a bread machine so I can dump
the proofed yeast right into my two-loaf batch.
I don't own a bread machine because I would make - and eat - a
loaf of bread every day!
#Post#: 24813--------------------------------------------------
Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
By: DCGirl Date: January 28, 2019, 11:20 am
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You can also put your "expired" baking soda down the garbage
disposal to freshen it up.
#Post#: 24815--------------------------------------------------
Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
By: Mara Jade Date: January 28, 2019, 11:31 am
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The cookies are still good, just not as good as childhood would
remember. Maybe the shortening was just going.
I've also noticed that baking chocolate has changed over the
years. Ghiradelli's is fine, but I usually use Baker's, and
their sourcing has changed. It's very bland, I have to add a lot
more salt when I make brownies with it. Maybe Nestle's has
changed their chocolate chips as well? Anyone notice?
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