Author Topic: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad  (Read 1328 times)

oogyda

Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
« Reply #15 on: February 01, 2019, 07:34:02 pm »
Cocoa powder.  It didn't go bad, it just lost a lot of flavor.

It was Hershey brand in a metal tin.  It didn't have a "best by" date on it, and the best we can figure out is tha it was approximately 32-34 years old at the time we replaced it.
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Pandorica

Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
« Reply #16 on: February 01, 2019, 10:28:39 pm »
I think still have some cinnamon in a 'vintage' metal container. (McCormick hasn't used those containers in quite a while)  I don't plan on using it, though :)

Mara Jade

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Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
« Reply #17 on: February 04, 2019, 03:24:42 pm »
I made the cookies again with a new container of Crisco, and they were back to their childhood self. Definitely an old container, I'll know what to check for next. Thanks everyone!
We love our family, which is why we work nights, weekends, and major holidays, because that's when families should be together. Veridian Dynamics. Families. Yay.
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lisastitch

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Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
« Reply #18 on: February 05, 2019, 04:25:31 pm »
I stopped buying Baker's chocolate when I gained access to Trader Joe's. I buy their Pound Plus dark bars and just use that for all my baking. That stuff is good! Good for plain old eating and good for baking. Only down side is that it's not arranged in one ounce chunks like Baker's is. So I just estimate. Mostly I over estimate, you know, for good measure.  ;D

My recipe calls for strictly 100% unsweetened chocolate. Otherwise, wouldn't the ratio of sugar be off? Do you use Pound Plus when the recipe needs unsweetened chocolate?

Yes I do. I buy the highest cocoa content chocolate, 72%. That has very little sugar in it and it imparts a rich chocolate flavor. If you are worried about the sugar content, you can always reduce the amount of actual sugar the recipe calls for. I sometimes do that anyway (even for non-chocolate desserts) as some recipes are just too sweet.

I'm so glad to know that I can use TJ's Pound Plus instead of unsweetened! The Pound Plus is a staple in my pantry.
If you use the Pound Plus, my dad realized that if you put a chopstick under the score lines on the bar while it's still sealed and press down on either side, it breaks fairly easily into chunks.  It makes it much easier to use!  I do that in both directions before opening the package.

lowspark

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Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
« Reply #19 on: February 06, 2019, 07:30:59 am »
I stopped buying Baker's chocolate when I gained access to Trader Joe's. I buy their Pound Plus dark bars and just use that for all my baking. That stuff is good! Good for plain old eating and good for baking. Only down side is that it's not arranged in one ounce chunks like Baker's is. So I just estimate. Mostly I over estimate, you know, for good measure.  ;D

My recipe calls for strictly 100% unsweetened chocolate. Otherwise, wouldn't the ratio of sugar be off? Do you use Pound Plus when the recipe needs unsweetened chocolate?

Yes I do. I buy the highest cocoa content chocolate, 72%. That has very little sugar in it and it imparts a rich chocolate flavor. If you are worried about the sugar content, you can always reduce the amount of actual sugar the recipe calls for. I sometimes do that anyway (even for non-chocolate desserts) as some recipes are just too sweet.

I'm so glad to know that I can use TJ's Pound Plus instead of unsweetened! The Pound Plus is a staple in my pantry.
If you use the Pound Plus, my dad realized that if you put a chopstick under the score lines on the bar while it's still sealed and press down on either side, it breaks fairly easily into chunks.  It makes it much easier to use!  I do that in both directions before opening the package.

Great idea!! I will try that next time. Thanks for the tip.

LadyJaneinMD

Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
« Reply #20 on: November 19, 2019, 06:50:41 am »
This is the first time I've ever seen this.  EVER. 
(I'm 60 years old and have been baking since I was young).   
The other day I got out my flour because I needed it to dust the board where I was about to put the biscuit mix that I'd just made up. 
I opened the flour bin, and it was *crawling*.  Thousands of little tiny brown *things* were crawling around in my flour!! 
NEVER saw that before.  The bin was sealed. The flour brand was a national brand that I've used All My Life! 
I've seen bugs in lentils before, but I bought them in a little middle eastern store.  This flour was bought at my local grocery store, again, a national chain.  Shocked is a vast understatement of what I felt. 
It's been awhile since I bought that flour and the bag it was in was long gone, so contacting the manufacturer would have been useless.  I just threw it out (down the drain!) and eventually bought more flour.  A different brand. 
*shudder*
« Last Edit: January 28, 2020, 10:12:11 am by LadyJaneinMD »

gramma dishes

Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
« Reply #21 on: November 19, 2019, 08:45:09 am »
^^^   I had the exact same thing happen a few years ago.  The name brand of the flour was Ceresota.

I opened my flour container and I saw a tiny black thing.   It looked like a grain of pepper mill grind black pepper.  I scooped it out and pitched it and went ahead with whatever I was doing. 

A couple of weeks later I opened it again and there were several little black things!  I went digging and realized most were near the top, but I didn't know what they were -- just that they kept apparently multiplying.

Like you I just pitched the whole thing and started over. 

Dazi

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Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
« Reply #22 on: November 19, 2019, 01:15:49 pm »
^^^Those are called flour weevils. They are quite common in flour and cereals. It probably depends on where you live, but in the Southern United States, they are not uncommon and it is recommended that you keep your flour in the freezer and your cereals in an airtight container to avoid contamination.

gmatoy

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Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
« Reply #23 on: November 19, 2019, 09:22:04 pm »
^^^Those are called flour weevils. They are quite common in flour and cereals. It probably depends on where you live, but in the Southern United States, they are not uncommon and it is recommended that you keep your flour in the freezer and your cereals in an airtight container to avoid contamination.

I have a friend who has a sister living in Southern U.S. She says it is pretty common to have an extra freezer or refrigerator to keep flour, cornmeal, pancake mix, cereals, etc.. Evidently back porches are good for holding the extra refrigerator.  ;D

As for the chocolate comments, Costco sold a brand of chocolate chips that I loved: Ambrosia. Then our Costco didn't have it anymore. I was so sad! Then my DH went to the one that is for businesses and they had it! I'm sure that I acted like a fool, I was so happy. DH commented that you would have thought that he brought home food to feed a starving village!

I thought about it and then made a donation program that feeds the hungry, just so I didn't have to feel guilty!
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Twik

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Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
« Reply #24 on: December 03, 2019, 09:40:23 am »
My mom used to scatter bay leaves on the shelves where she kept bagged staples like flour. Said it repelled the weevils, and I must admit I never saw any in all my years growing up.

Did find some in my boxed rice once. Keep my rice in plastic containers now.

Hmmm

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Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
« Reply #25 on: December 03, 2019, 09:59:15 am »
Yeah, flour weevils are pretty common. I've gotten them in flour or other grains and rice a few times. It doesn't really seem to matter where you bought the product from. According to most sources the eggs are introduced in the processing plant or warehouse.  Some interesting information I found was to put flours, grains and rice in the freezer for a minimum of 4 days and that will kill any of the eggs and keep them from hatching. The same source also recommended putting a bay leaf in containers with rice or grains.

Back about 25 years ago, I'd bought a large can of a popular cajun seasoning  and after a week, found the bugs and threw it out. I bought another can a few weeks later and the same happened. I contacted the company and they sent me a coupon and a huge gift box of their other items.

LadyJaneinMD

Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
« Reply #26 on: January 15, 2020, 05:46:55 am »
^^^Those are called flour weevils. They are quite common in flour and cereals. It probably depends on where you live, but in the Southern United States, they are not uncommon and it is recommended that you keep your flour in the freezer and your cereals in an airtight container to avoid contamination.

When I knew I was moving down South, I collected a whole bunch of gallon-sized glass jars (I worked for Subway at the time, and they used a lot of them).   I knew about the bugs down here and knew that I'd have to keep everything sealed.  And I do.  So imagine my surprise when these bugs showed up anyway!
I don't have room to put a big freezer, and the little freezer I have is packed with frozen foods. 

VorFemme

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Re: When Baking Ingredient Go Bad
« Reply #27 on: January 15, 2020, 12:20:09 pm »
I remember seeing something about a lady & her family who bought grain in bulk to grind their own flour and as feed for the animals on their subsistence farm.   The grain was stored in large (five gallon? larger?) buckets, filled almost full - then a chunk of dry ice was put into it and the lid was put on "loosely" until the dry ice had filled the bucket & forced the air out (with practice, they knew what size of lump to use and how long it too to have it turn back to carbon dioxide gas inside the bucket).  Then they sealed the lid on the grain & carbon dioxide and it would not have any weevils or other pests in there until it was opened days, weeks, or months later..but I have no idea how long it lasted or if it would be safe to do that with a glass jar...as sealing it too early & over-pressurizing glass would result in a broken or **** storage jar. 

My aunt would freeze ground beef in flattened zip locked freezer bags - it froze fast and thawed quickly, too, and it stacked more or less neatly in their smaller freezer.