Is that still tasty?

For all of you who share my fear of what happens to food that's been eaten past its prime, I came across a very cool website I had to share. Ever wonder how long that package of shredded cheddar cheese stays safely edible in the fridge once its been opened? Did you know that the bottle of opened capers you have in the depths of your refrigerator is still good for up to a year? These are just a couple of helpful tips you can find at www.stilltasty.com; your ultimate shelf life guide.

I'm so paranoid about eating food beyond it's shelf life that I use a sharpie to mark it with the date I open it. Seriously. I keep one in the drawer next to my fridge. How many times do we wonder how long that pasta sauce has been sitting in the back of the fridge and we open it to see if there's any mold growing on it? Well, dear, if you checked www.stilltasty.com you'll realize that if you opened it more than 10 days ago, you can toss it, or chance tossing your cookies.

StillTasty.com also has some cool topics of discussion they appropriately call "shelf talk". You'll learn things like how to decipher the difference between sell by, use by and best before dates and if you must eat the chicken the same day you defrosted it or if you can save it for another night if your dinner plans change. The answer in case you're wondering - it depends on how you defrosted it. :-)

And for me, well, I'm off to toss all those dried spices I've had since my wedding; since they're only fresh for up to three years and I'm about to celebrate my seventh anniversary. Ciao!