Hoggirl Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Okay, so we are snowed in and don't have much to do. I am really wanting to declutter, but since I can't take anything out of the house because of the roads, I feel a bit limited with what I can clean out effectively. So, I decided to clean out my spice cabinet. I cannot begin to tell you how full it was! Things supported only by the flying buttress method! Anyway, I cleaned it out and my most outdated spice was dated.... February 2005!! Can you beat that? :D And, because of my lack of organization I discovered that I had four, yes FOUR bottles of cumin (none of which were outdated :tongue_smilie:). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamamaloca Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 We just threw out some things dated 2003. I am SHOCKED to discover that new spices actually have a flavor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in Florida Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 This is also related to the clutter thread. :001_smile: My mom passed away four years ago, when my sister and I cleaned out her kitchen we found spices that had expiration dates all the way back to 1979. :001_huh: She hadn't been using them, she had fresher stuff in front. She was an awesome mom and terrific grandmother, she introduced me to the idea of homeschooling, but I guess deep cleaning wasn't her thing. I know she would have laughed at my sister's and my expressions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I have vanilla beans that were given to me in 2001. I don't know if there's a date on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjbeach Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 This is bad... . My Mom passed in '99. When I moved out of the house I took the spices I like with me. I have NO idea how long the spices my mom had are. :001_huh: I see some spice cabinet decluttering/tossing in my near future... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I think some of my spices ( canning ones for pickles, which I never did figure out to make so anyone would eat them) date back to my first house. We bought it in 1978. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emubird Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Spices have dates on them? I know we have some caraway seeds that my husband bought in the early 80's. We have some other spices from his bachelor days as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I recently cleaned out my godmother's spice rack since she doesn't cook anyway. She had minced onions from 1993. They were fused into one scary shapeless blob in the bottom of the bottle. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieH Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Ha! I just recently threw away some I had brought from our old house. We moved 6.5 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasharowan Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 We've been here over 11 years. I don't remember when we bought most of them, but it was probably about the time we moved in, or in the apartment before then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paintedlady Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Spices have dates on them? :smilielol5:That's what I was going to say. :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Before Christmas I replaces ALL of my spices in a few trips to Penzy's. I had several jars from my old house....that makes them at least 10 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 OH OH OH Pick me! Pick me! I have cayenne (that I used yesterday) dated 18APR76. I win! I also have a crean of tarter container from the 50's that I refill (it was my grandmothers) Lara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 When dh was in college, he lived in this house owned by a friend's dad. It was huge, so there were quite a few guys living there at any given time, but they tended to rotate. At one point, there was a homeless guy living in one of the closets, the house was so full. Eventually, dh was the last man out, & it was up to him to clean everything out of the house. There were spices there. Now...I *think* he'd moved them in there, but if he did, they were the ones he "found" in his apartment before the house. It was an apartment that rotated between a group of friends, so it's not like they were some stranger's spices. I don't *think.* They came to our apartment when we got married. The idea wigs me out NOW, but I thought nothing of it then. :001_huh: Probably because I'd never used spices for anything in my life, so a) it was clear which ones dh had brought (all of them & b) it was unlikely I'd be using any of them. We got married in '99. Now I use spices. I don't know which are his any more. :001_huh: :svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 When dh was in college, he lived in this house owned by a friend's dad. It was huge, so there were quite a few guys living there at any given time, but they tended to rotate. At one point, there was a homeless guy living in one of the closets, the house was so full. Eventually, dh was the last man out, & it was up to him to clean everything out of the house. There were spices there. Now...I *think* he'd moved them in there, but if he did, they were the ones he "found" in his apartment before the house. It was an apartment that rotated between a group of friends, so it's not like they were some stranger's spices. I don't *think.* They came to our apartment when we got married. The idea wigs me out NOW, but I thought nothing of it then. :001_huh: Probably because I'd never used spices for anything in my life, so a) it was clear which ones dh had brought (all of them & b) it was unlikely I'd be using any of them. We got married in '99. Now I use spices. I don't know which are his any more. :001_huh: :svengo: ETA: Oh, wait. I win. I bought a spice rack at an antique store on our 3rd anniversary. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 There's an ad for McCormick spices that always makes me laugh. It shows a picture of spices in metal tins and reads something like, "If your McCormick spices are in tins or were packaged in Baltimore, they are at least 15 years old." In 1996, I was helping my grandmother clean out her kitchen cupboards. The spice cabinet was a real adventure, I tell you. There was a beautifully decorated box of something or other and I asked her about it. "Oh, I picked that up on my honeymoon!" she said proudly. Grandma was married in 1938. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemMommy Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I have a thyme can, 4 inches tall, from the G-E-L Spice company. It was OLD when I got married 24 years ago. I'm guessing it's well over 30 years old. The CEO of G-E-L Spice company is 85, according to their website. Yes, they still exist. But this is a metal can, solid gold colored (not the red/white McCormicks of more recent vintage). I swear I've seen these in antique stores! No date, sadly....I'd love to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 1992, poppy seeds and cumin. The wedding gift spice rack, that's how I know to what to date them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I have a thyme can, 4 inches tall, from the G-E-L Spice company. It was OLD when I got married 24 years ago. I'm guessing it's well over 30 years old. The CEO of G-E-L Spice company is 85, according to their website. Yes, they still exist. But this is a metal can, solid gold colored (not the red/white McCormicks of more recent vintage). I swear I've seen these in antique stores! No date, sadly....I'd love to know. Show a picture! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHASRADA Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Well, I certainly won't win with this one, but I still find it hilarious. In the summer of 2006, we sold our house and cars, put our belongings in storage and lived overseas for a year. I gave away most of my pantry items, but brought a few refrigerated condiments to my mom's house, where we were staying for a couple of months before leaving on our extended trip. Just last weekend we were visiting my parents and my son decided to make stir-fry. There were two bottles of teriyaki sauce in the fridge, so I told him to finish one before he used the other. A few minutes later, he brought me the bottle he had just finished. It still had the price sticker on the cover, with the name of the supermarket it was purchased from. You guessed it, it was from my fridge circa 2006 :001_huh:. Incidentally, my parents date every pantry item they purchase with a sharpie. Now I know why ;). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 (edited) OH OH OH Pick me! Pick me! I have cayenne (that I used yesterday) dated 18APR76. I win! I also have a crean of tarter container from the 50's that I refill (it was my grandmothers) Lara I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. I think I have you beat, though, Lara. My mom and I moved to Virginia in 1973 when my parents got divorced. When she died in 1995 I took her spice rack and hung it my kitchen - spices and all. I'm fairly certain we brought a lot of those spices with us when we moved. Here's a link to their 1970s history page. My jars are the like the ones on the second shelf down on the left. Some have silver borders and some have gold. http://www.mccormickcorporation.com/Corporate/layouts/companyHistory1970_1979.aspx ETA: I found this listing on ebay for a McCormick ad from 1964 with bottles just like mine. Knowing my mom, her spices could actually have been that old, lol. http://cgi.ebay.com/1964-ad-McCormick-Schilling-Gourmet-spices-VINTAGE-AD-/400053300960?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d2508eee0 Edited January 22, 2011 by Kathleen in VA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I just recently tossed a bottle of Bay Seasoning that I purchased before we were married. We've been married for 8 years. Oy! :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s.z.ichigo Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Caraway seeds.....1989 I think I win. Or...my husband wins. He was in college when he bought it. I was in 4th grade. He's also got curry powder from his grandmother that may well outdate HIM, but he can't pin a date to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalypso Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I have some 16 year old celery seed, cilantro, and cumin in the cabinet. I'm not sure why I don't throw them away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyNellen Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Definitely my mother-in-law. She has (and uses) spices that she collected from her mother's cabinet when her mother died - 26 years ago!!! I am not kidding!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 We just threw out paprika that expired in 2008 and a package of dry yeast that expired in 1997. The package of yeast was stuck to the bottom of a blue lid. A lid that has no bowl and was stuck to the back of the lid drawer. I probably threw away the bowl because I couldn't find a lid for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Oh, this is a serious problem of my MILs. We were cleaning her kitchen and found a whole bunch of spice "tins"...and they are tins....rusted, icky, old McCormick spice tins.....from "the war". Possibly before. When she announced this, my smart aleck oldest son said, "Wow, Grandma, from the War Between the States, that's cool!" :lol: They're just little tins of dust now. She insists they're fine and she still uses them. :glare: We won't be eating anything over there again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mejane Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I have some that belonged to my mother. She died twelve years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.