Keep or Toss pantry items

[Elizabeth86]

I was looking through my pantry and I had a sudden urge to toss out any expired items in there.  I regret that choice as I'm too tired to sort it and put it back now, but it's too late.  lol De

I have a box of powdered milk.  The only thing I ever use it for is a bread machine recipe that I make like twice a year.  It expired in December 2017.  I'd usually say automatically toss something that old, but it seems like powdered milk wouldn't get old. IDK.  I'm not thinking clearly.  Do I toss or keep it? 

I also have a bag of powdered sugar that expired last month.  It's unopened.  Do you think it's still good?  

This is all probably obvious to everyone but me right now.  I should be napping instead of cleaning out my pantry.  

[Kassia]

I read somewhere that powdered sugar is good forever but I'm not sure.  I always do a search on google when I'm not sure - there are charts that say how long items are good for past the date.  

I use this site a lot - this is the info for powdered milk:

https://www.eatbydate.com/dairy/milk/how-long-does-powdered-milk-last-shelf-life/

[Elizabeth86]

1 minute ago, Kassia said:

I read somewhere that powdered sugar is good forever but I'm not sure.  I always do a search on google when I'm not sure - there are charts that say how long items are good for past the date.  

I use this site a lot - this is the info for powdered milk:

https://www.eatbydate.com/dairy/milk/how-long-does-powdered-milk-last-shelf-life/

That's a great site! Thank you!

 

[klmama]

I'd definitely keep the powdered sugar. 

According to this article, how long powdered milk lasts may depend on the fat content: https://www.thespruceeats.com/does-powdered-milk-go-bad-1388298

[Tanaqui]

Shelf stable foods are shelf stable, which is why there is no law mandating expiration dates on them. All those expiration dates are put on by the manufacturer, and if they mean anything at all they mean "the quality may degrade slightly - it might taste a little stale". Though in some cases, as with sugar, they don't mean anything at all.

Items with a high fat content may go rancid. They're still edible, but they might not be so palatable. If your powdered milk smells and looks fine, and tastes about the way you'd expect, then it probably is fine.

[Martha in GA]

I think you should be able to smell the powdered milk to see if it has gone bad. Mine usually lasts past the expiration date, but it does start smelling bad after a while.

 

[Arcadia]

Sugar keeps well, way past expiry date. For powdered milk, I would toss if opened just because I rather not risk a tummy upset. If it is still sealed, I would use if its less than a year old. My husband would use as long as its unopened but his digestive system is not sensitive.

[Ausmumof3]

I also use powdered milk for my pizza dough but I’ve worked out I can make the same recipe without it but substituting fresh milk for some of the water.

[Carrie12345]

Sugar is a keeper. The only things that will make sugar bad are moisture and bugs or vermin.

Powdered milk… I’d be inclined to ditch an open container after this much time. I might keep a low or no-fat airtight container, but probably not one that has had a lot of oxygen exposure over such a long period of time.