How old is too old for canned goods?

Chef Boyardee is regularly around $1 a can. If you are looking at a strictly cost-saving meal, May I suggest Ramen Noodles? You can get it in a low-salt formula and put some spinach, carrots or other veggie in there to offset the bad stuff.

 

I thought you were going to ask how old should YOU be before you stop eating Chef Boyardee ravioli. In which case I would say 43.

 

43??? Sonofabitch.

 

Never could get into ramen noodles, even when I was flat broke. They just didn't taste good enough to justify the shame of actually eating ramen noodles.
The Chef Boyardee stuff was good and gave me some variety. Back when I ate it regularly, 7-8 years ago, two cans was a meal for under $2. That's not bad.
This stuff tonight was something I bought because I was in the mood for it. Probably in 2008. Now, it might be a while before I'm in the mood for it again.

 

I'm not sure I would be able to detect by taste if a can of Chef Boyardee ravioli had gone bad.

But, then again, if that was the only thing I had left, I would probably try to use it as bait to catch something to eat.

 

It wasn't the only thing I had left. Just didn't feel like making any of the other things.

 

We cleaned out my mom's pantry a couple years back and found a couple cans of food older than my then 12-year-old son.

We could tell some of the stuff dated back to when she had to move out of her condo for refurbishment after the 1994 SoCal earthquake.

Needless to say, we didn't eat any of it.

 

My great uncle died in May. This year. I found canned goods 10+ years past their expiration dates. There was meat in the freezer with "sell by Sept. 6, 1999." Three freezers' worth -- enough to feed Somalia. Little milk cartons stamped Oct 2009. Grits, 2007. A couple stray Taco Bell tacos, age unknown.

I did save the MREs, though.

 

Has anyone else noticed that Batman keeps signing on ... then signing off ... then signing on again ... then leaving again abruptly?

Hmmmmm. I wonder if the 12-hour window I gave him kicked in a little early.

 

Strangely enough, I've eaten a lot of canned goods past expiration date because of my forgetfulness a few years ago.

My dad worked at Campbell's Soup at one point, so we got cases of the stuff for virtually free. (I would take giant boxes worth of it to college and give it out for free. I was known as the 'soup guy' in my dorm. I once went an entire quarter without paying for food. And I had a nice money-making racket going re-selling V8 to my parents' elderly neighbors on the black market. Apparently discounted V8 is coveted by old people.)

Anyways, I had so much of the stuff that I just started piling it under my bed. Forgot about it for about two years. The stuff was still edible, but really tinny tasting. I never got sick eating it, though.

 

Naw, I'm doing OK right now. My wife wanted her computer time, so I had to check out for a while

 

I thought I was done with ramen noodles years ago - then my kids started showing an interest in the "Chopped" show on Food Network, and one thing led to another ... we tried a mixture of ramen noodles, a can of drained whole-kernel corn and a pound of browned ground beef.

It was freaking excellent. Now I'm back on the horse.

Looks like prison slop - but the whole family can eat for about $5 total (including a salad).