If you’re planning for the apocalypse, some foods are better suited for an extended bunker stay than others. Shelf-stable groceries and pantry staples may feel like they’ll last forever, but most don’t, and some spoil a whole lot faster than you’d think. What I’m saying is it might be time to check the date on that bottle of expesnsive olive oil you’ve been milking or the 10-pound bag of rice you got on sale at Costco.
This guide to storing groceries in the fridge so they last longer will help some. Below are five foods that spoil faster than you’d think so you can predict when the end is nigh. If you’ve got some ingredients you need to use before they go, try these nine cooking hacks that actually work.
Olive oil
Thanks to a higher oil content than its white counterpart, uncooked brown rice only lasts for three or four months in the pantry.
Brown rice is another pantry mainstay that appears shelf-stable but should actually be used within a relatively short period of time. While white rice can last years if stored in an airtight container, brown rice really only lasts about three or four months before it starts to turn. This is mostly due to brown rice’s higher oil content.
Cooked rice, white or brown, has an even shorter life. If left unrefrigerated for even 90 minutes, cooked rice poses a real risk of food poisoning.
Mayonnaise
Spices that are past their prime won’t hurt you but they won’t help much, either.
While spices don’t go bad, per se, they become pretty much useless after a certain point, losing a lot of their flavor even when stored in those little airtight jars. Try to avoid buying large bottles of spices and be selective about what you throw in the cart. It’s one of the reasons I love high-quality spice mixes, which I find myself going through more quickly than the odd bottle of cardamom or clove. (You can also grow certain pricey spices, including saffron, at home.)
