Bread expiration dates
Questor
loaf's cellophane?
I realize if there is green or odor then avoid it but I wonder if
there is any general rule in setting the date.
RickMerrill
> Generally, how long is bread editable after the expiration date on the
> loaf's cellophane?
>
Did you want to edit it or eat it? Surely someone will point out that
money comes in bundles not loafs - but there, I've given away the punch
line...
> I realize if there is green or odor then avoid it but I wonder if
> there is any general rule in setting the date.
That may depend on how much preservatives there are in the bread. You
could ask your friendly neighborhood grocers this question.
Rod Speed
> Generally, how long is bread editable after
> the expiration date on the loaf's cellophane?
There is no nice tidy number, it depends on how
much preservative there is in the bread, and how
you store it, in the fridge or freezer etc.
> I realize if there is green or odor then avoid it
It generally goes visibly mouldy before the odour is affected.
> but I wonder if there is any general rule in setting the date.
Nope, and there cant be, because it depends on how you store it.
Dave Garland
No. Depends on how you store it. If it's hot and humid, mold will
start quicker than if it's cool and dry, refrigerator is better yet,
freezer best of all. Breadboxes are designed for storing unsliced
bread NOT in cellophane. (The plastic/cellophane holding in moisture
makes conditions for mold to grow.) If you take it out of the
plastic/cellophane it will stay edible pretty much forever, at least
in a non-humid climate, though it will get stale. If it gets a little
stale, sprinkling a few drops of water on it and nuking it in the
microwave will freshen it up.
If you're storing it at room temperature in plastic, the appearance of
moisture inside the plastic is a sign that mold is going to be visible
soon. Sometimes taking the bread out of the plastic and letting it
air for an afternoon helps delay the onset.
If it's not sliced, even a little mold won't hurt, you can just trim
it off. (Sliced, there's a lot more surface area and mold gets out of
hand faster.)
Dave
BillGill
use up a loaf in a week and a half to 2 weeks, and haven't had much
problem with it. It may be starting to dry out a bit by the time I
finish off the loaf, but it is still edible. I suppose gourmets might
fault it, but then I never claimed to be a gourmet.
Before I put it back in the fridge I always make sure to grab the
open end of the sack and give the sack a spin to close the opening
up good and tight.
If I'm going to the store and it looks like I might be going to finish off
my current loaf before I will need to go again I buy a fresh loaf and
put it in the freezer.
Bill
Dave Garland
An interesting and informative post.
> Where I live the dated "fresh" period is eight days. Bread stores
> quite nicely in its plastic wrap, particularly at warmer temperatures,
> for up to two additional weeks.
The first link you give, though, starts by saying that bread stores
better out of the wrap. They offer the preferred options of wrapping
the bread in paper or cloth, both of which breathe. Pre-sliced bread
is certainly a different issue, when possible I get unsliced bread
because it keeps much better and doesn't tend to be full of additives.
The second link does say it's better to freeze it for longer term
storage. I'd have to agree, but often don't have room in my freezer,
so the refrigerator shelf is second best.
As a general rule, baked goods of any
> kind should not be refrigerated. Refrigeration is why off-the-shelf
> grocery store "bakery" cakes always are stale.
Apparently there are two different things meant by "stale", or maybe
I'm using the word incorrectly. I was meaning "dried out and hard".
The second link is refers to "retrogradation" (which I'd never heard
of), a transformation of the starch.
> only certain breads that
> are offered under the "Nature's Own" and the "Arnold's" brands may be
> had without HFCS and/or sugar. Even "health food" or "natural" breads
> may contain HFCS and/or sugar; they are, after all, natural. Of the two
> commercial products available to me ("Nature's Own Whitewheat Healthy
> White" and "Arnold's Whole Grain White"), I much prefer the Arnold's
> product because, while a bit too soft, its flavor and texture most
> closely resemble actual food. Neither holds a candle to the generic
> white baked by my wife or by my sister.
I usually buy bread at a bakery that mostly sells to the restaurant
trade. At the end of the day, it's half price (what doesn't sell gets
given to food shelves) so it's relatively frugal ($2.50/loaf, yeah
it's more than Wonderbread but it's real bread) and while it isn't
labeled with an ingredient list it's very good (my favorite is the
sesame semolina). They'll run it through the slicer for you, but I
don't find slicing bread to be all that onerous and bread keeps much
better unsliced.
Dave