What's The Oldest Item in Your Refrigerator?

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Not sure of the date, but once I had a meatloaf that was starting to sing versions of actual 'Meat Loaf' songs.

So need a LIKE button for that.

Getting back OT, I've recently purged and cleaned out the fridge (which I try to do at least twice a year to prevent stuff from hanging out too long) so I think the oldest thing I recently got rid of was a can of applesauce that sat opened for a week.

Don't ask . . . my Mom gets in the kitchen in the middle of the night and stuck it in there.

I did, however, find a box of pasta that was 2 years out of date when Mom and I were cleaning out the box stuff that we weren't using and a can of Veg-All mixed veggies that were 3 years out of date (can't recall the last time I did a roast in the crock pot.)

[Ironclad Alibi]

One of the advice columnists did a survey on this topic back in the 70s. The oldest item in many people's refrigerators was a lump of leavening they had been using for decades. I think the baking soda box was second.

[Jester]

I have some items in the fridge that are several years old, but they are all alcohol of some sort, so they're fine. (Various beers I've been sitting on, a couple bottles of champagne I've had no use for so far, and some rum I infused with strawberries for a bartending competition many years ago. I really need to drink that rum...)

As far as potentially gross stuff...I do have a Tupperware of one of my chilis from a while back that is definitely goners and I do need to pitch. (Although chili will last longer in the fridge than you might think.) Beyond that, since I pitched a few things a while back, nothing too hideous....I think.

Back then beer: the enemies of beer are heat and light. If you keep it in your fridge, it will see very little light, and no heat, and while some flavors may subtly change over time, and hoppy beers may lose a bit of their hoppiness with age, overall, beer in you r fridge should be fine for quite some time. So that Bud in the old fridge not degrading is not surprising to me. Hell, I have a lot of beers sitting in my pantry that have been there for some time, and they've all been fine.

[Ceir]

I'm pretty decent about my fridge, but there are a few things. Like that big jar of sauerkraut that's a couple years old at this point. On the other hand, it's still sealed, and it's sauerkraut - what's it gonna do, get more pickled?

[notalwaysright]

Well, I just moved plus my old fridge did not auto defrost so I had to completely clean the thing every few months. That being said I think it's either a bottle of Worcestershire sauce or a jar of nacho jalapenos. I don't think those really go bad? Haha, hopefully.

[Aria]

I can top that easily. I have blueberry jam from 1997 in my fridge. I picked blueberries as a child, mom made jam and it got forgotten in the cellar. She recently found it.

It's perfectly fine. (probably all the sugar)

[Jester]

I'm pretty decent about my fridge, but there are a few things. Like that big jar of sauerkraut that's a couple years old at this point. On the other hand, it's still sealed, and it's sauerkraut - what's it gonna do, get more pickled?

The great thing about pickled items is that it's almost impossible for them to go bad. I have a particular Tupperware type container I use for sauerkraut, since I use it in a dish I make somewhat regularly. It's been a few months since I made the dish, and there's still some kraut left in the container. Not only is it perfectly fine, but I just added a couple new bags of kraut to it, and mixed it all together, as I'm planning to make said dish again soon. And guess what? The kraut is just perfectly fine.

Same reason why I don't worry at all if I neglect a jar of pickles in the fridge for a while.

[Cia]

I just threw out something that used to be orange juice, it had three distinct layers. I think it's been in there since last year.