A little light relief

Sounds like a variation of one of my favourites - a good quality blue cheese on a dark chocolate digestive biscuit.

That is assuming that the shelf stackers are doing their job properly. However, for fresh stuff, I often find that turnover is high enough that everything on the shelf is the same date. For other stuff, like tinned goods, it probably doesn't make a lot of difference. Tins may well end up well past their best before date just sitting in my cupboard.

I'm working my way through 72 tins of haggis I bought a few years ago when they were about 35p each :-)

Owain

Might be quite nice, though.

Looking forward to christmas cake with cheese in January.

(Why in January - because they'll be half the price of buying them in December).

Owain

In message snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com, snipped-for-privacy@gowanhill.com writes

You *buy* Christmas cakes? Shame on you - made ours earlier this week, and yes, it is divine with cheese :-)

I'm not sure why dates are printed on tins. How did we survive before the dates were printed? I've used countless tins that were well past the printed date, and never noticed a difference in the quality of the contents, or spent the next few days 'squatting'.

some 15 years ago, we were staying in the hotel on a little Scottish island and were in the shop looking at postcards, when an irate man went up to the counter (he was probabaly from one of the camping families) and said "I bought this tin yesterday and it's past its use-by date" The lady behind the counter said 2So, I suppose you'll be wanting your money back, then?" and gave it to him. Once he'd left the shop, the tin went back on the shelf.

Fruit cake with cheese is a standard Yorkshire 'thing'.

More stuff gets thrown away by the shop if everyone does it.

We checked whether they were bulgy or putrifying, but occasionally we got it wrong.

I have a Big Book of Food Safety showing bulgy tins, mouldy yoghurts, decomposing chickens etc, from about the 1970s. Such things were quite common then. Food manufacturing has improved a lot and now it's quite rare to find actually defective food. Modern food might not have much taste or nutrition but it's less likely to kill you.

Owain

We gave up making christmas cakes as a family when there were so many power cuts, and it's an expensive waste losing a christmas cake half cooked in the oven. Also the shop ones have got better quality and value for money since then.

Might knock out a batch of mince pies though. I still have half a doz jars of mincemeat to use up (20p each I think, from about March).

Owain

A good sharp cheese goes well with a pork pie too.

Owain

In message snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com, snipped-for-privacy@gowanhill.com writes

Excellent. Still working through a large batch of mincemeat made in

I'm trying, and failing, to think of any circumstances in which I might buy 72 tins of haggis. :-)

The circumstances were they were about 35p each (normally £1.50).

Haggis marinara Haggis risotto Haggis pizza

Owain

Nope. Lower price stickers get put on it as it approaches expiry. This then helps less fortunate people buy goods they otherwise they could not afford. WIN WIN

I'm failing to think of anything which would make me buy one tin of haggis.

It's very tasty.

I forgot to mention last week's haggis and red pepper soup :-)

Owain

the price is right