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Absolutely! We are all genetically programmed to detect food that has gone bad. So USE THAT NOSE!
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Originally Posted by maggie2101
Last week we stopped at the store on the way home from an appointment. I bought a package of chicken, among other things, and the sell by date was 3 days after the current date. On the way home I said to hubby "something stinks, did you fart?". He claimed innocence. When we got home and I was putting the groceries away I realized it was the chicken that smelled so horrible. Chicken will let you know when it is bad.
Yes, that has happened to me. Thankfully it is a rare occurance, but it does happen. And when it happens, I either take it back to the store for a refund immediately, or I throw it into the freezer to neutralize the odor and then take it back the next day. It's not just a matter of not wasting money, it's also a matter of letting the store know they have a problem.
I have a package of chicken breasts that says "sell by 8/23" which was yesterday. I was planning to put it in the freezer today.
Would you eat it, or throw it out?
Thanks!
you can freeze it or eat it. Sell by: means exactly that, it doesn't mean use by..I hope you did freeze it right then: usually meat and poultry will be fine for a few days after the "sell by" date.
I don't think 1 day is a big deal. just make sure you cook it really well. of curse i'm not making any claim to know very much about food or nutrition...
I know this thread is 2 months old but I just had to say.....
Sometimes the due dates are wrong. When you buy chicken it is important that you look to see if it has any blood running inside the package it's in. If there's blood don't buy it if not then yes buy it. For me chicken is the opposite of meat. If meat (beef) has blood running inside he package then it's good to buy and less likely to have that almost purpleish color to it on the inside.
My problem is can uncooked chicken go bad when frozen. Sometimes chicken has a smell that is hard to describe to me it's smells bad but to others it just smells like it's been treated in something like salt or salt water. I always forget what it's called. My kitchen stinks so bad now that I am wondering if I put the darn things in when they were turning. I didn't notice any smell when I bought them but then I wasn't paying attention and didn't smell the packages before I bought them. 3 packages just might have to be put in the garbage and I don't want to throw them out and waste the food or money but at the same time I can't stand the thought of cooking and eating them with that awful foul smell. I looked all around to see if food fell on the floor and is going rancid but can't find anything. Even the freezer/refrig. baking soda won't help. I threw out the frozen veggies and still that smell, yuck. I did cook and freeze pork in soup in the crock pot and that doesn't seem to smell though I can't get the lids open cause they froze closed, lol. I may as well just get it over with and throw away the chicken and hope that makes the smell go away. If it doesn't then I wasted all that food.
When you buy chicken it is important that you look to see if it has any blood running inside the package it's in. If there's blood don't buy it if not then yes buy it. For me chicken is the opposite of meat. If meat (beef) has blood running inside he package then it's good to buy and less likely to have that almost purpleish color to it on the inside.
Definitely do what makes you happy, but this advice makes no sense to me. Freshly dressed chicken often has a little blood left in it which can leak out as it sits, and brining to make it juicier (also common in kosher chickens) can lead to a little liquid oozing out. That's why stores put absorbant packs under meat of all kinds, to catch any such leakage. And the color of beef is not as reliable a guide as it once was... long exposure to fluorescent lights makes beef turn darker, but changes nothing else. A quick shot of carbon monoxide gas before the package is sealed makes beef look redder.
Quote:
My problem is can uncooked chicken go bad when frozen.
Absolutely. Freezing slows down the growth of bacteria, but may not stop it completely. And freezing never makes food better. Since it can take a day to freeze a whole chicken solid, and a day to thaw it out, you're adding up to two days aging to an already smelly chicken and what do you get?
Quote:
Sometimes chicken has a smell that is hard to describe to me it's smells bad but to others it just smells like it's been treated in something like salt or salt water. I always forget what it's called.
Brining is soaking chicken in salt water to make it juicier. Is that what you mean? But that isn't a strong smell.
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My kitchen stinks so bad now that I am wondering if I put the darn things in when they were turning. I didn't notice any smell when I bought them but then I wasn't paying attention and didn't smell the packages before I bought them.
Two things occur to me... first, was there any delay in getting the food from the meat case at the store into your refrigerator? Sometimes people overlook the fact that transit time, especially if you have errand stops, can warm that food right up. I suggest reusable insulated shopping bags. I use them for even short trips.
Second, and this is very easy for people to overlook, is your refrigerator cold enough to keep food fresh? Check it with an accurate thermometer, at several different places. It should be no warmer than 40F anywhere, and a degree or two colder is better. I keep mine at 37F now. I once was in a roommate situation where we had a nice modern refrigerator, but my food just didn't last like it should. Everything was spoiling faster than expected. When I finally remembered to check the temperature I discovered that my stingy roommate had raised the thermostat in the fridge to 45F to try to save electricity, which we all paid for. But at 5 degrees above the safe storage range, everything was spoiling fast. And this was aggravated by the other roommate who would jam a lot of food into his section, and then hold the door open for five minutes at a time while he figured out where things were, so the interior warmed up to room temperature several times a day.
So check your temperature, make sure your food has space around it so the cold air can circulate - don't overcrowd it, and monitor that nobody is holding the door open for long periods.
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3 packages just might have to be put in the garbage and I don't want to throw them out and waste the food or money but at the same time I can't stand the thought of cooking and eating them with that awful foul smell. I looked all around to see if food fell on the floor and is going rancid but can't find anything. Even the freezer/refrig. baking soda won't help. I threw out the frozen veggies and still that smell, yuck. I did cook and freeze pork in soup in the crock pot and that doesn't seem to smell though I can't get the lids open cause they froze closed, lol. I may as well just get it over with and throw away the chicken and hope that makes the smell go away. If it doesn't then I wasted all that food.
I hope not. But check thoroughly before you take such drastic action. I once had a real stink in the refrigerator that drove me crazy until I finally discovered that a leaky fish package in the back had dripped fluid that ran down the back wall of the box and wound up pooling under the produce drawers where it could not be seen until the drawers were completely removed. Went that stuff went off, it was worse than a garbage truck on a hot day!
Definitely do what makes you happy, but this advice makes no sense to me. Freshly dressed chicken often has a little blood left in it which can leak out as it sits, and brining to make it juicier (also common in kosher chickens) can lead to a little liquid oozing out. That's why stores put absorbent packs under meat of all kinds, to catch any such leakage. And the color of beef is not as reliable a guide as it once was... long exposure to fluorescent lights makes beef turn darker, but changes nothing else. A quick shot of carbon monoxide gas before the package is sealed makes beef look redder.
I read about not buying bloody chicken from one of the gazillion sites in Google about how to buy freshest chicken in the supermarket. I don't buy fresh chicken I only buy the prepackaged supermarket cut up chicken parts, usually the no antibiotic added kind. I learned the same thing about the beef from an online site and when I kept buying beef that was dry. When it's purplish on the inside I see it's kind dry but still good to eat. I'm just fussy about it though because I am so used to beef being read and bloody that it's really the only one I buy. I always thought it was dye they put in, well, not always lol, I did used to think it was actually the blood but not anymore. I wonder if that gas is what makes it taste so bad the last like 5 years. I used to love beef steaks in the 90's but over time when the 2000's came it got a bad taste to me. I still buy now once in a while but only when I have to change my diet to try and loose some weight. Yeah I forgot they put that absorbent pack in the packages but I thought it was for when it was first wrapped and if it's still leaking then I won't buy it because I don't buy freshly packaged chicken.
[quote=OpenD;26589653]Absolutely. Freezing slows down the growth of bacteria, but may not stop it completely. And freezing never makes food better. Since it can take a day to freeze a whole chicken solid, and a day to thaw it out, you're adding up to two days aging to an already smelly chicken and what do you get? ]/quote]
Come to think of it I don't think I put them in the freezer right away like I normally do. I just kept them in the store bought package in the refrigerator then later put them in the freezer, maybe the next day, I'm not sure when. I noticed it takes the same amount of time for packaged chicken parts to thaw. But I don't know how long it takes for the packaged parts to freeze. I also have two chicken thighs I wrapped in those individual chicken plastic wraps (new product) then I put them individually wrapped in a ziploc bag.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OpenD
Brining is soaking chicken in salt water to make it juicier. Is that what you mean? But that isn't a strong smell.
Hmm, then I'm not sure what the smell is. Maybe it's just a smell indicating it's turning? I don't really know I just know when I smell that smell I do not dare buy it, cook or eat it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OpenD
Two things occur to me... first, was there any delay in getting the food from the meat case at the store into your refrigerator? Sometimes people overlook the fact that transit time, especially if you have errand stops, can warm that food right up. I suggest reusable insulated shopping bags. I use them for even short trips.
I went home but stopped to mail a letter that wasn't far away. I don't think, as I said above, that I put them in the freezer right away but I did immediately put them in the refrigerator when I got home I usually do that first. I just don't know how long I took to get them in the freezer. I do use that reusable insulated shopping bag and the time I bought these packages of chicken I had it filled to the top with packaged frozen vegetables, butter, eggs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OpenD
Second, and this is very easy for people to overlook, is your refrigerator cold enough to keep food fresh? Check it with an accurate thermometer, at several different places. It should be no warmer than 40F anywhere, and a degree or two colder is better. I keep mine at 37F now. I once was in a roommate situation where we had a nice modern refrigerator, but my food just didn't last like it should. Everything was spoiling faster than expected. When I finally remembered to check the temperature I discovered that my stingy roommate had raised the thermostat in the fridge to 45F to try to save electricity, which we all paid for. But at 5 degrees above the safe storage range, everything was spoiling fast. And this was aggravated by the other roommate who would jam a lot of food into his section, and then hold the door open for five minutes at a time while he figured out where things were, so the interior warmed up to room temperature several times a day.
I completely forgot to buy a new thermometer. I broke the last one I had. I don't understand why people stand there and just look inside the refrigerator/freezer when they can't decide what they want it irks me to to no end when people do that. I am a little guilty of it though but not for the same reason. I kept it open too long, I think, when I was filling it with groceries that day that I bought the chicken I suspect is going bad.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OpenD
So check your temperature, make sure your food has space around it so the cold air can circulate - don't overcrowd it, and monitor that nobody is holding the door open for long periods.
I can't find the freezer control? where the heck is it? I see the refrigerator control dial right in front when I open the door but I can't for the life of me find the freezer one I see what I did wrong with how I did over crowd it. I threw out some old food I knew I wouldn't eat like the opened (twisted shut) frozen vegetables. Some frozen cold cuts. I still have those two chicken thighs I double wrapped and had in the freezer for about a month if not longer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OpenD
I hope not. But check thoroughly before you take such drastic action. I once had a real stink in the refrigerator that drove me crazy until I finally discovered that a leaky fish package in the back had dripped fluid that ran down the back wall of the box and wound up pooling under the produce drawers where it could not be seen until the drawers were completely removed. Went that stuff went off, it was worse than a garbage truck on a hot day!
I did find left over eggs I cooked and put in a baggie. When I opened it the smell was rancid for sure. Still that smell lingers. The only thing I can think of is the smell was not there before I put that chicken in the freezer but the pork chops in the soup with some veggies was put in a few days after I cooked and refrigerated it. It's a close call as to which one it is. That's what I narrowed it down to. It's either the chicken I bought last week, the pork chop stew or the two chicken thighs I had wrapped for close to or longer than a month. It's driving me crazy trying to figure it out. BTW that port chop stew didn't come out that good anyway so I don't mind throwing that out. It's too bland and I forgot to put onions in it. I don't usually eat pork chops but I was so bored with chicken I needed something different. I wonder if it's that and I just can't tell at this point.
Thank you OpenD I appreciate your helping and educating me.
Not much you can do when the chicken has already "gone off" as my Grandmother used to say.
But for future reference, I always unwrap the chicken from the store wrappings as soon as I have a few minutes when putting the groceries away. I take the chicken out of the wrapping, at which point it will let me know by the smell if something's fishy - or should I say "chickeny"? I then re-wrap the chicken in clear plastic wrap, then store it in a plastic freezer bag and freeze. I do the same with beef products. I find that removing the wrapping and discarding that little pad under the meat goes a long way to help the meat stay fresher. Even if you just plan to use it tomorrow and not even freeze it. A roll of plastic wrap is a lot cheaper than the package of chicken that you have to toss.
Not much you can do when the chicken has already "gone off" as my Grandmother used to say.
But for future reference, I always unwrap the chicken from the store wrappings as soon as I have a few minutes when putting the groceries away. I take the chicken out of the wrapping, at which point it will let me know by the smell if something's fishy - or should I say "chickeny"? I then re-wrap the chicken in clear plastic wrap, then store it in a plastic freezer bag and freeze. I do the same with beef products. I find that removing the wrapping and discarding that little pad under the meat goes a long way to help the meat stay fresher. Even if you just plan to use it tomorrow and not even freeze it. A roll of plastic wrap is a lot cheaper than the package of chicken that you have to toss.
I see your grandmother was right after this. I put the chicken thighs in the new ziploc perfect portions bags and then put that in another ziploc bag. So I didn't suspect them. I didn't check to make sure they were freezer ziploc bags so from now on I will only buy the freezer bags not the storage ones for food. I do use the non stick aluminum foil but I never buy the clear wrap maybe I will start using that too now.
From now on I will make sure I check the temperature on the thermometer I am buying today and I will always take the chicken out of the store bought package and rewrap even if it's going in the refirgerator for one day. I usually cook my chicken that night but this time I didn't and now I know never do this again. That stink is just too strong so I am disgarding it today. It smells like it has alread turned, yuck. Thank you theatergypsy I will make sure I always rewrap my chicken and meat before I refrigerate and freeze. I just didn't think this time I was in a hurry and shoved the chicken in the refrigerator then waited, I'm guessing, too long to put in the freezer. I must have waited too long to do that and that's when it started to spoil. I never considered all that I learned today beause I didn't know what to consider until now. I also see now I have to change my shopping time so I don't find myself in a rush and neglect rewrapping raw meat and storing/freezing it properly.
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I see what I did wrong with how I did over crowd it. I threw out some old food I knew I wouldn't eat like the opened (twisted shut) frozen vegetables. Some frozen cold cuts. I still have those two chicken thighs I double wrapped and had in the freezer for about a month if not longer. 
