I taste a new supply of _________ before cooking with it
OK. A few months ago I ruined a batch of green chili stew by following my regular recipe but using from a new bottle of ground cloves. Someone who used to cook professionally said always taste new supplies before using them. So glad I remembered! On Sunday I was making meatloaf and had new horseradish (the little glass bottle found near the cold cuts). Phew-eeee! I don't think anything has dared come near my sinuses since.
Obviously some ingredients, Hellman's mayo for instance, are very consistent. Other ingredients like herbs and spices vary because they are less processed. That's part of their charm as long as they don't sneak up on us.
What groceries do you taste first when you get a new supply?
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11 Comments:
Jalapenos. They can vary so widely in their heat level, it seems.
renzata at 1:26AM on 01/06/09
Nuts. Nothing worse than finding out the nuts have gone bad AFTER you've ruined a batch of something. Besides, they're a good snack.
dbcurrie at 1:58AM on 01/06/09
wine, liquors ect. First to see if I like it so it can go used in the dish and then just because lol.
pjracz10 at 5:22AM on 01/06/09
Flour, cornmeal, nuts and anything else that can go rancid. By taste - just a teeny bit on the tip of my tongue. If it's rancid, I'll know and taste it for a week. I learned the hard way.
PerkyMac at 8:36AM on 01/06/09
I always taste a green or red grape when I'm buying them ever since I bought some and they were so sour I couldn't eat them.
joanpieroni2 at 9:02AM on 01/06/09
I'm a grape-sneaker as well. Nothing worse than spending a bunch of money on grapes only to find they are all sour. Same with Cherries.
@Perky...you taught me something new...I didn't know flour could go rancid????
juliebugsmama at 11:54AM on 01/06/09
@juliebugs ~ keep it in the freezer if you have room. if not, keep it in a dark, dry place in a container with a tight cap - away from heat and light. I realized later, that the sun was baking the cabinet where I stored the rancid flour. you never tasted anything so awful and I wasn't exaggerating - it took at least a week to get the taste out of my mouth and smell out of my sinuses. now, I test - even if it has been stored in the freezer.
PerkyMac at 3:50PM on 01/06/09
i have to check and smell potatoes before i but them. maggots are a awful thing.
dearrie at 6:09PM on 01/06/09
i smell, not taste foods... nuts, milk, spices... im afraid to taste the nuts or milk usually and i dont know what spices taste like when they are right. they definitely have a wrong scent when they are bad.
oranges and limes i can offer to my cat to know if they are good. he will always turn his nose up at them if they are past their time.
blizcheetah at 7:33PM on 01/06/09
EVERYTHING!!!!
pooch at 9:55PM on 01/06/09
I squeeze the potatoes, too soft...in the bin. Same for carrots, onions, etc. Being majorly ill for the last 3 years was a bad scene in my pantry. When I was up and about after my 5th or 6th surgery, all my pantry staples had expired. I filled a garbage bin with all the expired jars in the fridge alone, and don't me started on the canned goods....everything went. Flour, sugar, hard as a rock brown sugar...it was really sad. The bright side was I was able to re-paper the pantry shelves. Oh, there is nothing worse than rancid butter. All went out.
lamora at 10:55PM on 01/06/09