cardomom Cinnamon Cloves.. Hubbg brought organic packets of these and the expiry date says next month!! Can’t return it also and without a month how much can one use?Should I discard it? Also have a packet of maida which is expired!! What do I do?
Unless they get infested with worms I guess one can use. Generally I haven't noticed expiry dates on these. Maidha I would carefully check for very very small worms.
We do not know if Mr. anika987 bought whole or ground spice. Whole spices would last a long time, whereas ground spices (greater surface area enables aromatic volatiles to escape) would turn into wood dust in a few months. Adding that to a recipe would do no harm, but would also do no good, except add some fiber to the diet. Your recommended smell test should be helpful.
Same for all the flour? I have few besan, rice flour,maida,ragi flour in my pantry. I got those very long back and didn't use much. I don't see any worms in it. All are opened pack except besan. It's unopened pack. Can we still use it? Rice flour and ragi flour doesn't have worms. But it smells little bad and not so fresh. I didn't throw it yet. Can we still use those?
If the flour has no insects and smells okay I would use it. Sometimes old flour will have a strange smell even if there are no pests in it. In such cases I would discard it.
Oh yeah... When I was in Washington I had to rely on a packed food which I procured from a small kiosk outside a museum. After eating like 1/4th of it which tasted awful I saw and it was expired! Went back to the kiosk and told the lady this has expired (like 5 6 days past expiry). She smiled and said frozen food expiry dates are ignored . I starved rather than eating an expired uncooked egg plant kind of a burger. How far consumer protectionism is followed not sure!