My Porridge Am Rotten

[Manny Calavera]

Does anyone know how long a can of oats will keep? I just found a can of McCann's Irish Oats in my cabinet, and I'm pretty certain it's been in there for about a year. I'd like to eat some, but I'm afraid of the violent, bloody diarrhea. Thanks.

 

[j]

It's probably fine, if it doesn't smell fermented and weird. Check for weevils or other bugs, though.

 

[texas_jack]

Keep the mealworms. They make good bait.

 

[hermes]

that tin of mccann's is sealed inside (there is that metal seal that you have to perforate when you remove the lid of the tin) so as long as it is dry and the tin isn't rusted, it's likely good

all grains if stored in a dry airtight container can last a decade or more

 

[hermes]

found this by chance:

Oatmeal From '70s Still Tastes OKJoanna Glasner 11.14.05 | 2:00 AM
Next time you feel compelled to clean out the pantry, don't feel bad about putting it off.

A lot of the old food that's gone beyond the manufacturer's expiration date could still be edible for years or decades longer.

Such are the findings of food science researchers who recently subjected a panel of human tasters to samples of really old food. They discovered that artifacts like 20-year-old dried milk and 28-year-old rolled oats were still perfectly edible and sometimes even tasted OK.

"You'd think that shelf life would be much shorter," said Oscar Pike, one of the professors of food science at Brigham Young University who conducted the study. "But that's not the case."

Food scientists have long maintained that certain foodstuffs, like salt, granulated crystal sugar and wheat kernels, can be stored indefinitely at room temperature or below. But Pike said he was uncertain whether a more processed grain, such as a rolled oat, would also stand the test of time.

To find out, researchers prepared oatmeal from 16 samples of regular and quick-cooking rolled oats that had been stored up to 28 years in sealed containers. A panel of tasters rated the oats on aroma, texture, flavor, aftertaste and overall acceptability. Scientists also analyzed the samples' nutritional quality.

The conclusion? Tasters rated the quality of the old oats from 4.8 to 6.7 on an ascending scale from 1 to 9. Three-fourths considered them acceptable in an emergency.

Makers of long-lasting food products aren't surprised that people weren't keen on the taste of 1970s oatmeal.

"Palatability will decline before edibility vanishes," said Gary Hansen, owner of Pleasant Hill Grain, which sells food packages for emergency stockpiling.

Properly stored food, Hansen noted, can be edible longer than one might infer from manufacturers' expiration dates, which typically indicate when a product starts to taste worse or lose some nutritional value.

Hansen said he's seen rising interest in emergency preparedness in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. But while the retailer's most popular package -- a supply of dehydrated food to feed one person for a year -- is selling well, customers' level of concern is much lower than in 1999. Then, Americans stockpiled massive quantities in anticipation of a Y2K disaster.

Ted Labuza, a food science and engineering professor at the University of Minnesota, said research has shown that seeds can last for thousands of years if they're not damaged. Processing and improper storage practices that expose items to heat or oxygen are what cause deterioration.

"I've had canned chicken that was stored in a military case for seven years," Labuza recalled. "It was still very edible."

Pike said there are myriad reasons for ultra-long-term food storage, including maintaining surplus food stocks for humanitarian aid or national emergencies. He also doesn't discount the likelihood of individuals keeping stockpiles for years or decades.

In some cases, they already are. To get samples for edibility testing, Brigham Young researchers put an ad in the LDS Church News, a Mormon publication, asking for donations of old packaged food that had been stored under stable conditions. Pike said he chose the periodical for soliciting donations because the church advises members to store a year's supply of food in preparation for hard times.

But even he was surprised to receive samples decades old and still in good condition.

"It's really unique to have food around that long," he said.

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2005/11/69447

 

[GQgeek]

The oldest food I ever ate were Army rations packaged in the late 80s. I had them in '97-98 during a cadets survival training trip.

They were actually pretty good!

 

[acidboy]

If it's still bone dry, then there should be nothing wrong with it. The bad stuff happens when moisture's present.

 

[Sartorian]

McCann's is great, but what the hell happened to their quick cooking steel cut oats? After having steel cut, there's no way I'm ever eating regular oats again. Man, that stuff is like some kind of magic potion.

 

[acidboy]

Im not familiar with "steel cut". What's the difference?

 

[tonylumpkin]

Originally Posted by acidicboy

Im not familiar with "steel cut". What's the difference?

Regular breakfast oats, such as Quaker, are rolled (read that crushed) so that they 1) cook faster and 2) acquire a smoother texture when cooked. Steel-cut oats are left intact, except that they are sliced with a steel blade (hence the name), so that the liquid used in cooking can permeate the inner grain. Exciting stuff, huh?
The result however is an oatmeal with more bite and texture than you get with rolled oats. I think it also helps retain more of the oat flavor, especially when mixed with brown sugar, dried fruit, toasted nuts and steamed milk, which is the only way to eat them...imnsho!

 

[Bandwagonesque]

Yup, as long as there is no moisture and it doesn't have a rancid smell, it's perfectly fine to eat.

Steel cut oats are the ****. The texture and the nutty flavour of them beats the hell out of your standard Quaker rolled oats (still, these are the best for oatmeal cookies). The downside is that they take about 20-30 minutes to cook.

 

[hermes]

for mccann's steel cut oatmeal, you can do an overnight soak method, which is what i do, and it only takes about 5 minutes in the morning to cook

at night, bring your water to a boil and throw in your steel cut oats and immediately turn off the heat
cover it and leave on the stove overnight
in the morning, turn stove onto a medium heat and in about 5-7 minutes, the time it should take to jump into the shower, it will be done