How old is too old?

Sounds like a question for a college guy troving the refrigerator, eh? Well, it also sounds like me.

I know...gross.

This weekend, I polished off the crackers that my best friend brought with us to Italy but we never consumed. I regularly eat eggs, yogurt, and sour cream long past the expiration date someone pasted on the side of the container. The latter two merely require a bit of stirring to look like new again. If its been cooked, all bets are off. As long as there is no visible evidence of things growing, eat away. Leftovers can last a good two weeks at least, right?

Well, last week...uhm...I think I finally discovered the answer to the question just how old too old actually is: Eight years is definitely too long.

I was looking in the refrigerator a few days ago for something to put on my steak. I usually just throw a slab of meat on the grill, cook it four and a half minutes per side, and eat it plain. That is about all the cooking I am up to after working all day. But, this time, I was hankering for a bit of flavoring. Bernaise sauce was on my mind, and I even went so far as to look up the recipe on the Internet, but it would have been too much work. Then I spotted a bottle of A-1 Sauce. Perfect, eh?

I reached for it and then paused. The bottle has been with me through the last three moves, making it at least eight years old. Should I really eat it? I opened it and gave it my first test: a strong sniff. It certainly smells like A-1 Sauce. After passing the second test, visual inspection, I decided that surely something with so many chemicals in it would still be okay. I admit that I was a bit cautious with the first bite, but it passed the third test: a tentative taste.

So, I slathered it on the A-1 and crammed it into my mouth...and chewed. But I started thinking...even though it passed all three tests, should I really be consuming something that is eight years old? After taking a few more bites, I decided that, perhaps, eight years really is too old and dumped the bottle in the trash.

Tonight I had the final portion of the pot of lentils I cooked when my father was over for a visit.

That was only nine days ago.