[morte]

Originally Posted by RNperdiem

I wonder just what kind of preservatives went into that syrup. I have had maple syrup go moldy before.

not sure about the "fake" syrups, but maple syrup doesnt mold, what does mold is the layer of water diluted syrup on top of the syrup....when it is processed it is bottled/canned hot so forms a small amount of condensate....which also happens when you heat it and return it to the container and the refregerator....this thin layer is not concentrated enough to prevent mold growth. The above posters are correct, simple scrape it off and reheat before use

[bagladyrn]

My grandmother's "germ theory" : If you don't believe in them, they can't hurt you. The logic here - when she was a young girl they would go to "camp meeting" leaving the covered dish dinner food out on a long table then go into church and listen to the preacher - "who didn't preach for just a little while either - he could go for hours!", then go out and eat that food "and no one ever died of it" because they didn't know about germs. Seemed to work for her - she lived to be 89 and died of a stroke, not an infection!
That generation made it through a much harder economic situation than we have ever experienced - this may be the time to remember what they have told us.
Oh, and my father's "cure-all" was Absorbine Jr. - anyone know what that is really for? (And was there ever an Absorbine Sr.?)

[StacieRN]

My grandmother's cure all is Vaseline. If you have an arthritic limb or sprained joint. She spreads .the pain away within an hour.

By the way, the only food that doesn't spoil is honey. There have been pottery jars of honey found in the pyramids that are perfectly fine (well, a little crystalized).

My grandfather raised pigs. The local grocery store would give him all their spoiled meats and produce for the pigs. If he thought it wasn't quite spoiled yet, he'd bring it home and my grandmother would cut of the bad bits and cook it up.

Then the leftovers would stay out until supper and they'd eat them then. I guess their stomachs were made of cast iron, because it never bothered them.

[banditrn]

Originally Posted by rph3664

You get WD-40.



No, seriously, I have heard of people spraying that on arthritic joints, and they swear it works.

I remember an elderly woman who swore that WD-40 was the best thing for dry skin!

[fancee free]

This thread should be renamed "How to convince people of certain things". Young or old, we all are set in our ways, some of them right and many of them wrong, at least in the eyes of someone else. We all get upset if someone tells us we are doing something wrong when we believe it is right. Quit picking on the elderly, they are human just like us.

[Warpster]

When my mother died, I took the opportunity to clean all the antique food out of the kitchen. My dad had been living out of the microwave and was likely to continue doing so, so there was a lot of stuff to go.

I found a big box of cereal of indeterminate age on the shelf and was getting ready to toss it, but he objected that cereal was still going to be good and grabbed the box from me. The biggest Florida cockroach I've ever seen scuttled out of the box and up his arm.

The look on his face was absolutely priceless and I've never seen an oldster shut up more quickly than he did!

It's easy to get through to octogenarians with a little help.

[meintheUSA]

While working in Assisted Living a few years ago, We had an 89 yr young resident from Norway that would always take her milk from the dining room table into her room. She had the heat turned up to 80o year round. When the staff would take the milk out of her room, she would get very, very upset. We then inquired and learned from her daughter that years ago, Maria survived on milk that was soured and was just eating what she was used to. We then received an order from the Dr. for her to have the sour milk in her room (She added a packet of sugar and ate it with a spoon). This kept her happy for the last 2 years of her life, released the home from all liability with the Board of Health, and kept peace with Maria and staff. God Bless the Elderly...

[twotrees2]

Originally Posted by Hopefull2009

I am staying with my father with my twins this weekend.

I heard the twins all excited that he was making them pancakes with syrup....then I remembered that we didn't have any syrup.

I went into the kitchen, and to my horror, my father "found" an OPENED bottle of log cabin syrup in the pantry....that had to have been 10 years old or better.

He threw a fit that "sugar doesn't spoil", and I told him under no circumstances was he giving my kids that syrup....he's 80 years old.

I found some strawberry jelly in the fridge, and warmed it up, and we used that and the kids loved it.

He even put some on his finger and said, "See! Still tastes the same!"

I told him, "you can do that to yourself, but you are not feeding my kids food that is twice their age".

How can he be so dumb?

my DH will eat anything as long as its not moldy no matter how old lol. i dont know how he can do it - they dont get sick - maybe from doing it so long they are immune to the bugs and gross stuff lol.

[twotrees2]

Originally Posted by Chaya

Anyone else noticed in the last few years that the expiration dates on foods and meds sold now are considerably shorter than stuff sold a few years back? (Like a few months as opposed to a couple of years).
Ya think they've changed the ingredients and things go bad sooner?

Huh. Wonder how much stuff gone bad me and mine consumed that was still labeled as "OK".
Or could it POSSIBLE be a sales ploy to get people to buy and replace these products more frequently?...

i tend to think a ploy - i buy stuff at the amish scratch and dent store- it is mostly outdated stuff. never had a problem- now if its like mayo or chocolate - i dont get it - but have had no trouble with canned goods and stuff like that. vacuum selad stuff etc. i have bene told by my pharmacistst hat most meds ( unless like nitro or some stuff that may weaken and be useless so it is not good to use as it wuld not do the job it needs to do.) i have used meds that are several yrs old and not had trouble- guess it deends on th eitem or what its made of.

[twotrees2]

Originally Posted by santhony44

I think there's also a very good possibility that the manufacturers are trying to eliminate even the remotest chance that something might go bad while still in-date. We do live in a very lawsuit-happy society these days.

I think that some people play the lottery, and others file lawsuits, both in the hopes of "hitting the jackpot."

probaly right on that point - even pepsi and other soda put out dates now-