An unopened Christmas pudding, spare mince pies, half-eaten Christmas cake, unused jars of mince and half bags of raisins and currants.
No matter how carefully you try to shop for Christmas, there will inevitably be an abundance of uneaten treats. How long can you keep everything safe? And does it remain tasty?
This amounts to the difference between the expiration date and the expiration date on the label.
As Sylvia Anderson, a food safety expert based in London, explains: 'If you look at the labelling, these types of foods usually have a best before date rather than a best before date.
'Use dates are applied to foods that are typically high in protein and moisture, which promotes the growth of bacteria and can cause food poisoning. This includes foods such as fresh meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheeses, pates and ready-made salads.
'Based on laboratory tests that monitor the build-up of potentially harmful pathogens in food, best before dates indicate when a food becomes unsafe to eat and therefore must be strictly adhered to for food safety reasons,' she says.
No matter how carefully you try to shop for Christmas, there will inevitably be an abundance of uneaten treats
However, 'keep-to-dates' are used for sweet foods that do not require refrigeration, such as Christmas puddings and mince pies. They are intended for guidance only and relate to food quality and not to any health risks.'
She adds: 'If the best before date stated on a product has passed, the food is still safe to eat, but manufacturers warn you that it may no longer have the best taste and texture.'
Most manufacturers are careful when it comes to the expiration date. But sugar, dried fruit and alcohol in many sweet Christmas products help preserve them and may make them tastier for longer.
When a 48-year-old homemade Christmas pudding, discovered during a house clearance, was tested by the University of Nottingham's microbiology department for Channel 4's Food Unwrapped program in 2017, it was found to contain no harmful bacteria, yeast or mold. safe to eat. (The ingredients include fruit, breadcrumbs and brandy.)
Cooked in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes, it even tasted good, albeit a bit dry.
The pudding was originally steamed for hours to cook it (which would have killed bacteria), then it was tightly sealed and stored in a cool, dry, dark environment.
In fact, these are the storage tips that are essential to keeping Christmas pudding safe and edible at home for a year or more.
Traditional puddings high in dried fruit, some alcohol and sugar should all be stored properly as these ingredients have natural preservative properties.
But if you make your own pudding, avoid adding fresh fruit (some recipes recommend adding fresh apple) if you want maximum longevity, because the moister your pudding, the greater the chance of mold developing and the shorter the shelf life.
This means that homemade puds may not last as long if not stored properly. When it comes to commercially prepared puds, a quick scan of supermarket shelves shows that they have an impressive lifespan.
Many currently have expiration dates that extend beyond next Christmas if left unopened. So don't be shy about buying bargain versions during the post-Christmas sales.
'Keeping unopened items in their original packaging and storing them in a cool, dark and dry place gives you the best chance of retaining their quality, even after the best-before date,' says Sylvia Anderson.
'Just check the color and quality before using them. If the fruit looks dull or faded, or if there are mold spots or an unpleasant odor coming from the bag or jar, throw it away.”
Mince pies and Christmas cakes are less robust because of the pastry cases and marzipan and icing toppings. These ingredients can break down at different rates over time, creating an unappetizing, sticky mess.
Sugar, dried fruit and alcohol in many sweet Christmas dishes give them a longer shelf life, potentially making them tastier for longer
Protein-rich ingredients such as nuts, eggs and butter have a greater tendency to feed mold, oxidize and go rancid in a warm, humid atmosphere.
Store-bought mince pies usually have a shelf life that ends just a few weeks after purchase. To get around this and extend their life, seal your mince pies (store-bought or homemade) in an airtight container and freeze them.
The same goes for Christmas cake – which in some cases, frozen, has a shelf life of up to a year; You must first cut the marzipan and icing with a clean knife.
Then wrap the 'naked' cake tightly in several layers of foil or cling film before putting it in the freezer. Thaw thoroughly before redecorating.
Half-eaten Christmas pudding and mince are also best stored in an airtight bag in the freezer, but don't leave these items out for too long before storing them, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) advises.
“Leftovers should be cooled, covered and refrigerated within four hours and frozen within two days,” a spokesperson said. 'Freeze food in smaller portions to reduce waste and always thaw everything thoroughly before serving.'
Leftover dried fruit should be stored in an airtight container to keep out moisture and mold. So pour it from the package into a clean, airtight glass jar and store it in a cool, dark cupboard or even in the refrigerator, says Sylvia Anderson. Mold thrives in warm, moist conditions.
If, despite your best efforts, your Christmas treats go moldy, should you just scrape them off or cut them into pieces and eat the rest anyway?
There are thousands of different types of fungus, all of which have different effects on the body.
Most are fairly harmless, but some molds can be toxic and have serious health consequences, the FSA says.
It's not just the hairy white or green spots you see on the surface of food that you need to worry about, either. Mold can spread quickly and is not always visible to the naked eye.
If there is mold on the top and the food is soft, has a porous texture or has a high moisture content, the contamination may have spread far below the surface without you being able to see it, says Sylvia Anderson.
The FSA does not recommend eating foods containing mold, stressing that this is particularly important for vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with mold allergies or a weakened immune system.
So the bottom line: With careful storage, there's no reason not to keep this year's fruity seasonal produce for another year – but any sign of mold shouldn't just be scraped off, it should be thrown away.
Light up your life – The best home lighting for your health.
This week: Your kitchen
If you want to make healthy choices, the brighter the lighting in your kitchen, the better.
A study of diners at four restaurants conducted by Cornell University in the US found that those in brightly lit rooms were up to 24 percent more likely to order healthy foods, such as grilled fish, vegetables and chicken, rather than fried food or dessert. . than those in dark rooms. They also ordered meals with 39 percent fewer calories.
The researchers said light increases alertness, and therefore “(we) tend to make healthier, progressive decisions,” the Journal of Marketing Research reported.
But low light isn't all bad, as it may also make us “eat more slowly, eat less and enjoy the food more,” the researchers said.