Have you ever reached into the fridge for a jar of salsa and wondered, “How long has this jar been open?”
If you’re my husband, you have never asked that question. You simply grab the jar and dump it in the bowl and start dipping your chips in it with abandon.
My dad might look at a food quickly, scanning it for any visible signs of mold. Don’t see anything? Then it’s all good.
My neighbor uses “the smell test” to gauge if a food is edible, relying on her nose to tell her if a food is past it’s prime.
But I have learned the hard way that just because a food looks OK and smells OK, it may not actually be OK to consume. Most of us have (unfortunately) been there, with intense stomach pain, lying on the bathroom floor, pleading with God to just MAKE.IT.STOP!!!
So, I started marking my jars with the date when I open them. See that 9/26 scribbled onto the lower right corner of the label? That lets me know when I opened the jar, thus saving me from the hazardous consumption of salsa that may or may not have been in my refrigerator for over a year (don’t judge, it’s happened).
You can do this on a variety of items: zip-top bags, plastic containers, cartons of take-out. The gut-saving possibilities are endless.
So grab your Sharpie and get to scribbling. Your stomach will thank you!
*By the way, Mateo’s salsa is by far my family’s favorite. Super yummy, lots of garlic, available at Costco. Go buy some, and don’t forget to use your Sharpie!