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Help me read an Expiration Date

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Botch
Botch Posts: 15,491
in EggHead Forum
About three weeks ago the Commissary was out of fresh garlic, and the clerk showed me a stack of Crushed Garlic in a jar.  Being my only option, I picked one up.  
Today I used up the last of my thighs and made stir-fried cheekun mushrooms and peppers, but didn't put Sambal Oëlek into the sauce (which has tons of garlic) so I added a half-tsp of this crushed stuff.  The final dish wasn't very good.
This afternoon I had to make a grocery run, and when I stepped back into the house (after a nice drive in the fresh air) I about gagged, very nasty garlic smell in the kitchen.  I checked the expiration date on the jar, and saw 9216 03:23.  I would think the four-digit number would be "92nd day of 2016", but I'm not sure.  And I'd doubt that a garlic factory in Gilroy would be running at 0323 in the morning (or is that Mar 23rd?)  I'm not sure on the second number either.  Anyone know how to read this?
 
It went in the trash, and if this stuff was originally jarred in 2016 no wonder it's nasty.  Anyone use the stuff from the jar?  What is your opinion on this stuff (not having to clean a garlic press was handy, but I'll be damned if I try this stuff again, I'd rather go without).  
_____________

Tin soldiers and Johnson's coming...


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  • alaskanassasin
    alaskanassasin Posts: 7,663
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    Chop your garlic with a knife for Pete’s sake
    South of Columbus, Ohio.


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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,898
    edited May 2020
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    alaskanassasin said:
    Chop your garlic with a knife for Pete’s sake
    While I agree for certain dishes, I'm also a real fan of a Trudeau brand garlic press I bought years ago based on a top recommendation in Cook's Illustrated. You still have to peel the garlic, but a quick hammer smash will also do that trick. Then into the press!

    Other garlic presses went to GW or the trash until I bought the Trudeau. Granted there is a short clean up of the press, but no longer than slicing and dicing the garlic IMO plus the garlic juices are saved and a natural addition to your food!
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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  • alaskanassasin
    alaskanassasin Posts: 7,663
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    “Garlic is divine. Few food items can taste so many distinct ways, handled correctly. Misuse of garlic is a crime. Old garlic, burnt garlic, garlic cut too long ago and garlic that has been tragically smashed through one of those abominations, the garlic press, are all disgusting. Please treat your garlic with respect. Sliver it for pasta, like you saw in Goodfellas; don’t burn it. Smash it, with the flat of your knife blade if you like, but don’t put it through a press. I don’t know what that junk is that squeezes out the end of those things, but it ain’t garlic. And try roasting garlic. It gets mellower and sweeter if you roast it whole, still on the clove, to be squeezed out later when it’s soft and brown. Nothing will permeate your food more irrevocably and irreparably than burnt or rancid garlic. Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screw-top jars. Too lazy to peel fresh? You don’t deserve to eat garlic.”
    South of Columbus, Ohio.


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  • alaskanassasin
    alaskanassasin Posts: 7,663
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    You beat me to it @Carolina Q
    South of Columbus, Ohio.


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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,491
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    Botch said:
    About three weeks ago the Commissary was out of fresh garlic...
     
    I checked the expiration date on the jar, and saw 9216 03:23.  Anyone know how to read this?
    _____________

    Tin soldiers and Johnson's coming...


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  • alaskanassasin
    alaskanassasin Posts: 7,663
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    Dang it botch just giving you a hard time, looks like a expiration date of March 2023 to me
    South of Columbus, Ohio.


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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    Folks post that Anthony Bourdain quote re: garlic every now and then, and... whatevs. 

    The minced garlic in a jar is no bueno, because of the preservative used. Phosphoric acid (Spice World brand), or  that and sodium benzoate, in the case of garlic paste sold at IndianPakistani grocers. Gives it an off flavor. 

    Peeled garlic is an entirely different matter. Yes, more expensive at HEB, but not so much at my local Indian store. I’ve used it for several years, and probably saved a couple of years of my life peeling cloves of garlic. I use a $3 mini grater to grate the garlic cloves when I’m cooking. Way easier than chopping it. 

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • GrateEggspectations
    GrateEggspectations Posts: 9,304
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    It’s funny you should raise this. I cook with A TON of garlic. It is not uncommon for me to use three to five times what a given recipe calls. Being that I use so much of it and the fact that its shelf life is not that great, while also trying to minimize my trips to the grocery store at present, I had been wondering how I was going to maintain a healthy supply. 

    On one trip in early March, I bought a huge supply of whole garlic bulbs and painstakingly peeled each and every clove before placing it in the freezer. On a subsequent trip to a grocery store I had never before gone to, I noticed that they sold naked garlic cloves prepared in house by the store. I bought them and added to what I had already prepared. 

    I now maintain this bag in the freezer and let the cloves thaw on the counter whenever they are needed. The bag has shrunken in size quite significantly over the last several weeks. I will admit that they don’t have quite the same punch as a fresh clove, but it was the best alternative for me in the current circumstances. For record, I also always keep my ginger in the freezer in the same manner. 


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  • sumoconnell
    sumoconnell Posts: 1,932
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    @Botch - that looks like a lot number, and they usually have some number identifying the location or production line, and some form of production date code or batch number. Either way - glad you didn't eat it!


    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Austin, Texas.  I'm the guy holding a beer.
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,393
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    @GrateEggspectations- peeling garlic is one of my least favorite prep activities.  Impressive performance right there.  
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    Thanks for the tip @GrateEggspectations. Peeled garlic lasts 3weeks or so in the fridge, with slits cut in the bag. I'll buy more and freeze some though, since we're not doing groceries as often either. 

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
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    @GrateEggspectations - thanks for the freezer tip.  

    When I need huge amounts I use the 2 bowl method.  It does a decent job and requires minimal knife cleanup on the bulbs.  


    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
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  • GrateEggspectations
    GrateEggspectations Posts: 9,304
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    Mattman3969 said:
    @GrateEggspectations - thanks for the freezer tip.  

    When I need huge amounts I use the 2 bowl method.  It does a decent job and requires minimal knife cleanup on the bulbs.  

    Had never before seen that technique. Really neat. Will try. Thanks for sharing.

    A cooking show I watched yesterday had the host douse a bulb of garlic into boiling water for about a minute. They were then able to peel it effortlessly. I have not given this method a go and can not verify its efficacy, but my concern might be diluting that great, robust garlic concentration in the water. 
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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,491
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    GrateEggspectations said:
    A cooking show I watched yesterday had the host douse a bulb of garlic into boiling water for about a minute. They were then able to peel it effortlessly. I have not given this method a go and can not verify its efficacy, but my concern might be diluting that great, robust garlic concentration in the water. 
    For just one minute, I doubt that you'd be losing anything besides the paper skins.  
    _____________

    Tin soldiers and Johnson's coming...


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