Did you know that salad dressing expires and that you should check the expiration dates every month? I bet if you look in your fridge right now you would have at least 1, expired salad dressing.
Checking the expiration dates on salad dressings had never even crossed my mind until a few years ago when my sister mentioned it to me. I just figured salad dressing were one of those things that lasted forever, like soy sauce.
Nope, I was wrong. A lot of salad dressing actually expire pretty quickly, especially the milk-based ones, like Ranch, Caesar, and this Champagne Vinaigrette one above.
Vegan ones, like this one above have longer expiration dates but it’s still important to check them frequently. My rule is to check the salad dressing labels once a month. It’s easy to get in the habit of doing it when you clean out your fridge right before a big grocery shopping trip. You could also do it every time you have salad with your dinner, and just toss the expired ones, instead of putting them on the table. We had salad the other night and ended up tossing a ranch dressing that had just expired.
The important thing is to make sure you are checking the labels because you don’t want anyone getting sick from expired salad dressing, and you definitely don’t want to ruin your salad with a foul tasting dressing!!!
I really need to check the salad dressings in my fridge — we always seem to have a ton of them in the fridge door! Tossing out the old ones would be a great way to free up some space!
Just about anything can go bad–especially things that have to be stored in the refrigerator. Real fermented soy sauce (like Kikkoman) has to be kept cold once opened. I haven’t had it go bad on me, but there may be a “use by” date on the bottle. (I grew up on La Choy soy sauce which is basically salt water and can be kept in the pantry. When my husband converted me over to Kikkoman I was surprised to see you’re supposed to keep it in the fridge!) Some oils go rancid more quickly than others. I keep most nut and seed oils in the fridge or the freezer. Even then they can go bad before you need them again. Only my canola and olive oil stay at room temp.
This I did not know! Of course, we all remember when things have gone way-past the date. Yuck! But setting a schedule is a brilliant idea! Pinned this for future reference. 🙂
I just want to remind everyone that there is a big difference between a “Sell by” or “”Best by” date and a “Use by” date. I take the “Use by” dates seriously but the others have some room for your own discretion. If something is rancid or stale, out it goes. Otherwise, sniff it, taste it, or inspect it … I’ve never had a problem.
OMG, OF COURSE salad dressing goes bad! Most salad dressing has oil or dairy in it and will spoil; that said, Google an article on the “real” expiration dates of food items. Sometimes foods are good beyond their sell-by or expiry date, if only for a week or two. If your salad dressing from the other night had “just” expired, it was probably still good.
Almost everything edible goes bad eventually, with the exception of honey, and I’m sure there are a few other things that have an almost indefinite shelf life. Even edibles with a long shelf-life lose flavor and/or “potency” over time, and oftentimes their textures change as well.
Agree completely with you Kimberly. Of course salad dressing goes bad!
If you are checking the expiry date, I would also suggest checking the ingredient list. I would almost guarantee that you won’ understand half the “ingredients”. Google those you don’t understand and I bet you won’t be buying them any more. Doesn’t take long to whip up a batch of dressing when you need it from fresh ingredients – then there is no need to worry about expiry dates!
I keep a black permanent marker in my kitchen drawer and after each shopping trip, I write the expiration date prominently somewhere on the bottle, can or package of each item I buy. The expiration date is right in front of me each time I use the item so I never forget.
That’s a great idea!