Are you a "user up" or a "thrower out"

I try to use up food as much as possible. Saw this thing on TVs yesterday about a company that delivers just the right amount for a meal so looked into it. They wanted too much information when I just wanted to explore really. Reviews weren't too good either.

War-baby that i was, I got used to ironing wrapping paper and saving bits of string. As for left over food, be imaginative.
The chicken carcase of 3 weeks ago made a delicious mulligatawny soup. The remains of that were frozen and will be mixed with the remains of last night's curry for lunch.
Stock pot on the go making sure it is simmered for at least 20 minutes daily.
Find my eyes, nose and finger tips far more useful in assessing what we can eat with safety or not, irrespective of sell-by date.
By the way, did anyone see the programme on television about someone using up spices that were ? 20 years old. No-one seemed to be able to pick out the meals made with the ancient ones.
It annoys me that with a reduced level of sugar in jams , there is the suggestion that they be kept in the fridge once opened.
Anyway ,my family has flourished under this regime for more than 50 years now and no food-poisoning. Eating out has proved problematical only once

I'm a user-upper. Last night I used the last of the sherry, gin, Archers, Malibou, Bacardi and port. The Ouzo took some finishing, though!

Definitely a user upper! The best test of anything is your NOSE and EYES. My mother is galloping towards 96 years and must be completely immune to every known...and unknown, bug in the Universe...her mantra is if it's not green, it's OK!

I'm definitely a user upper. Probably comes from bring part of a big family, and also the post-war generation. I didn't have a ration book, but dh did. I'm making a "use up" meal tonight. Few random cherry tomatoes, courgette, part of a pepper, part of pkt of soft cheese, with pasta and a bit of gammon left from the weekend.

I'm a user upper too, and I really annoy myself when I just have to use up the last bit of, say, a yucky shower gel, when I have a gorgeous new one waiting for me! Have so many pots of creams with little bits left in them!
I have now taken to making myself throw things away on the day the bin men come so I can't change my mind!

Harrigran, I'm impressed re your car boot tidying regime. though I protest that the salmon must have slid out of a shopping bag at some stage..... No, not good enough, I know [embarrassed] Lol!

Oops, the emoticon should be

Like it, nanasam

Just remembered once on a visit to Bro and Sis iL, both of whom were scientists by profession, so their house was always spotless, disinfected to the nines and all that. Their children were both down with gastro enteritis so we couldn't go in. Despite the episode with the salmon, no such events have ever troubled our family. Bit of a conundrum, that.

Blinko got to be honest it is DH who is the neat freak when it comes to the car boot. The trouble with our car is that when you open the back door everyone can see all your junk because it does not have a boot, also has to be rearranged to get the third row of seats up.

My mother lived in a happily unhygienic mode until she fell at 95 and sadly broke her hip. She had no regard for "fussiness" and certainly didn't bother about sell-by dates. Not sure when sell-by warnings came in to being. Food was often left out and uncovered and this didn't bother her. She probably didn't know about food hygiene rules anyway and just did as she always had done. In the 40s, before people had refrigeration, we used to keep the milk in a basin of cold water, but it still went off and I can still remember the taste of turned milk. My brother and I were rarely bothered by tummy upsets.
I am fussy myself though, but as I said above I shop daily and am married to a wolf, so leftovers don't crop up too often, But I do have a morbid fear of being sick !

A word of warning re tins: A colleague of mine picked up a tin which was over its sell by date whilst tidying up a couple of years ago, intending to chuck it out. It exploded, seriously lacerating her hand - she was off work for nearly 6 months.

So when dealing with suspect tins these days, I put oven gloves on both hands, drop a towel over the tin, then put a carrier bag over the top, turn the lot over, so the tin, still wrapped in the towel, drops into the bag, then I take it out to the dustbin and drop it in, all the time holding it at arm's length. I think I've got rid of all the very old ones now and hope I won't have to call in the bomb squad any time soon.

I am a bit of both too, I use up any thing that is covered with or mildly associated with chocolate not that it could be even remotely close to a sell by date!!!! But everything else gets thrown out past its sell by date except things like horseradish ,apple and tartar sauce which often say use within a week of opening,unless you have huge family its impossible so ignore that'.

Anyone else's D.H. put empty jars and packets back in the cupboard? I went to get a paracetamol the other day and there was a packet but it was empty. Makes shopping difficult because you never know what has run out.

Re using up, my mother used to make what she called 'dustbin' soup when she was very broke - basically anything soup-able that she had - inc. the odd sad old up carrot, the last dried up rasher of bacon, any leftover mash or other veggies, a bit of rice or whatever. But the soups were always v tasty, and when dh and I were exceedingly broke many years ago I resurrected the dustbin soups - we were in a country where the only cheap thing was the local veggies - and we practically lived on those soups for quite a while.
I still make them with whatever I happen to have, esp. in winter, and they are one of Dh's favourites - he'd eat it every night.

When dds were young I once made a 'dustbin' out of a load of veggies plus pasta and heaven knows what, for dds and friends who'd been out sledging in the snow. Dds told them it was 'dustbin' soup! One of the friends had a Spanish mother and a German father, and she asked me a few days later if I could give her mother the recipe for my 'garbage' soup since she'd enjoyed it so much!
Had to tell her there never was a recipe, different every time.

I mean to be a user upper but usually end being a chucked outer and then feel guilty, for not being more organised.

I remember in the early 1950's my Granny and Grandad would send us a turkey or a goose from rural southern Ireland, it would arrive wrapped in brown paper (mostly ripped off) and string - goodness knows how long it had taken to arrive by boat!!
Nowadays, I live with my son and his partner and they drive me insane - anything even nearing a use by is thrown out weekly. We're vegetarians so there's no meat involved but I use my eyes and my nose and if something passes the test I eat it irrespective of sell bys.

I am a user upper. If there is veg about I make soup even cooked veg I would make soup. I would eat a yogurt well out of date as my mum used to say "it's sour milk" so always tastes fine. Always check dates in the fridge and and broken hearted if something is out of date and have missed it and have to through out.

Another user upper here. We don't usually buy more fresh food than we need for meals each week so very little is left to use up. (though I must confess to finding and chucking some very old leeks and asparagus in our 'overflow' fridge that I'd completely forgotten about ) I have no qualms about unopened tins or jars of stuff.

I did draw the line at feeding DP's very out of date yoghurt to my GS the other day; it never seems to affect DP but I would feel terrible if it affected GS.

Do you know that pasteurised cream stays fresh for weeks after its use by date if it is unopened?

We had a lentil based dustbin soup which my mother made every year with the Christmas leftovers. I was a bit startled to find her emptying the leftover custard into it one year but it tasted just fine.

I suspect that a lot of food manufacturers actually have no idea of the longevity or otherwise of their product; they just put a date on to comply with legal requirements.

User upper used some plums up that have gone a bit wrinkly cooked them and had them with some Greek yogurt. Have to admit I threw some carrots away that looked really yucky

It would seem in the GN World the 'user upper ' has it by along chalk!
I'm also a user upper.
My soup can be made of most left over food.
I can relate to the peppa pig Yogurt Alima
And any amount of fish fingers , tuna even baked potato skins left on the GC plates heads in to my mouth before it even reaches the kitchen bin

Left over baby dinners and puds No problem!
Always scraped the baking bowl from young child

Just found out from a TV chef. (Brian Turner I think) that you can cook lettuce. Which I've be doing with peas mange tout, beans and any other greens in fridge. Lovely with fish.
DH is the chucker out!

Neither, just use commonsense

Definitely a "user upper". Can't stand waste. Often make a meal using what needs to be used up and don't get any complaints. Also find that there is not much that can't be frozen, so will freeze something before it reaches that dreaded BBF and Sell By dates (which personally I think just wastes food).

no food ever thrown out here because some animal or other here will eat it. as for containers I wash & save them for use in growing seeds, cuttings etc or the ones without holes as bases for pots when watering, I am always accused of hoarding but it's strange how pleased the moaners are when they need something & I have it lol