Can dried lentils go bad?

October 16, 2008 9:24 AM

Do dried lentils go bad? I have a bag of red lentils in an airtight container and they have been there for a while. What's weird is that they are no longer red. Any ideas why?
posted by ilovermontmeta to food & drink (5 comments total)

Is it a glass airtight container? Sunlight can do this.
posted by the latin mouse at 9:42 AM on October 16, 2008

Were they ever really red? The red lentils I've bought are always kind of an orange-y color, and not a particularly saturated orange color at that.
posted by needs more cowbell at 9:55 AM on October 16, 2008

Dried lentils have an indefinite shelf-life, yet another reason why our ancestors kept them as a staple food. With age, the color may fade a bit, but the flavor will not noticeably deteriorate.

via
posted by goethean at 10:06 AM on October 16, 2008

Seconding the_latin_mouse. If in glass, the sun will definitely bleach them. They should keep for ages if kept dry. Not much to go wrong with lentils or dried beans in my (tropical) experience. Do they smell OK? If so I would use them.
posted by lungtaworld at 10:10 AM on October 16, 2008

Yeah, they fade. They will also take longer to cook if they get really old. But they don't go bad.
posted by neroli at 11:01 AM on October 16, 2008