Tonight on Should I Eat It: Corn Meal.

April 8, 2021 5:44 PM

So I was digging through my over-the-fridge cabinet of baking related stuff, and all the way in the back I found a mostly full bag of forgotten corn meal. I saw it and thought maybe I could make corn bread or something. But what gives me pause and sent me to Ask is I noticed on the bag "Use By Aug 02 2012". The cornmeal inside looks ok, no bugs or anything. Should I turn it into food, or toss it in the trash?
posted by fings to Food & Drink (17 answers total)

I wouldn't, personally. It's probably stale and tastes bleh, even though it's probably safe to eat. And cornmeal is cheap to replace.
posted by The otter lady at 5:47 PM on April 8, 2021 [17 favorites]

The otter lady said it very well.
posted by Dolley at 6:02 PM on April 8, 2021 [2 favorites]

I'd eat it. We all know it's not an expensive luxury ingredient, but it's also a big hassle to go out and get supplies for many of us. Also I see no good reason to throw out dry goods that aren't spoiled.

If there were any rancidification, mold, or other spoilage that would make it unfit, you'd notice.

If you're concerned about flavor or texture, you can use smaller amounts rather than make a big cornmeal feature. You can put a bit in with any hot cereal, or mix a bit into most any baked good, any batter for frying, etc.

But even cornbread usually has as much or more wheat flour, and if you want to use it all up, you risk making cornbread that is good but not awesome.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:05 PM on April 8, 2021 [3 favorites]

If it smells/tastes OK, go ahead.
posted by bunky at 6:12 PM on April 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

It's probably dried and stale. You can go beyond the best use date by a year or two, but 2012? No way.

See https://www.doesitgobad.com/does-cornmeal-go-bad/
posted by kschang at 6:13 PM on April 8, 2021 [4 favorites]

I bet it’s gonna be gross. 2012 means it was considered unfresh TEN YEARS AGO. Cabinets over the fridge tend to get a lot of temperature flux.
posted by kapers at 6:28 PM on April 8, 2021 [4 favorites]

And by “mostly full” you mean the package had been open for OVER TEN YEARS? Actually that could be unsafe, not just gross.
posted by kapers at 6:30 PM on April 8, 2021

For perspective, there were children all over the country sitting in Zoom school detention today who were born after your corn meal had already gone out of date.
posted by phunniemee at 6:31 PM on April 8, 2021 [18 favorites]

I would trash it. Also something to consider if you don't want to throw it in trash: corn meal in soil can inhibit seeds from germinating which can come in handy if you have a weedy patch of your garden where you want to stop new weed seeds from growing. Of course, this means seeds you plant intentionally will also have trouble growing, though already germinated seeds/plants will be fine.
posted by quince at 6:41 PM on April 8, 2021 [3 favorites]

Go ahead and make some cornbread. It is super easy, and if you want to add cheese or jalapenos to take away from any staleness, you can - but then you may also just choose to throw it all out if it doesn't seem appealing.
posted by itsflyable at 7:38 PM on April 8, 2021

No way. And I eat a lot of stuff on the cusp.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:43 PM on April 8, 2021

Cornmeal can go rancid and with that much time I would expect that it has. Unless it's moldy or the like, it probably wouldn't make you sick but I wouldn't expect it to taste great.
posted by Candleman at 8:32 PM on April 8, 2021 [6 favorites]

By “turn it into food”, I might consider boiling it up as a porridge but a I wouldn’t waste flour, eggs, sugar, oil and butter to see if it MIGHT make acceptable muffins. Excellent Ask title but I say dump it.
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:02 PM on April 8, 2021

I've heard cornmeal can be used for weed control or against ants, don't know how true it is. I think I'd be more likely to try that then to eat it.
posted by stormyteal at 9:15 PM on April 8, 2021

There’s a flavor I like to call “back of grandma’s cupboard” and this is exactly what any cornbread made from that package will taste like. Don’t do it! I made some tortillas from expired masa (only a year past the date) and that was at about my stale flavor limit.
posted by oxisos at 10:46 PM on April 8, 2021 [2 favorites]

Please not to landfill! Do you have birds where you are? I'd add a little water to bind the grits together and start making a bit more digestible and then put out a little to see if the birds can make calories out of it. Squirrels, rats, raccoons maybe not so much.
posted by BobTheScientist at 4:20 AM on April 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks all! You've convinced me to not eat this cornmeal.
posted by fings at 3:46 PM on April 9, 2021