When we moved in here, we inherited about thirty cans of green beans. I think they are from 2003 - homegrown, home-canned. I'm scared to eat them. I was going to dump them in the compost, clean the jars, and toss the lids.

We also inherited two frozen hams, a turkey, a ton of chicken hot dogs, and some sausage. There are no dates on them. I asked the owner how long they'd been down there and she said, "a while but they have always been frozen." Matt thinks they are fine. I want to get rid of them (we are having a debate about paying for trash pickup for them, or digging a deep pit and burying them so they decompose - Matt at least wants to bury them, he can't bear the thought of edible meat going to the dump).

Would *you* eat the mystery-age frozen meat from the previous owner?

I'd probably eat the meats. The worst that could happen is it'd be freezer burned. I probably would not eat the canned foods.

I probably wouldnt eat it either! I think Dh would be right there with me , heck we were given some meat by his last boss/formen and we didnt eat it cuz we knew where it came from LOL the way they live ect played a roll into our decision.

no, I don't think I'd eat it- who knows where *they* got it from? Use it for compost and save the jars.

Tawnya

It would completely depend on the person they are from. For instance, if it were my sil I totally wouldn't eat them because I know the state of her kitchen. If it were another sil I would because she's immaculate and I know they would be preserved correctly.

Is the meat freezer burnt? If not it is probably still good though I would be suspicious. You could defrost it and see how it looks.

No way

I would not TOUCH the green beans... and you know me Lauren... I will eat just about anybody's canned foods... but not green beans. I would do that today. Get rid of them.

The meats... that is questionable. I would open one up and see if it was freezer burned. If it is, than I would toss it all... if it isn't, than I would make a plan to use it all in the next month or so. Jake probobly needs the protien anyway... ;) I don't think, with what I know of your previous owners, that I would trust much of what she has to say. So I would do the checking and the testing myself and not go off what she says at all. If ANYTHING feels fishy... get rid of them. YK?

Val

I'd chuck the beans and eat the meat.

Kerri

i would chuck the beans and cook the meat for the dog :)

Not a chance! There is no way to know age of the meat when they got it, even if it had been frozen the whole time. Also, who is to say this person really knew the first thing about canning. Those veggies could be botchulism (sp) central!

I would compost the beans, throw away the meat.....it's just not worth getting sick for a few 'free' meals!

I wouldn't touch any of it with a ten foot pole! ;)

Thanks mamas. I feel better. I want to scream because she should be the one to empty these forty or fifty cans of beans. But at least I will get the jars, right? ;)

On the meats...I get grossed out just thinking about it. I had to clean out her fridge/freezer (OURS - she left it full) and it was filthy (filthy shelves etc) and she had stuff in there that expired in 2002. She left me huge old containers of cooking oil for frying. Nasty stuff, just generic brand veg oil you put in a fryer. 4 or 5 years old. So I am guessing the meats are four years old at least.

It's just been a point of contention between me and dh. He thinks the meats are fine (agrees on the green beans) but I can't bring myself to think of eating them. Jake doesn't eat ham...so the one turkey down there would be the only thing he'd eat anyway.

Seriously though it helps to know I am not crazy. LOL. So thanks! (Speaking of fishy, there are huge bags of old frozen fish sticks in there. UGH! Those there was never any question about.)

i would chuck the beans and cook the meat for the dog :)

ditto! Plus, who knows if the stuff is organic or not....probably not...

That is really nasty Lauren... yeah... chuck it all. EW. Sorry you had to deal with that... just try to see the good side. The house will never be that way again, you are doing everything to restore it to what it is supposed to be and feel like, and you are doing a wonderful job! All that work is going to really pay off in the end, and by next year, this work will be nothing but a good story. ;)

Val

the people who were in this house before us left rotten eggs in the fridge. :(

Would your hubby notice if the meat were gone suddenly? You could cook it up for the dog when he's not home? I certainly wouldn't eat it either... but I would think with it being frozen, as long as it doesn't smell/look funny, then I would cook it up for the dog. Either that, or compost sounds good too!

As far as meat goes, though, isn't anything safe if it's cooked well? That's why I wouldn't be too worried. The quality might not be very high after being frozen so long, but I thought it wouldn't be dangeous?

Kerri

Freezing does not stop decomposition. It just slows it down a great deal. Freezing also does not kill some spectacularly repellent bacteria. And, even if you were to cook it to 140 degrees, and kill the germs, you'd still be eating their waste products, some of which make people quite ill.

ari

Heck, I don't eat ANYBODY'S canned goods, unless I know them REALLY well! I don't know if they are spoon-tasters, how much they prewash, whether they are the types that think a bug or two just means a little extra protein, cause "you can't taste them!", etc...Now add in what you DO know of this person's hygiene, and I would be running screaming, lol!