My grandma's 'smell test' rule for dairy I ignored for years until I got sick

My grandma always told me to trust my nose with milk and yogurt, not the date on the carton. I thought she was just being old school and reckless. Last month I drank some milk that was two days past the sell by date but smelled fine. Woke up at 3am with the worst stomach cramps of my life, ended up calling out of work the next day. Turns out the smell test works for some things but not others. She was right about hard cheese though, I cut mold off a block of cheddar from three weeks ago and it was totally fine. Now I'm second guessing everything in my fridge, how do you guys really tell when to toss things?

2 comments

2 Comments

wyattmitchell1d ago

Yeah I gotta push back a little on that. The date is more about peak quality than safety, especially with things like hard cheese or even milk if it's been handled right. I've definitely risked it plenty of times past the date and been fine, but the one time I got burned was with some yogurt that looked and smelled totally normal.

williamschmidt4d ago

I see it a little different. That sell by date is put there for a reason, and I've had milk that smelled fine but still turned my stomach. The bacteria that makes you sick doesn't always make a smell right away. I stick with the date for milk and yogurt because that's a gamble I don't need to take. How long do you usually push it past the date before you toss stuff?