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Pure Lemon Oil - 'use by' date

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Pure Lemon Oil - 'use by' date

Postby Binky » Wed May 10, 2017 6:55 pm

I have a slab of Parkin baking in the oven right now.

I didn't have a fresh lemon so used a half-teaspoon of Pure Lemon Oil (bought from Lakeland).

Now that I am sitting down, and perusing the bottle, it says 'best by 2003' :o

The cake has lovely ingredients otherwise. Do you think it will be safe to eat? Baking temperature is 160 degrees, so will that kill any bacteria lurking?

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Re: Pure Lemon Oil - 'use by' date

Postby jeral » Wed May 10, 2017 8:22 pm

My tiny bottle of essential culinary lemon oil is also out of date but smells and tastes OK. (Just checked). I think "pure" is the operative word for keeping, versus diluted with another substance.

So, I can't comment on whether it might have lost taste, but I'd use mine, having been kept tightly capped in a dark place at a moderate temperature. Plus gone-off oil normally smells rank or musty especially if heated, so if yours hasn't after 13 years...

That I would use is not a recommendation of course.

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Re: Pure Lemon Oil - 'use by' date

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed May 10, 2017 11:34 pm

If the oil has been kept dark I suspect the flavour will disappear long before it goes "off"km
Bacteria would break down the aroma and in any case the cake will have got to about 90 deg C throughout, killing off any nasties

I'd not worry myself, as Jeral says, the word pure indicates something that is unlikely to be a good growth medium for bugs.

However as she also says, 13 years is too long for anyone else, especially anyone who hasn't smelled it, to say go ahead

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Re: Pure Lemon Oil - 'use by' date

Postby Binky » Thu May 11, 2017 8:37 am

It looks and smells fine - that was why I used it without thinking about/checking the sell-by date.

The Parkin also smells lovely. A delicious aroma filled the house, even the bedroom, and as we are going away for two days, the cake will sit for the requisite period in order to 'gooey' up and taste its best.

I cleared out the fridge a couple of months ago to get rid of any old foodstuffs lurking there - can't think how this bottle of lemon oil got missed.

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Re: Pure Lemon Oil - 'use by' date

Postby Pampy » Thu May 11, 2017 11:14 am

I've bought Lakeland pure oils in the past and when they have gone seriously out of date, I use them in an oil burner - you still get the fragrance, even when they're old.

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Re: Pure Lemon Oil - 'use by' date

Postby karadekoolaid » Fri May 12, 2017 2:14 am

As my granny used to say:
"Suck it and see".... :rudolph1
If it still smells of lemon, then that`s ok.
If you taste it, and it tastes like lemon, then it`s probably ok as well.
If it tastes of nothing, chuck it out!

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Re: Pure Lemon Oil - 'use by' date

Postby Suelle » Fri May 12, 2017 11:53 am

I haven't noticed problems with flavoured oils losing potency after the use-by date - although none are 13 years out of date - but I do find that rose water and orange flower water don't last long once opened.
The blog which does what it says on the tin:

http://mainlybaking.blogspot.co.uk/

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