Pickles by Brian Crane for March 15, 2014

That is a terrible remark to make.Even if it might be almost some time near the truth.

Don’t you have anything to say about thatEarl?

Don’t you realize syrup just gets better with age? Last year, I helped my wife clean out her grandpa’s garage, and we found a jar of Log Cabin that celebrated the bicentennial – older than either of us! But I’ll be darned if it isn’t the best fake maple we’ve ever tasted. Better start a “syrup cellar” so our grandkids can experience the same.

Just like your father … and your mother.

Yeah, young people should try to understand the difference between “best before” and “use by”.

The mind is willing it’s the flesh that’s weak

I’d toss the syrup. I don’t keep anything past the expiration date.

C’mon Opal…Earl gets better every day ’cause every day he has you. (GROUP SIGH)

I wish we have “Best use by” on everything.

I use http://www.eatbydate.com to decide to keep or throw away.

I found a 6 years old jar of pickle that I just threw away.

Most consumer groups agree that the “expiration” or “best by” dates are used to convince you to toss a perfectly good item and replace it. Open the package; look at the product, smell it, and then take a tiny taste, and then decide for yourself. I have found bottled water with expiration dates! Talk about a scam.

Yum. Got a friend who makes maple syrup. Goes great with whiskey. We call it “sticky lips”.

With all the preservatives in our food, you have to wonder why foods have expiration dates.

We have a daughter who works for a food company, stocking their products in stores.They have to pick up everything past the “best by” date. She brings it home and we eat it, still good for a long time. “Best by” means just that, not bad by.

A little mold never hurt anybody!

Real maple syrup doesn’t expire. And there is no point in buying the fake kind.

rdh288: Oil companies say 3,000, Society of Automotive Engineers say 5,000. Who are you going to believe, merchandisers or scientists? If you watch Fox, the former; Link, the latter.

You might try turning your refrigerator temperature down a little lower. That said, I always buy our milk at Braums, because their milk stays fresher longer. (Braums is a regional diary/restaurant/fresh market store, but you might find something similar in your area if you’re lucky.)

“I had a prime?”

Saw that last comment coming a mile away, you knew either Earl or Opal were going to say it. It’s how you say it that is important. Since a written medium doesn’t convey sound, we have to assume she was just kidding.

When my wife turned 40 I told her I was going to trade her in for two 20 year old women. She told me I wouldn’t know what to do with two 20 yr olds. The thing of it is, She is exactly right. We both knew the other was kidding.

Earl is thinking to himself..“All right you old biddy..I know you’ll have to get up at 3:00a.m. to pee..At 2:45 a.m. I’m getting up and putting Super Glue on the toilet seat.”