When Do You Throw Away Pantry Items?

Cloves, ginger, cinnamon - the usual suspects in pumpkin pie. I made a pumpkin pie on Saturday and when I was adding the cinnamon, I realized how long ago I had bought the sweet and spicy aromatic. I purchased the jar of cinnamon at the Corning Ware Outlet in Albertville in 2005. That spice was over 10 years old. I had heard that spices lose their potency after so long, so I thought I better investigate.

On FoodNetwork.com, I found an article about the "5 Pantry Items You've Had Too Long." According to the story, ground spices lose their potency after 1 to 2 years. The ground cinnamon I used still smelled good and tasted pretty darn good in my pie. There's about 5 tablespoons left in the jar. I'll think about getting a new bottle closer to Christmastime baking.

Other items in your pantry you should toss before they lose their effectiveness are baking powder and baking soda. They'll lose their leavening powers long before they go bad. If you want to make sure those spices are still good, mix baking soda with vinegar and baking soda with hot water. If the baking essentials are fresh, both will foam with bubbles.

Other pantry items mentioned include Halloween candy, graham crackers and canned vegetables.

What's the oldest item in your pantry?  I think my record was a Hamburger Helper from 1998 that I recently found.