So…Yeah. I remember buying a sealed container back in 2020 and somehow misplaced it, and forgot about it.
Recently found it in a box with other sealed products. It wasn’t leaking. To the best of my knowledge, it been in a decent moderate temperature this whole time.
I read up to 2 years past the best before is okay, but this is 3 years. However fermented products have more leeway. I wasn’t sure what to expect.
So I opened it. I’ve never had gochujang before, but I know it’s a bright red colour. What I see is a deep, dark colour, almost like black bean sauce.
But I went ahead and tried using it, did a simple stew thing. To me it didn’t taste like a off tasting product. I suspect it lost some of the spiciness, but I don’t think it tastes bad, and I didn’t feel sick or anything. It’s now in the fridge.
However I don’t know what else I can reliably make with this. I think “fresh” gochujang is what needs to be used in many recipes I’ve seen to get the flavour profile required. I only recently started looking into Korean Food, so I’m still unsure about a lot of things.
I guess I’m asking what can I do with something that afaik isn’t unsafe to use, but isn’t really vibrant anymore?
ImGoingToSayOneThing
Cut through the darker paste and see if underneath it’s fresher and more red.
farshnikord
It probably wont kill you but I’d replace it just cuz it wont taste as good/be harder to cook with with how dried out it is.
cannibaltom
I’ve used a 2 year old container without a problem. It was hard to dissolve and I needed to mix it with boiled water beforehand.
4 Comments
So…Yeah. I remember buying a sealed container back in 2020 and somehow misplaced it, and forgot about it.
Recently found it in a box with other sealed products. It wasn’t leaking. To the best of my knowledge, it been in a decent moderate temperature this whole time.
I read up to 2 years past the best before is okay, but this is 3 years. However fermented products have more leeway. I wasn’t sure what to expect.
So I opened it. I’ve never had gochujang before, but I know it’s a bright red colour. What I see is a deep, dark colour, almost like black bean sauce.
But I went ahead and tried using it, did a simple stew thing. To me it didn’t taste like a off tasting product. I suspect it lost some of the spiciness, but I don’t think it tastes bad, and I didn’t feel sick or anything. It’s now in the fridge.
However I don’t know what else I can reliably make with this. I think “fresh” gochujang is what needs to be used in many recipes I’ve seen to get the flavour profile required. I only recently started looking into Korean Food, so I’m still unsure about a lot of things.
I guess I’m asking what can I do with something that afaik isn’t unsafe to use, but isn’t really vibrant anymore?
Cut through the darker paste and see if underneath it’s fresher and more red.
It probably wont kill you but I’d replace it just cuz it wont taste as good/be harder to cook with with how dried out it is.
I’ve used a 2 year old container without a problem. It was hard to dissolve and I needed to mix it with boiled water beforehand.