The shelf life of the common potato.

[Pat "5mph"]

Personally I ignore best before dates for raw veg and only discard if they have gone soft. Potatoes are fine even if they have sprouted. Just discard the 'sprouts'.

I do the same, not died of food poisoning yet

I preserve garlic in oil with herbs and keep the sealed jars in the fridge. Keeps a treat that way. Plus you've got all that lovely garlic-infused oil to use in cooking as well. It's really easy to do.

I do that too sometimes: I live alone, there's a limit of the oil I can use up, even a jar of ready mashed garlic lasts me 6 months!
A quick blanching of the peeled garlic before putting it in oil, then you don't need to keep it refrigerated.
Chilli oil is also good to have in the kitchen, easy made with dried crushed chillies, for when you buy a wee bag and you still have some left two years later

 

[Reynard]

Same as pickled onions .

[edited to add] Since it was a jar of Iranian Pickled Garlic that set me off all those years ago, I did a wee Google ...................... and these have me swooning with anticipation {insert appropriate smiley for garlic-induced ecstasy}

http://foodinjars.com/2015/04/guest-post-aged-persian-garlic-pickles-from-stefanie-kulhanek/
and
http://www.food.com/recipe/persian-sugar-pickled-garlic-204906

Oooooooooo, I'll have to try this...

 

[Reynard]

I do that too sometimes: I live alone, there's a limit of the oil I can use up, even a jar of ready mashed garlic lasts me 6 months! A quick blanching of the peeled garlic before putting it in oil, then you don't need to keep it refrigerated.
Chilli oil is also good to have in the kitchen, easy made with dried crushed chillies, for when you buy a wee bag and you still have some left two years later

I bought me a packet of chillis on Sunday, but then again, I *am* making chutney this week...

 

[summerdays]

Mr Summerdays grew some really really really hot chilliest this year (now not the strongest one). He blitzed the dried chilli in the blender and then started coughing... I can into the kitchen and I started coughing....

So far we are only using it in extremely small amounts!