Boxed fish stock

[Harborwitch]

I opened a box of fish stock when I did the mussels on the 23rd. There's about a half a box left (enough for another batch of mussels) that's been in the fridge ever since. Safe?????? Should I dump it. It smells okay - and I have another bag of frozen mussels and a fennel bulb standing by for dinner in the next day or so.

Just want to be sure - I want to use up the rouille before it goes down the sink too.

[foodfiend]

Hmmm, I never knew that such a thing existed. To be honest, I often take chances with food safety-- if it smells okay, I'd use it (bringing it to a full rolling boil for a few minutes first).

Let's see what others have to say, though.

[Harborwitch]

Being of a really "old" school where eggs were kept in a "cool cupboard" and food "safety" meant a whole different thing I'm tempted - but I'll wait for more thoughts.

Pizza tonight.

[cjs]

And I lean so far the other way. But, maybe boiling it and it tastes alright...guess you'd be o.k. Me, I'd probably dump it, but then I'm much closer to a store and/or fish in the freezer to make more.

[Harborwitch]

I've got some shrimp bouillon cubes - I'll check the smell and taste after boiling. It's 30+ miles to a store to replace it.

I am a person about food handling - this is odd for me to even question - but cost and availability are nagging me.

[BarbaraS]

Whenever I open a carton of stock and don't use the whole thing, or even tomato paste for that matter, I find a container to put it in to freeze.

And to prevent ice crystals to form on top, I place a piece of clear wrap down on the top of the liquid and press out as many air bubbles as I can. It helps if the clear wrap over laps the lid.

Barbara

[Harborwitch]

Doh! Why didn't I think of that! (I know, plan was to have mussels again immediately - but we got flooded in.)

I do that with tomato paste and all kinds of things. In fact a friend gave me a huge bag of diced onions that were just hogging freezer space. I pulled them out, caramelized them, and froze them in little piles and then bagged them up.

[Gourmet_Mom]

Sharon, if it'll make you feel better, I have a quart of homemade chicken stock sitting in the fridge that I have every intention of tossing tomorrow because it's been in there a MONTH! I decided not to use it after a week.

That's okay, I have enough chicken parts in the freezer to make about a gallon of stock next week. This time it won't go in the fridge except to cool.