Use the Internet for help checking expiration date

Dear Heloise: I read your column about comments on canned foodsthat might have been in the pantry for a while and guidelines onshelf life.

Recently, I noticed a can of salmon we had in the pantry for sometime and thought I might make some salmon patties, like my motherused to make. So, I asked the wife about the salmon, and shesuggested that it might not be good due to old age. I just got onthe good old Internet and searched the salmon factory/brand andfound a Web site. There were directions for checking the codes onthe can bottom to determine the age and the shelf life.

I appreciate the cannery that lets us have easy ways to check forimportant dates like that. It would be nice if in the store as wepick up a product, we could glance at the "best used by" date.

Many of us guys did not learn this stuff as young men, so yourcolumn is pure gold to us. -- Ken Middleton, via e-mail

Ken, thanks for the kind words! I'm here to help both young andold. Sometimes trying to find expiration dates on products is likebeing a salmon and swimming upstream! -- Heloise

Dear Readers: Peanut butter -- should it be refrigerated or not?Well, here is what a leading manufacturer had to say: Unused oropened jars do best when stored at room temperature. Temperaturefluctuations, hot or cold, can change the peanut butter, but it'sstill safe to eat. Now I'm hungry for a peanut-butter-and-jellysandwich, with a little shredded apple for crunch. -- Heloise

Dear Heloise: I love hot tea with both milk and lemon, but thelemon curdles the milk, so I discovered that if I put a scantteaspoon of lemon extract in the cup of hot tea, I can enjoy bothflavors without the curdling. -- Wanda, Denton, Texas

A cup of hot tea or flavored coffee is so comforting on a coldwinter day. Want to make a different-flavored tea or coffee? Somesimple, delicious hints and many quick, easy recipes are in mycoffee and tea pamphlet. Send $3 and a long, self-addressed, stamped(58 cents) envelope to: Heloise/C&T, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio,TX 78279-5001.

If you like your coffee to stay hot, warm the cup up first in themicrowave by putting some water in the cup and microwaving for 30seconds (or longer, depending on your microwave). Pour out and addthe coffee. -- Heloise

Dear Heloise: Here's a way to keep your outdoor garbage can fromsmelling: After the trash is picked up, leave the can out in the sunfor several hours with the lid off. Then the first thing that shouldbe thrown away is a newspaper (if you don't recycle-- Heloise). Thiswill ensure that all the garbage comes out when it is emptied. --Karen McVay, Colorado Springs, Colo.

[copyright] King Features Syndicate Inc.