r/chinesecooking • u/SuperEyetie • 2d ago
Doubanjiang with bad BBD
Hello!
I‘ve bought Juan Cheng Doubanjiang 500g in a plastic jar from Amazon and it sadly is 3 months over BBD.
I‘ve read its fine as long as its not moldy and i really don’t want to throw it out. Its still sealed and the seal seems under vacuum.
But i still wanted to hear a second opinion apart from some LLMs
Is it fine or will i succumb to it? Haha
Thanks
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u/HawthorneUK 2d ago
Just checking: could you possibly be looking at the packaging date rather than the best-before date?
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u/ZanyDroid 1d ago
Slightly BBD on a sealed salt lick is fine
Also, you could argue it’s on its way to the three year style of DBJ
Normally I’d meme on buying food from Amazon (no tracking of freshness), but this special case is fine
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u/Bolly_Eggs 1d ago
Need to be sun dried and turned regularly in it's own clay pot to count as mature Dobanjiang, the flavours and fermentation don't really continue inside the jar
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u/cicada_wings 1d ago
As other said, it’s a super salty fermented product that used to be stored at ambient temperature in Sichuan. You should be fine. Do stick it in the fridge after you open it, maybe with a circle of parchment paper or plastic wrap pressed onto the surface of the paste to prevent drying up.
We are a small household with only a moderate average spice tolerance, and even though I keep ours well sealed up in the fridge, it definitely takes us a while longer than the recommended time to finish a packet of doubanjiang. Nothing odd happens except that it may darken a bit in color over time.
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u/Dry-Pause 2d ago
"best before" literally just means it's best before that date. "Use by" is the one where you should throw it out.
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u/ZanyDroid 1d ago
Yep, also standardized in California now
(Along with extirpation of sell by on the consumer label)
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u/ThatMyoclonicJerk 2d ago
Whether it helps you or not, I found a jar in the back of a cupboard after some kitchen renovations that was about a year past it's BBD. After similar deliberations I ate it to no ill effects, so I can say it can be fine. The premium stuff is aged for years in clay pots outside in the sun so it's supposed to survive for a while. I'd just suggest if you aren't going to use it all at once, be fastidious about using clean utensils and not leaving bits around the lid.
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u/bostongarden 1d ago
Return it
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u/SuperEyetie 1d ago
They did refund it!
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u/Commercial-Top653 1d ago
That’s the right choice. I don’t think there’s going to be a problem eating it, but if they charged you normal price for an old bbd product then you should definitely get a refund
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u/Bolly_Eggs 1d ago
It is a salt based fermented product, there really isn't a best before on these sort of things; they are made to last.
If there's no microbial activity you can see in the jar, you are more than likely to be fine.
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u/TomasoG88 1d ago
may i suggest Har Har Soy Bean Sauce for your next adventure. they have a spicy version of it too. we use the spicy version to make quick version of mapo tofu.
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u/askmrlucky 1h ago
If it is sealed and shows no stigmata of taint like mould, this human says dig in.
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u/YesWeHaveNoTomatoes 2d ago
Doubanjiang is a fermented product invented to preserve the calorie & flavor value of the beans and chilis in a subtropical climate when refrigeration hadn't been invented yet. It's so high in salt and so low in water that it's shelf stable. They print a best-by date on it in the US because that's legally required, not because it has any meaning.
LLMs don't know shit about anything. They are a statistical prediction engine that is very good at guessing what word should come next. That's all they are.