Do tortillas go bad?

[Marishka_20]

My hubby went to make a breakfast burrito this morning and found that the tortillas he had bought about a month ago were still good. So exactly how long are they good for?

 

[Andy M.]

They DO last a long time. I haven't done an experiment to find out how long.

 

[crewsk]

It also depends on where they are stored. They last the longest if kept in the freezer but they will keep for a long time in the fridge also. I have had tortillas get moldy but heaven only knows how long that took.

 

[urmaniac13]

I agree with crewsk about the storage place... I usually try to finish them within a week or so after it is opened and keep in the fridge, and for a longer period I would put them in a freezer. Even if they don't get moldy the texture usually suffers after certain period in the fridge, they tend to get dry, hard and very unflexible. Or yours may have contained some sort of preservative...

 

[jennyema]

I have found the lard/shortening in flour tortilas can go a bit rancid or sour after a really long time.

In the fridge I have kept them for a month or maybe a bit longer.

 

[marmalady]

Flour tortillas will keep longer than corn tortillas (ever had a stale nacho chip?), and I've noticed that the big 'brand name' flour tortillas keep longer than the smaller ones produced by Mexican companies (if you have access to a Latino market, you can get them there).

A little story about stale corn tortillas; one very cold, snowy winter in New Jersey, we noticed that the deer were trying to forage in the 3 feet of snow in our yard, and not having much luck. So we scrounged around the house for stale bread, none was to be had. Then found a huge package of old corn tortillas in the back of the pantry, that I had forgotten about. Well, we stood on the deck, and threw out the tortillas like frisbees - and the deer loved them! Wish we would'a had a video camera for that - and don't know what was funnier - the deer eating the tortills, or us playing frisbee with them!

 

[jennyema]

I thought you were going to say that the deer refused the stale tortillas! Like my picky beagle who won't eat natural peanut butter.

 

[Andy M.]

...Like my picky beagle who won't eat natural peanut butter.

But does he like Jif or Skippy?? I always thought it was great fun to watch a dog trying to eat peanut butter. They have a tough time trying to figure it out.

 

[jennyema]

He loves Jif, especially the "low fat" type which makes up for the lack of fat by adding even more sugar . Once I found that out I gave the jar to the dogs.

Putting it on their nose is the best trick!

 

[Andy M.]

...Putting it on their nose is the best trick!

I like the way you think.

 

[Marishka_20]

Thank You

Thank you all for your answers now I can tell my hubby the results.

 

[Piccolina]

Once I open a package I keep them in a large zip-lock bag. I know they'll keep for at least a month this way (in my experience), but I'm big on not letting food go to waste so I use them up within two weeks.

 

[auntdot]

To warm, or resurrect those dried tortillas, I boil water in a pot and put on top one of those tennis racquet shaped thingies, with the mesh, that you put on top of a pot to keep sauce when it boils and bubbles from splattering on the stove, etc. Heck I don't know what they are called. Put the tortilla on top of that whatever you call it and it makes it soft and warm in no time.

 

[mudbug]

To warm, or resurrect those dried tortillas, I boil water in a pot and put on top one of those tennis racquet shaped thingies, with the mesh, that you put on top of a pot to keep sauce when it boils and bubbles from splattering on the stove, etc. Heck I don't know what they are called. Put the tortilla on top of that whatever you call it and it makes it soft and warm in no time.

that's a great idea, auntdot. Those thingies are called splatter or spatter guards, I think.