Shelf life

Every now and then, some items appear in the visible areas of the fridge at home - which means they were out-of-sight at the back of the fridge, and when my mother had been brave enough to venture so far back in to the fridge, she finds them and places them somewhere visible (like on the door shelves).

A few months ago she found a jar of pickled jalapenos that date back to 2002 or so. I thought this was quite exceptional and would be a record that would stand the test of time.. but last week I found 2 bottles of oregano that I had bought in Sweden in 1994! A whole new definition of shelf life!

(I had "discovered" oregano in Argentina in 1993, and at that time it wasn't commonly available in Sri Lanka)