PHOTOS: See What Funky Foods Are Inside Kansas City Fridges

Published September 25, 2014 at 11:28 AM CDT

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KCUR's social media producer, Alyson Raletz: "The funkiest thing I could find in @kcur's green room fridge. Once tomatoes go soft, I'm out."

@AlysonRaletz / Twitter

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"Lacto fermented Szechuan peppercorn sauerkraut I made last year is the oldest thing in my fridge." "Yep. Just tried a bit,still good."

@benjaminkelley / Twitter

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"Your wish is my command. Oldest thing in my fridge? Malagueta peppers from Brazil. Irreplaceable."

@Jvergara / Twitter

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"I'm debating eating some of this coffee cake that says sell by 9/21. I think I will try."

@Jibroney1981 / Twitter

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KCUR reporter Laura Ziegler: "You can't tell by the picture but this not-so- fresh Mozzarella smells like a dead animal."

@Laurazig / Twitter

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"The expiration date is April 8 2014... looks normal, smells same, and the taste is just less spicy than before."

@kcmorsel / Twitter

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"I have jars of kimchi I've been fermenting for 25, 16 and 8 months respectively. Older the batch means more fermented funk!"

@theshortandlong / Twitter

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KCUR intern Lisa Rodriguez: "What's the oldest thing in my fridge? At one point this WAS zucchini."

@larodrig / Twitter

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" I got moldy pizza sauce, old mayo and a rotting pear!"

@WYMKC / Twitter

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I "have a bottle of Asti Spumante from 2000. It was a gift. Nope. Won't be drinking it."

David Douglass

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Central Standard senior producer Sylvia Maria Gross: "Cow's foot jelly (or mocoto) is one of my fave Brazilian treats. Picked this up in 2005. Still good?"

@pubradiosly / Twitter

One-year-old Szechuan peppercorn sauerkraut. A Jar of pickled Brazilian peppers that expired in 2012. And kimchi that’s been fermenting for 25 months.

Those are some of the things lurking in area fridges that Kansas Citians claim they still would eat.

“Older, the hotter!” Kansas City food blogger Jenny Vergara tweeted this week, along with a photo of her Malagueta peppers.

As KCUR-based Harvest Public Media explores food waste this week in a six-part series that culminates with a 30-minute TV special at 8 p.m. Friday on KCPT — “Tossed Out: Food Waste in America.” — we wanted to know more about the spoiling food items in local kitchens.

This week, we took to the airwaves and social media and asked: What’s the oldest thing in your fridge? Would you eat it?

Kansas Citians shot back their fridge confessions, along with some gory photos. (See the above slideshow for a sampling of fridge photos from locals, including some KCUR staffers.)

But they also divulged some of their funky food philosophies.

“There’s a lot of things I’ll keep after the expiration date, but I go by the sniff test and if it’s funky, then it goes ... or if it’s got a film on it, you know, it goes,” Chris Rubbel-Marshall told us when we interviewed customers near a grocery store in the Kansas City, Mo., neighborhood of Brookside.

Michael Hewins, who we talked to at a grocery store on Ward Parkway, had a slightly different take: “If it smells OK and it looks OK, then it’s going down my belly.”

For the full Twitter conversation, follow the #TellKCUR hashtag.

For some more guidance on when it really is OK to eat something, listen back to Central Standard’s “Are You Going To Eat That?” show from earlier in the week.

Lisa Rodriguez contributed to this report.

Tell KCUR is part of an initiative to engage the community and shine a light on your experiences and opinions. We’ll ask a new question every week and then share your feedback on the air and online. Everyone has knowledge and insight to share. Be a source for KCUR and let us know more about your expertise.