My son came home from college today to watch football at home, I decided to make a big pot of Sunday Gravy for him.
I ran out of olive oil so I grabbed the vegetable oil and used it. I noticed the gravy had a very odd, old or stale flavor and smell. It’s been bugging me as to why…well finally I decided to look at the vegetable oil bottle, it’s 9 mos. past its “best use by” date, with no idea when it was actually opened. 
Welcome home son I poisoned you! Here’s the Chinese menu!!!
RIP
I did that a few weeks ago with a package of french-fried onion rings that I had in the pantry.
It tasted so awful that we just chucked it and got a pizza. We’re okay, so I think the cooking killed any toxins, but blergh.
You guys must have more sensitive taste/smell than I do.
lol … but seriously that food looks amazing
what a bummer!
Mine was really awful. Pretty sure anybody would have tasted that mess.
My mom once made blueberry muffins with rancid flour.
I’ve caught myself before using something that has turned in a recipe- rancid graham crackers.
Noooooooo…the taste was bad, very bad. It tasted old, moldy, stale…and it permeated the entire pot of gravy. That is what was driving me nuts, I mean I had several gallons of gravy and the 1/2 cup of vegetable oil I used ruined the entire thing. It was bad CK…thank fully nobody got sick from the couple of meatballs that were eating as the sauce simmered and I tried to figure out what went awry.
Yeah it’s been a while, well all summer since I’ve made a pot of Sunday gravy so I was very excited, especially since pasts / raviolis and meatballs is one of my sons favorite meals. I was planning on sending him back to school with a tray of meat balls he would share with the dorm and I would get a text/call telling me how everyone was addicted to them and I needed to bring another tray ASAP. Not going to happen with my poison balls.
My first experience and boy is it an eye opener.
Your intentions were more than honorable 
and that is all that matters
bet you could still taste the love in there, you can certainly see it
Well it was actually pretty funny, although I’m the primary “tester” while I’m cooking (every stir get’s a dip and taste) I was suspect over the stale taste, but I am my biggest critic so I thought perhaps I’m making more of it then it was. My son goes to take a meatball from the pot and starts to eat it and says; “Hey what did you do different this time?”…so I asked and he was saying it tasted “off” to him, not my normal recipe. Now having his confirmation I knew something was awry and I started my forensic investigation into my ingredients. Once I discovered and decided to throw out the pot he did say, “It wasn’t that bad I’ll still eat it”…so that’s a bit of consolation for me.
How long does cooking oil last?
From what I googled 6mos after opening. I honestly have no idea when it was opened, but if it was 9 mos past it “best if used by” date, I’m sure it was well over 6 mos ago!!! 
I must have used many cooking oil for more than 6 months. I probably don’t pay attention to the smell then.
It really varies on oxidation rates of the particular oil.
Chem, rancid oil smells – really, really bad. (whether it’s cooking oil or the oil in nuts or brown rice or…french-fried onions). I’ve learned to sniff-test my vegetable oil, because I overwhelmingly cook with olive oil, so sometimes the veg oil sits in the cupboard.
It’s awesome that you’ve managed to avoid it – but really, we’re not making it up. It smells bad and it tastes worse.
That is exactly what happened to me, I rarely use vegetable oil, I’m 100% olive oil, so I didn’t even think to check or sniff the vegetable oil, I just grabbed it and used about half a cup. I’m assuming between the fresh garlic, onions, and sausage cooking as well as my exhaust fan on high the smell didn’t catch my attention. It wasn’t until I started taste testing my gravy that I knew something was awry.
The other thing that really caught me by surprise was I probably used between a 1/4 & 1/2 cop of vegetable oil, and I easily had 3 gallons of gravy, yet the rancid taste permeated it. Not subtle at all.
Not saying you guys making it up. I am just wondering if I am less sensitive. For example, many people complain about the metallic taste from cooking in cast iron cookware. It either doesn’t bother me or I am not as sensitive to the metallic taste.
Funny you mention that I just got my first cast iron pan today!! Can’t wait to thy this baby out!!!
I love my cast iron – but then it’s 50+ years old – I wonder if the old stuff “tastes” less than the newer stuff that hasn’t “aged” yet.
