When I go to Costco,  I sometimes buy a tray of muffins to put into the kitchen at the office for everyone to munch on. They are about  $5.95 for a dozen, which is an incredible deal, considering you pay $2.75 for a single one of those muffins at the Starbucks in the San Diego airport.

Tonight I went out to my van for a quick trip to the office (it’s Saturday night – that tells you something about my lifestyle). I opened the back door to put in my briefcase, and there on the back seat was a tray of muffins I had forgotten.

I brought them into the house, cut a slice off one of them and ate it. Delicious, as always.

So far, so good.

Today is Feburary 29, 2008.

I was at Costco on February 17, 2008, a full 12 days ago. I bought various groceries and miscellaneous stuff, and put the muffins on the backseat. The next day, I would then take them upstairs to the office when I took out my briefcase from back there where I always  put it.

The problem was, the next day I took Chelsea’s car to work. And the next day, and the next. Then I went on a trip to Northern California. All the while, for 12 days, my van sat in the driveway in the sun, daytime temperatures in the 80ies during the warm days, so inside the car it would be well over a hundred degrees. Nighttime lows in the low 40ies. Muffins heating up, muffins cooling down, muffins heating up, muffins cooling down.

Muffins forgotten.

The one I tasted today seemed fresh enough. I would not be embarrassed serving them. How is this possible?

What does Costco put into those muffins?