Shelf life of canned goods

[Gail]

All this talk about our pantries has made me face a horrible fact. I have things on my shelves which should probably not be there-- things which have been with me longer than my son-- a can of scungilli, for example, may soon be ready to send off to college; evaporated milk which dates back to The Inquisition.

I once heard told that canned goods will deep indefinitely. After finding rust inside my canned chiles or the peaches which literally blew their lid, I have come to question the validity of this statement.

Does anyone have an answer?



[This message has been edited by Gail (edited 08-24-2000).]

[Ohioan]

I don't like to keep canned goods more than a year, and my mother thinks I'm living dangerously by keeping them that long, because (as she says) who knows how long they were in the store before I bought them? But then again, my mother is even more obsessive-compulsive than I am. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

What I usually do is mark the purchase date on can or jar labels when I put things away, so I'll know how long everything has been sitting around. And to tell the truth, I've sometimes left a few things past the year-mark, provided they aren't weird looking around the edges or bulging on top!

Every now and then (usually around payday), I do a run through the cupboards to see what's coming up on an expiration date so I can note on my weekend shopping list that I have to get a replacement for it.

I know this sounds a little anal, but it's become so automatic now that I hardly think about it. I just keep a pencil in the kitchen, and when I'm unloading the grocery bags, I scribble the date on the labels as I hoick the cans into the cupboard.

Cheers, Phoebe

[RunnerKim]

I've gotten much better about stuff sitting in my pantry now that I've become one of THOSE planner types. Well that and having a tiny pantry. What I do is whenever there's a food drive -- at least a couple of times a year there are big ones (when the Postal Carriers so nicely come to my door and the Boy Scouts)I'll include items that I haven't used in awhile(along with specifically bought items. This keeps my pantry cleaned out in a timely manner. (This is not to say that I would ever think of passing along anything that is old/gone bad/etc.).

Kim

[Angelina]

I have these two small jars of Thai curry paste in my refrigerator..one green, one red. They have been there at least 4 years (conservative estimate), but whenever I wonder and open them, they look and smell fine. Actually, delicious.
What do you think? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/confused.gif

[KimKelly]

Ah... Angelina! My curry paste is only about a year old! Thaks for letting me know I've got at least 3 years left.

Seriously, I saw a show on Oprah (yes.... even though it is not on the disney channel I occasionally tune in). Anyway, they were talking about shelf lives of "things". Like Ice cream... they said 2 or 3 weeks is all. That if you see "frozen ice crystals" on the lit or so that is bad. I didn't think they were so bad....
Mayo.... less than or equal too (isn't there a symbol on my darn keyboard for that??) on month.
Cans, I think they did say one year.... not sure on that one, I'm guessing.
Meats, 1-2 days in fridge, then there is a whole other list for freezing.
Sauces... I think that curry paste is probably a "bit" on the old side... LOL!
I was embarassed at the things in my fridge, that I've actaully used, that they considered unhealthy. I've tried to use things up quicker, but I do still have cans on the shelf. I have to admit, when I'm making something my baby will eat I make sure things are super fresh. Me on the other hand... well, those ice crystals on the ice cream just serve to make it a bit cruchy!

K

[MrsReber]

I am very bad with cans. I buy stuff, thinking I'll make a meal or dessert, and then I forget they're in the cabinet! I have had condensed milk go bad in the can and I did not have it for a full year so I am more careful with it now. I have a horrible fault, though. I see these things sitting there and I won't throw them out because they might still be good (mom says not to waste food!) yet I'm afraid to use them because they just might be bad. So some of them just sit there in limbo until I decide it's way past time or until my husband says "you have to get rid of that!". He is very big on rotating stock!

[This message has been edited by MrsReber (edited 08-25-2000).]

[lorilei]

Oh, Gail, how I can commiscerate!

Technically, everything in my cupboards is only 2 years old (MAX), since I tried to start fresh when I got married 2 years ago.

BUT, I still have 2-3 cans of pears that I had from college. Somehow they followed me all these years. Since I don't like canned pears, they will sit there until someone else eats them (or my husband sneaks them into a smoothie).

I have no guidelines for canned goods. I think the open-and-sniff test is probably the best way to go. I've had lemon pie filling go bad weeks after I bought it, so I don't even trust the dates on the cans.

YET, something tells me there is probably a point where one should evaluate one's canned goods... especially if things are exploding http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[BeckyM]

MrsReber, I had to laugh out loud when I read your post, because I do the exact same thing! I keep stuff that I think maybe I could use sometime, but then I'm afraid it might be too old, so I don't use it. I just end up waiting until it looks and smells absolutely awful, then I'm SURE it's bad, and I throw it away. Is that illogical, or what? I am getting a bit better, but not much!

I know I probably keep canned goods longer than I should -- I too had an experience with sweetened condensed milk where I had it so long that it kinda caramelized in the can! I think Phoebe's idea about putting a purchase date on can labels is a good idea that I probably ought to try! Hopefully that will cause me to try to use up the stuff that's starting to get old, rather than just letting it sit there forever!

[Vanessa]

Hi Gail http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif That is a good question & one we all probably ask when looking in our pantry.
Most of the canned goods now have dates but I did some research & found this which might be of help.
Shelf Stable Foods

Foods that are processed - those treated by heat or a combination of other treatments which will destroy dangerous microorganisms – are shelf stable. These products, which include canned foods, bottled juices and other products that do not require refrigeration until opened, have a shelf life which is evaluated in terms of the quality of the product. These items are often referred to as non-perishable for these reasons. Canned foods can last for two years or longer, because shelf stable foods experience a very slow rate of organic change. After two years however, the product may lose taste and color.

[Gail]

Thanks for the information, everybody. I guess I know what I'm going to be doing next week! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Beth]

I was going to note that home-canned goods generally have a shelf life of one year, although some jams and jellies may last longer, so I was pretty sure commercially canned goods would be longer than that. A can of soup I bought last week has an Aug 2002 date on it, so sounds like 2 yrs for quality control. The product may be safe much longer, as long as it is not bulging, leaking or showing obvious changes.

Did anyone else read about the folks who opened and tasted a bottle of wine from a 300 year old shipwreck?

Gail, don't feel like you're alone. When we moved my mother in law, we found a few things about my age. One box of powdered sugar predated zip codes. It was a trip. I'm trying to avoid that myself by going through my shelves at least once or twice a year and adding anything I didn't use as planned (or something funky from a gift basket, I admit) to other food drive donations. Anyone sends me snails, that's probably where they'll wind up.

[This message has been edited by Beth (edited 08-26-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Beth (edited 08-26-2000).]

[MrsReber]

Wow, I thought I was the only one with very old food. I was afraid to admit this before, but we have food that predates my relationship with my husband. And we met almost four years ago. We moved some frozen drinks and some canned goods. How embarrassing!

I do still have some jelly and pickles that I made 2 years ago. We keep them in a dark place in the basement and they seem to be just fine. I hate to give them as gifts, though, because the date is written on the top.

[This message has been edited by MrsReber (edited 08-27-2000).]

[shoyski]

According to Oprah, I should be dead by now.
I'm the anal type to keep two of everything on my shelf.

Actually, we put some storage shelves in the basement a few months ago and now I'm really good at using up the older cans on the kitchen shelf before I bring up the newer cans from the basement.

Gail, thanks for bringing this up though, because I had no idea the shelf life was so short on so many items.

[Holly S]

OK, I know this topic is from last week, but OH BOY, I opened some evaporated milk last night, (it wasn't that old) and UH! First it was peach in color, like a lovely wall paint .... and it wasn't just one can it was two. I guess they last far less time than I thought, They can't be more than 3 months old TOPS. Just had to put my two cents in here, as I immediately thought of this thread last night and starting laughing........