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How long is home canned jelly (and other stuff) good for?

Posted: June 28th, 2010, 7:35 pm
by Scarecrow
I know the official USDA recommendation is 1-2 years, but my Mom used to open stuff that had been on the shelves much longer than that. We have some chokecherry and apricot jelly that we canned in 2006 and my wife is hesitant to open them, but I say it's probably still good. What's your advice?

Re: How long is home canned jelly (and other stuff) good for

Posted: June 28th, 2010, 7:40 pm
by Original_Intent
If the lids aren't bulging and they pass the sniff test, I'd eat it.
<insert legal disclaimer here>
But seriously, if it were me I wouldn't be worried about almost anything canned in the last 4 years.

Re: How long is home canned jelly (and other stuff) good for

Posted: June 28th, 2010, 9:04 pm
by SmallFarm
When we lived in Monroe, Ut we moved into a house that had old canned food in the basement. Nobody had lived in this house in over ten years and it seemed to me that the food could've been over twenty years old based on the way the jars looked. My family ate them (we were pretty poor at the time) and had no ill effects. Of course I'm extra squeakish so I didn't eat any myself. I've heard that if a jar is sealed properly that food will stay good indeffinately but the quality of the food starts going down after the first two years (gets mushy). The way to tell if the seal took is to see if the lid has popped out. If it has then it's bad.

Re: How long is home canned jelly (and other stuff) good for

Posted: June 29th, 2010, 8:17 am
by Mark
holyhabanero wrote:I know the official USDA recommendation is 1-2 years, but my Mom used to open stuff that had been on the shelves much longer than that. We have some chokecherry and apricot jelly that we canned in 2006 and my wife is hesitant to open them, but I say it's probably still good. What's your advice?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iubJ-XSL ... re=related :idea:

Re: How long is home canned jelly (and other stuff) good for

Posted: June 29th, 2010, 8:43 pm
by singyourwayhome
The USDA recommendations are given so that (1) we eat the food at its prime taste and texture, and (2) they avoid lawsuits.

I know of 20-year-old home canned food being eaten, no problems except the color and texture become less than ideal. The people I know (myself included) who eat 'older' canned foods have tricks to using them- adding them to smoothies, or blended up into muffin or cake batter. The old food still retains some nutrients, and all of its calories. I have a few jars that are from 2000 and 2001; they go into smoothies. I try to eat most everything within 1-5 years, but some get past me. If the jar seal is still down, the liquid is not cloudy or foaming, and they smell fine, then I consider them alright. If you're talking about a food that had to be pressure-canned (meats, corn, green beans, beets, pinto beans, etc.), you should always boil the contents for at least 5 minutes (10 is better) to destroy any possible botulism. That's true even if they're only 2 months old. Jelly, however, doesn't have an issue with botulism, or even with color and texture, much. I have some a few years older than yours, and it's normal.

Re: How long is home canned jelly (and other stuff) good for

Posted: June 30th, 2010, 8:41 am
by Scarecrow
Thanks. :cry: I had that song in my head all day long yesterday.

Re: How long is home canned jelly (and other stuff) good for

Posted: June 30th, 2010, 9:28 am
by SmallFarm
holyhabanero wrote:
Thanks. :cry: I had that song in my head all day long yesterday.
:lol: Me too

Re: How long is home canned jelly (and other stuff) good for

Posted: June 30th, 2010, 12:33 pm
by Mark
holyhabanero wrote:
Thanks. :cry: I had that song in my head all day long yesterday.

Have some malk with that jelly. :lol:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty62YzGryU4