(Homemaking) Shelf life of foods

[Flagwaver]

I am amazed. I have always heard that herbs and spices do not last long, but the ones I bought before y2k are still good! I bought granulated garlic, minced onions, chili powder, pumpkin pie spices, dill, baking powder, you name it - I think I got it. I just opened allspice as I'm making a spice cake. (Is there a yummy emoticon?)

I found some of my canned goods lasted 4-5 years which is also amazing. Salmon lasted the shortest amount of time. I used canned cherries up to a year ago. The flavor was a bit flat but I just added some sweetening and they were tasty.

I think acidic canned goods like tomatoes should not last as long, but I'm not sure. Stuff sure lasts longer than I thought it would. Out of everything I only had one or two cans slightly bulge and threw those away.

 

[A.T.Hagan]

Storage conditions play a major, major role in how well things keep.

I've got spices and herbs that I vacuum sealed in glass jars six years ago that are still quite good.

Last year we ate up about a half dozen cans of various types of pineapple that were four years old at the time, one of those years being spent on our Florida carport because we lost them. To my surprise they were in amazingly good shape. Not the same as fresh-canned, but quite acceptable.

That same box had canned peaches in it, that were equally old, and they were plainly over the edge. The same with the can of pie cherries. All tossed. The unopened plastic jar of Tang had turned into an unmanageable rock and it hit the trash as well.

The Prudent Food Storage FAQ goes into detail about how environmental conditions can affect food shelf-life and a shelf-life chart as well if you're interested. You can find it at the URL in my signature below.

.....Alan.

 

[Flagwaver]

Your site is a gold mine, Hagan. Thanks for the work that went into it. I'm impressed! I'll keep it handy.

I am glad this room is here on TB. A good learning place to share.