As we fill up the pantry shelves with this year’s freshly canned preserves, it’s easy to forget about the ones made in previous years. Are you wondering whether last year’s jams or pickles are still edible? You can find out how long you can store them here.
How to extend the freshness of jams? The easy way to pasteurise at home
To keep our preserves fresh for a long time, we need to pasteurise them properly. The simplest and most popular way to can food at home is pickling. It basically involves putting them in clean jars and then heating them to a high temperature, which gets rid of the micro-organisms that cause food to go bad.
This process lets you store products for longer without using preservatives, while keeping their nutritional value, taste, colour and texture.
A jar of pickles from last year? Here’s how long you can store canned products
How long canned products can be stored depends on what they are and how they were canned. As a rule of thumb, canned products that have been canned properly can be stored for about a year or so.
If you’ve made pickles, beets or cucumbers, you should eat them within 12 months of pickling to get the full flavour. Fruit preserves like jams, marmalades and compotes can be stored for a bit longer, up to 24 months, especially if they contain a lot of sugar, which acts as a natural preservative.
It’s also worth noting that storage times can vary depending on how you store the jars. It’s important to keep an eye on your canned products and avoid eating those that look or smell bad.
Where is the best place to store canned food?
The place of storage is crucial for the shelf life of canned products. The optimum conditions are a dry, dark and cool room that protects the canned products from sunlight, humidity and sudden changes in temperature. The ideal place for storing preserves is a pantry, cellar or darkened cupboard where the temperature is kept between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius.
How long to store open cans?
As soon as we open a jar, the preserves start to come into contact with bacteria from the environment. That’s why it’s best to store open jars in the fridge. Once that’s done, you can store your pickles for up to 2-3 weeks.
Sweet preserves like jams, marmalades and preserves have a slightly longer shelf life once opened and will last up to 3-4 weeks. On the other hand, less sweet compotes should be eaten within 7 to 10 days.
It’s always a good idea to check the condition of the product before you eat it.
