# How long did your canned foods last? Beyond a year?



## shellybo (Nov 9, 2013)

I've been canning for less than 6 months and wondering about the shelf life experienced with your canned goods? 

The USDA recommends eating canned goods with in a year because the nutritional value and taste declines. Yet recall growing up my Mom made jelly that we ate several years later and it tasted great. 

I've canned a lot of meat, some vegetables,salsas, apple pie fillings etc. Just wondering if you in fact toss your food after a year or how long it has kept? My canned goods are in a cool, dark room. 

Thanks!

Shelly


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## Shoestringer (Oct 18, 2013)

The nutritional value of jelly may be questionable anyway, but even if some of the flavour is lost it is still yummy years later. Sometimes the sugars will crytallize a bit, but I think I might have had a bit of an unstable recipe.
Anyway, a year if a safe guideline but well canned food will last longer.


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## TripleD (Feb 12, 2011)

I ate some pork last week I canned 30 months ago. It was great...


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

We are still eating pears from 2005. They taste just fine. As long as the seal is good, I don't pay much attention to the date. I just make sure to use the oldest up first.


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## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

I still have deer meat from when my hubs hunted 9-10 years ago. I use it sparingly as I don't care for deer meat. Used a jar about six months ago that was still in fine shape.

I'm like Wendy and worry about the seal, not the date.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Cool, dry dark storage helps a lot. I have eaten things canned for 20-25 years. I don't like to store some things for more than 2-3 years, especially tomatoes and such....James


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## shellybo (Nov 9, 2013)

TripleD said:


> I ate some pork last week I canned 30 months ago. It was great...



Thanks feeling better already! I canned some leftover turkey from thanksgiving and ate some today. it was like Thanksgiving in March. Plan to cook a few turkeys this year just to can.


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## shellybo (Nov 9, 2013)

thank you everyone who responded. I recall growing up that commercially canned goods would last longer than a year then suddenly the expiration time frame decreased . So happy I found this forum and started canning!


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

We pay no attention to the yr we canned it like the others said- as long as the seal is good - that being said- someone gave me pumpkin butter- and it looked weird- and I have read that canning pumpkin butter is not a good idea- I have a hard time eating someone elses canned goods as I have no idea how they canned them- 
my own- I can like crazy incase the following yr is a bad yr for whatever we like- tomatoes esp- this summer was not a good yr for tomatoes- so I am grateful the previous 2 yrs we canned more than we thought we would ever use!


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

I always can enough to last a couple years to cover for a scant crop. Keep in a cold dark place, don't stack on top of each other and use the oldest first . Smell before tasting lol


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## Cookie2 (Feb 21, 2014)

I agree that over a year is fine. However, I'm not sure I would go 5, 10, 20+ years. It isn't that the food would be unsafe but like you read the nutritional quality and texture degrades over time. Since canning food already reduces the nutritional quality, this is something to consider. Eating foods for calories is fine, but we also want the nutrition.

Anyway, I'm posting just to emphasize ... just because the jar is sealed, that doesn't make it fine. The extension service has run tests and found that some mis-processed cans have been known to seal, unseal, reseal, etc ... especially if the ring is left on.

Signs to look for:
~ Before opening the jar, look for tiny air bubbles in the canned liquid. Discard the food immediately if the air bubbles are moving or rising in the liquid. DO NOT taste the food. DO NOT allow the food be exposed to any person or animal who might eat it or touch it.
~ If the jar has signs of leakage on the outside, discard it. The assumption is that you cleaned the jars after processing so there shouldn't be any food product on the outside of the jars now. Leakage is an extremely bad sign. Again, DO NOT taste the food. (
~ If the lid comes off easily or you don't hear the vacuum breaking when you remove the lid, don't use the food. Discard it.
~ If the jar has been exposed to flooding, discard the food. While the food inside might be good, you can't get the area under the rim of the lid cleaned well enough to eliminate the possibility of e coli. The food will become contaminated when you open the lid.
~ Of course, if the food smells bad or show signs of mold / mildew / spoilage, discard the food.

Yes, jars should be stored in a dark, cool area. If possible, consider storing your jars inside a box (typically the same box the jars were in originally) to reduce light exposure and reduce the chance of jar breakage even more.


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## acraig (Apr 26, 2013)

I opened a jar of Grandma's blackberry jam the other day that said 1997. It was delicious!


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## obleo+6 (Jul 21, 2008)

I had some elk that my BIL canned back in 97 and we used it a few months ago...it was my LAST jar :Bawling: but it was yummy!

I got stuff from 2001 that is still good. I open a jar or two from the case and we survived just fine so I know the rest of the case is good...taking all precautions first, of course.

Just use some common sense and you'll be grateful you did all that work way back when.


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

> especially if the ring is left on.


Exactly why you shouldn't leave the rings on. My jars are stored on the back porch. It is insulated, but is not cool & not dark. It is on the north side of the house & doesn't get the sun shining in, but it is not dark & cool like a basement.


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## shellybo (Nov 9, 2013)

Vickie44 said:


> I always can enough to last a couple years to cover for a scant crop. Keep in a cold dark place, don't stack on top of each other and use the oldest first . Smell before tasting lol



thanks for the tip about not stacking jars since I have been doing that :-(. plan to buy a utility shelf so no more stacking my jars


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## praieri winds (Apr 16, 2010)

what is the reason not to stack the boxes of jars I don't have enough room to have only one layer


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

We just ate meat canned in 2010, tasted great. I don't have anything older as that's when we moved back to the US.


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

praieri winds said:


> what is the reason not to stack the boxes of jars I don't have enough room to have only one layer


I dont think it would hurt as much in boxes as single stacking ( one jar on top of another ) If you line them up you can see it puts pressure right on the center of the seal of the bottom jar .


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

My chili sauce is the first to go because of the high acid - the Ball lids pit.


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## Jan in CO (May 10, 2002)

I too use by appearance, not date. That being said, follow good sense rules when you use older canned food. I would NEVER eat someone else's older canned goods, however  I do know two people who have survived layoffs and injuries and eaten very old--by that I mean 20 or 30 year old canned food to get buy and found nothing unsealed or spoiled. I do store mine in my basement because that's the area I have. I don't go strictly on appearance, however because some I canned without sugar and those fruits do darken or change color a bit more than canning with a heavy syrup. I know which years I didn't use sugar, mostly more current years. 

I've had more failures in commercially canned (in cans) food over the years than home canned products. Why? Who knows. One year I did have goat's milk that dh canned for me while I was gone, come unsealed. He thought he was following my instructions, but couldn't have. That got poured around trees and buried. Good thing we didn't have goats or pigs to feed that year.


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## Melesine (Jan 17, 2012)

I found a stray jar of stock I put up 2-3 years prior once and it was great.


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

I ate a can of potted (mystery) meat that was 20+ years old (a c-ration, precursor of the MRE) and it was perfectly fine.

In my pantry, most things usually don't last more than a year or two before they're *eaten*. I try to put up everything I can in a bumper year just in case I get a bust the next year or two. For us, the duration of storage has nothing to do with "expiration" since properly canned food with an intact seal are edible and nutritious _indefinitely_. 

The amount of nutritional deterioration in canned foods during storage isn't really that high after the intial canning process. Protein, fat and carbs don't break down -- so the calories and macronutrients are still there. Minerals don't break down. Only the vitamins break down, and then only those that are heat or light sensitive (which is why we store in a cool dark place). Some of the enzymes and such may break down, so there may be slight color or flavor loss, but it's still edible and it takes a long time for something to completely lose all color or flavor unless it was pale and bland to begin with. Starch and fiber structures may start to change, so there may be some texture loss, but it's still edible even if it's mush.


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## FireMaker (Apr 3, 2014)

We have Vinson from 2003 and 2004. It is still good. Most important is to look for clues mentioned above. We also never eat from the jar. We always fully cook the meat. 53 yrs and never gotten sick with home canning.


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## Lee Abend (Mar 13, 2020)

I have question. In my basement I have a room that is kept at 35 degrees steady like a refrigerator. I can find nothing on how long that would extend my canned goods shelf life. Does anybody have any information on this?


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## gleepish (Mar 10, 2003)

Lee Abend said:


> I have question. In my basement I have a room that is kept at 35 degrees steady like a refrigerator. I can find nothing on how long that would extend my canned goods shelf life. Does anybody have any information on this?


Is your food spoiling? Are lids popping? I most will tell you 'a year' on shelf life regardless of how cool your cellar is, most people who can will tell you they can last much longer than that...


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

my bro brought up some bottled (canned?)moose meat last time he visited. he put that up 20 years ago. was that ever good! i've never been able to bottle. my mother use to and didn't even use one of those canners. she would have everything hot,the covers and rings in boiling water and whatnot. nothing ever went bad. she would mostly put up meat ,pickles,fish,berries etc. no tomatoes we never had any of those growing up. ~Georgia


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

I have meat and veggies 8 to 10 years old and it tastes fine.

Just make sure it is sealed.


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## weaselfire (Feb 7, 2018)

Oldest of my mom's was pear jam at 37 years. Still trying to duplicate the recipe a decade later. She did have rhubarb in that same time frame but I hate rhubarb. 

Jeff


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## Breezy (Jun 5, 2009)

I use canned goods for years. Check the seals and listen for the pop. I've thrown out jars that don't "pop" to my satisfaction, when likely I just opened them in slow motion. I just don't take a chance. If all looks good, vegies and meat should be reheated/boiled before serving.
I have had a little bit of issue w/jams and jellies that were made w/low sugar pectins. They seem to turn sooner...get boozy.
I use the foam core poster boards for stacking two layers of jars. Cut to fit.


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