What is the shelf life of home canned food?

About thirty years ago it was quite difficult to find food in stores. It was not possible to buy everything and not always. Times were difficult, so our grandparents, mothers and fathers had to somehow get out of the current situation. Home canning was popularized during Soviet times. But even now, when you can buy vegetables and fruits, including exotic ones, in the supermarket at any time of the year, housewives continue to preserve the gifts of the garden. Why? After all, the need to stock up for the winter has long ceased? Because it's delicious! And this is the main argument in favor of homemade preparations.

However, it is not enough to simply preserve rosy tomatoes, crispy cucumbers and amazingly aromatic berry jams. You need to learn how to store them correctly. Otherwise, all your work will go to waste. Today we will talk about where it is best to store jars of provisions and how long you can do this.

How long can canned fruit last?

from the date of production in a sealed container and no more than 8 months. from the date of production in non-hermetic containers; at manufacturing plants at temperatures not lower than 0 ° C and not higher than 20 ° C and relative air humidity not higher than 85% for no more than 1-2 months. from the date of production.

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Types of home canning, cooking technology

The category of homemade preparations includes pickled, salted, pickled, dried, dried, candied foods and jam. In addition to drying and freezing, there are three main methods of preparing food for future use - pickling, salting, and fermentation. This also includes canding, i.e. cooking fruits in sugar syrup. A striking example is jam and candied fruits.

How many years you can store homemade products depends on the technology of their production and compliance with the temperature regime. In this article we will look at storing the most popular household items, which include:

pickled cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini and other vegetables;
pickled and salted mushrooms;
canned compotes and juices;
pickled cucumbers;
sauerkraut;
soaked apples;
canned meat.

We recommend reading: How long and under what conditions are factory canned foods of various types stored?

The secret to the popularity of canning lies in its long shelf life, which is achieved by sterilizing the container along with its contents. Meat, dairy products, mushrooms, fruits and vegetables are canned. It is important to follow several rules:

Do not violate the cooking technology described in the recipe. If it says that the jar will be sterilized for two hours, then this is what needs to be done in order to destroy dangerous microbes.
Always add precisely measured amounts of salt, vinegar, sugar, citric acid and other preservatives. A deficiency will lead to accelerated spoilage of products, and an excess will affect the taste. You will experiment after testing the recipe.
Wash vegetables, fruits and especially forest products thoroughly, peel them if necessary. Even a small piece of soil can cause serious botulinum toxin poisoning; you shouldn’t tempt fate. Do not use products that show signs of spoilage.
For sealing, use only sterile lids. Wash all tableware thoroughly, pour boiling water over them, and dry.
Before storing sterilized jars, make sure the lids are tight. To do this, keep the containers upside down for several days. The absence of air bubbles, cloudiness and leakage indicates a reliable seal.

An equally popular method of preparation is salting. Most often it is used for vegetables, mushrooms and meat, fish or lard. The method is based on a high concentration of salt in the brine, which slows down the development of microflora. When the product is completely salted, the fermentation process begins.

The next way to prolong the freshness of products is fermentation. It does not require heat treatment; the jar is sealed with a nylon lid. Vegetables and fruits are preserved through the fermentation process, which produces lactic acid. It is harmless to humans, and yeasts and fungi cannot develop in such an environment.

Fermentation is the absorption of carbohydrates by lactic acid bacteria, which are ultimately converted into a natural preservative - lactic acid.

Note to the hostess
Fermented products require special temperature conditions during storage.

Tomatoes and cucumbers

It is generally accepted that pickled and pickled cucumbers, as well as tomatoes, retain their taste and remain safe for health for 2 years. However, it is advisable to eat them in the first year if:

Canned tomatoes and cucumbers that are pressure sterilized in an autoclave can be stored for 3-4 years.

How to understand that a product is spoiled

Before consuming canned foods, it is advisable to inspect them carefully. What if during storage the delicacy managed to deteriorate? To avoid accidentally getting poisoned or poisoning your household, be sure to pay attention to the presence (or better yet, absence) of the main signs of damage:

deformation of the lid (if the lid is swollen, it means that microorganisms got inside the jar at some stage of canning or storage, which began to multiply and as a result led to bombing);
the presence of a purple tint in the syrup;
loss of transparency by the brine, its cloudiness;
the occurrence of mold inside the container;
the appearance of a white coating on the fruit.

If at least one of the signs of spoilage described above is found inside the container (or outside - in the case of a bulging lid), do not take risks: refuse to eat the product. The most harmless thing that threatens you is intestinal upset. But in this case, botulism can become a reality for you. This serious disease appears due to the influence of anaerobic bacillus on the human body. As a result, the nervous system is affected. The disease often ends in death. This is not the most pleasant fact in the history of home canning, but forewarned is forearmed.

Attention! Danger! Botulism!

Botulism is a serious infectious disease that is most easily contracted due to poorly prepared preserves. It is caused by a toxin, which is a waste product of the botulinus bacterium, which lives in the soil and develops in an oxygen-free environment, so hermetically sealed cans of preserved food are an ideal environment for its reproduction. The bacteria themselves do not cause poisoning, but they are resistant to high concentrations of table salt and multiply in sealed jars, releasing poison that can seriously poison a person.

To protect yourself from botulism, carefully process the products before canning: rinse them thoroughly in water, use only fresh and unspoiled ones, strictly follow the preservation technology, the regime of sterilization and pasteurization of jars. If you have any doubts about the quality of the prepared preparations, it is better to pre-boil them for 20 minutes before using them - the poison is destroyed under the influence of high temperatures.

Fans of canned peppers will certainly enjoy the top 5 recipes for canning peppers.

Author: Svetlana Misnik

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Shelf life for certain types of home preservation

Experienced housewives know that fresh preparations are the most healthy and tasty. Over time, the process of oxidation and aging of the contents begins inside the cans. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to predict how many products will be eaten by household members, so it is important to know the maximum shelf life for each type of canned food.

Canned meat

The shelf life of homemade canned meat is 1 year, but you should not delay their consumption; it is optimal to use the product within 6 months. When preparing homemade stew, you should strictly follow the recipe and heat treatment time (at least 2 hours).

Salted, pickled, soaked vegetables and fruits

Fruits and vegetables subjected to lactic acid fermentation should be stored in their original container. Shelf life depends on storage temperature:

if the background stays within 0-4 °C, it will be a maximum of 9 months;
when the temperature rises within 10 °C, the shelf life does not exceed three months.

Note to the hostess
Remove vegetables from the container only with a clean spoon; the jar must be immediately closed with a nylon lid.

Pickled vegetables, mushrooms

The recommended shelf life for preserves with vinegar or citric acid does not exceed one and a half years. If the amount of preservative is minimal, use canned food within 10-12 months from the date of sealing.

Pickled or salted mushrooms should be consumed 8-9 months from the date of preparation. Before eating the gifts of the forest, be sure to inspect the container and contents for damage.

Compotes

The shelf life of homemade compotes does not exceed one and a half years, and if the compote is made from stone fruits (plums, cherries, cherry plums, etc.), no more than 12 months.

The seeds contain amygdalin, which decomposes into hydrocyanic acid during storage, so the core of the fruit should be removed

Tip of the day
To avoid confusing last year’s preparations with fresh ones, label the containers with the date of preparation.

How to store the contents after opening the container

After opening, almost all of the listed types of preparations are stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day, replacing the metal lid with a nylon one.

Sauerkraut will last 5-7 days under a layer of brine.
Pickled vegetables with vinegar - only three days.

They should be inspected daily for brine cloudiness and mold.

Household balcony heating cabinet

If the air temperature on the balcony still occasionally drops below 0°C and conditions do not allow storing glass jars on cabinet shelves, use a ready-made model - a factory-made thermal cabinet (thermal container, balcony cellar). It is an improved model of a village chest - a large box with compartments, which our ancestors installed in the entryway for storing preparations, cereals and vegetables.

Metal stationary thermal container

A modern storage facility is a large metal box (200-300 l) with a lid and power supply, well-insulated walls and a thermostat that allows you to control optimal temperature parameters - from +3°C to +10°C. Wires for heating are built into the walls of the container. Power consumption during operation is 170-240 W. The main advantage of the cellar is the ability to store preserved food even at forty-degree frosts.

The cost of the simplest models is from 5,000 rubles, more equipped modifications – up to 30,000 rubles.

Zucchini and eggplant caviar

Squash or eggplant caviar prepared with the addition of table, apple or balsamic vinegar is suitable for consumption for 2–3 years from the date of production, if it has been in a cool room all this time. It is advisable to keep it at room temperature for no longer than 2 years.

Squash caviar with mayonnaise can be stored for only 1 year. Exactly the same shelf life for any unsterilized caviar, provided that it is kept in the refrigerator or cellar.

Deciphering the markings on the jar

If the label is lost, you can recognize the contents of the can using the markings. How can you determine the shelf life of canned food? They are part of the markings applied to the lid in 2 or 3 rows. It contains the following information:

Foreign-made canned goods are labeled differently; manufacturers indicate the date by which the contents of the container must be consumed. You can often see two dates on the lid - production and expiration date.

Jam

Low-moisture jam (well boiled) containing at least 50% sugar remains edible for 5 years.

Liquid jams, as well as those made with minimal addition of sugar, can be stored for no more than a year.

Don’t risk your health, as well as the health of your loved ones - throw away “rolls” that were stored incorrectly or were made a long time ago, even if the contents of the jars seem edible and the lids are not swollen.

Source

Video tips for setting up a balcony cellar

Balcony cabinet updates:

Insulated and spacious wardrobe:

Review of a homemade heating cabinet:

As you can see, even in a city apartment you can find a suitable place to store numerous pieces and twists that you have prepared yourself. It remains to decide which design is more suitable for your balcony, because the choice is really wide: from stylish custom-made cabinet models to convenient, self-made storage boxes and shelves.

How to store preserved food if there is no cellar?

Jars of canned vegetables and fruits can be stored in the apartment on the mezzanine. The main disadvantage lies in the fact that you will have to sweat to get a certain product, put up a chair or even a stepladder, try to balance with the can in one hand, not to overhang and safely lower the yummy to the table without dropping it from your hands or breaking it. That's another adventure.

When the apartment is still at the stage of renovation and planning the arrangement of furniture, you can plan in advance to build in a cabinet that will be used as a pantry for storing cans of preserves. It is advisable that such a cabinet should not be located near the battery, but in some cool place. In the corridor, for example, along the wall or even in the kitchen, if space allows, in addition, it can be installed on the balcony.

In the corridor, along the perimeter of the wall, hang shelves or cabinets. The latter is better, since, as previously written, conservation does not tolerate exposure to light and sunlight. You can store preparations for the winter on open shelves, but not for long, so that they do not have time to deteriorate. But do not forget to take care of reliable fastening: cans are a heavy load that flimsy dowels and shelf holders will not withstand.

If the balcony is not glazed, it doesn’t exist at all, or the temperature there drops below 0 degrees, there is no free space in the cabinets, you don’t have an underground floor or storage room, and there is no way to hang shelves or cabinets, jars of pickles can be stored in living rooms: under the bed , behind the sofa, along the walls, under tables, etc. In such cases, it is better to place the jars in tightly sealed cardboard boxes or wooden boxes.