What's the Storage Life of Home-Preserved Foods? (2024)

You have had a productive summer of canning, freezing and drying foods. Now you are wondering how long you can keep these foods. Storage life depends upon proper preserving methods, which we have addressed in previous articles, and upon the make-up of the food.

Storing canned food in a cool, dark, dry place will extend the shelf-life of the product. Keep jars away from warm places such as furnaces, pipes and attics; avoid places where jars of canned goods might freeze. Freezing changes the texture of the food and could cause lids to rust and possibly unseal.

The general guideline is to can only the amount of food that will be used within one year. The food will be safe as long as the jar remains sealed, if it has been properly canned. However, the quality of the food deteriorates the longer it is in storage, i.e., a change in texture, color and flavor. According to Brian Nummer, of Utah State University, high-acid canned foods usually have a shorter shelf life than low-acid foods. This means that fruits will show deterioration more quickly than vegetables.

Brian Nummer describes the following changes in canned goods and their causes. Food that turns brown or dark in color is caused by oxidation or chemical breakdown of the color pigments in the food. Softening of the food is caused by a chemical breakdown of plant or animal tissue. Magnesium ammonium phosphate crystals in canned fish and white crystals in some fruits like apricots or grape juice are naturally occurring substances. In all these cases the food is safe to consume if the food has no off odors or there is no strange appearance.

To use canned goods, inspect jars, open, view and smell the contents. Discard contents, without tasting, if there is any strange odor or appearance. Discard any jar that spurts.

Foods that are frozen at 0 F or lower will keep safe indefinitely. However, the quality will change over time. Most fruits need to be pitted, peeled, and sliced or chopped for best results. Some need to be treated with ascorbic acid to prevent enzymatic browning; a sugar syrup or dry sugar pack will help prevent browning as well as maintain texture. Others, such as strawberries and blueberries, can be frozen whole without pre-treatments. Frozen peaches, nectarines, plums, pears, pineapple, blueberries and strawberries maintain their quality for eight to 12 months. However, frozen melon balls or cubes, and whole grapes, are best used within one month.

Vegetables that have been blanched, cooled and properly packaged will maintain the best color, flavor and nutrition for up to 12 months. Asparagus is best used within five months, and cooked, dried beans should be used within six months. Tomatoes frozen raw should be used within two months; to keep tomatoes longer, cook them or make them into a sauce prior to putting them in the freezer.

Important to the storage time for meat is the size of the cut, whether it is ground, the fat content, and the sodium content. Large roasts and steaks of beef can be frozen up to 12 months. Smaller cuts should be used sooner. Grinding the meat exposes more surface area to bacteria and to oxygen and shortens storage time — use ground beef, turkey, veal, pork or lamb, and stew meat within three to four months. Salt or sodium preservatives used in curing meat encourages the rancidity of fat in meat. Thus, cured meats and sausage will have shorter storage times. Freeze raw bacon for only a month and raw sausage for only one to two months.

Use wild game and venison within six to 12 months unless they have been made into sausage or otherwise cured. Whole chicken and turkey can be frozen up to one year, pieces for nine months. Shellfish should only be frozen for three to six months; limit fatty fish to two to three months and lean fish to four to eight months. Leftover cooked meat or poultry should be frozen for only two to three months and cooked fish for one to two months.

Baked goods vary widely in storage time. Most breads are top quality for three months. Freeze cookie dough for two months, but the baked cookies will keep six to 12 months depending upon the variety. Unbaked fruit pies can be frozen up to eight months, but baking the pies shortens the time to six to eight months. Pumpkin pies should only be kept in the freezer for up to three months.

Dried foods should be stored in cool, dark, dry areas. Again, storage time is affected by heat. Most dried fruits can be stored for one year at 60 F, but for only six months at 80 F. Reduce the shelf life for dried vegetables by one-half. For extended storage, dried foods can be refrigerated or frozen. Cooler temperatures also reduce browning that can take place in dried foods. Make sure dried foods are in a vapor-proof package to prevent reabsorption of moisture from the air.

Regardless of the method of food preservation, always practice FIFO (first-in, first out). That means use your oldest jars or packages first, so that you are replacing older product with newer.

If you have food preservation questions, a home economist is available to answer questions on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., by calling 717-394-6851 or writing Penn State Extension, Lancaster County, 1383 Arcadia Road, Room 140, Lancaster, PA 17601.