Ate Some 25 Year Old Pickled Beets - So Far So Good

[gunDriller]

I got these at a garage sale.

Label says they were canned in 1986.

I just ate half of one slice, and also sauteed it for about 15 minutes.


How safe do you think it is to eat old food ?

[solid]

How safe do you think it is to eat old food ?

Sounds like you are going to find out. I've got a can of pickled mushrooms homemade by a polish family I've yet to try, it's got to be 10 years old.

Let us all know how you do. Cheers for taking one for the team and experimenting.

[Dogman]

I got these at a garage sale.

Label says they were canned in 1986.

I just ate half of one slice, and also sauteed it for about 15 minutes.


How safe do you think it is to eat old food ?
If it smelled and looked right, you are going to die!






















Not really, canned food if stored in a cool place , will keep for an amazing time! I have some canned salmon that is 20 years old and still good to eat.


Some foods stay good longer than others.

[MNeagle]

When you say 'canned' and 'label', do you mean homemade (in a jar) or a commercial product (in a can)?

Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

[madfranks]

http://grandpappy.info/hshelff.htm

"Among the canned food items retrieved from the Bertrand in 1968 were brandied peaches, oysters, plum tomatoes, honey, and mixed vegetables. In 1974, chemists at the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) analyzed the products for bacterial contamination and nutrient value. Although the food had lost its fresh smell and appearance, the NFPA chemists detected no microbial growth and determined that the foods were as safe to eat as they had been when canned more than 100 years earlier. The nutrient values varied depending upon the product and nutrient. NFPA chemists Janet Dudek and Edgar Elkins report that significant amounts of vitamins C and A were lost. But protein levels remained high, and all calcium values 'were comparable to today's products.'"

"NFPA chemists also analyzed a 40-year-old can of corn found in the basement of a home in California. Again, the canning process had kept the corn safe from contaminants and from much nutrient loss. In addition, Dudek says, the kernels looked and smelled like recently canned corn."

[Dogman]

http://grandpappy.info/hshelff.htm

"Among the canned food items retrieved from the Bertrand in 1968 were brandied peaches, oysters, plum tomatoes, honey, and mixed vegetables. In 1974, chemists at the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) analyzed the products for bacterial contamination and nutrient value. Although the food had lost its fresh smell and appearance, the NFPA chemists detected no microbial growth and determined that the foods were as safe to eat as they had been when canned more than 100 years earlier. The nutrient values varied depending upon the product and nutrient. NFPA chemists Janet Dudek and Edgar Elkins report that significant amounts of vitamins C and A were lost. But protein levels remained high, and all calcium values 'were comparable to today's products.'"

"NFPA chemists also analyzed a 40-year-old can of corn found in the basement of a home in California. Again, the canning process had kept the corn safe from contaminants and from much nutrient loss. In addition, Dudek says, the kernels looked and smelled like recently canned corn."


My point exactly!

when I say can, I mean metal or glass.

If the food in the (can) is still under vacuum, smells right after opening it should still be good. This topic comes up at least once a year. The use by date on the can is something of a scam. I have seen people throw out food because of this and for a long time, I have asked them if they were going to throw it away to give it too me. Grin!

Yes it can go bad, but all cans that I have ever seen and opened that were bad, I knew or suspected it was bad, can under pressure and not vacuum, leaky or stains along seams, etc, etc.

Packaged food that is not under vacuum in a can, is another story. You can push the use by dates, maybe a year or so, and sometimes not that long. Before it starts going funky, those sealed packages like cheese macaroni for example, the cheese mix gets rock hard or funky.

But most cans almost can outlive you and your lifetime, if stored right.

Imo !

;D

[hoarder]

A couple days ago I found a skunk that had been run over. The sack was not busted or discharged so there wasn't much smell. I decided to take it home and try it out. My dog wanted it so I figured it was good. I skinned it carefully so as not to make an incision in the sack, then I took the hind legs and battered them in flour with Cajun seasoning and fried them in peanut oil. Not too bad actually. It tasted like froglegs only a little gamier.
I hope you're kidding gundriller because I sure am.

[gunDriller]

ate half a beet slice today, guess i'll have some more tomorrow.

i'm tempted to advertise one of the jars on Craigslist - but who needs a visit from the FDA.

they are normal canned in the quart jars. The seal was still intact, i really had to pry the lid off, it had that 2 part lid.


i wonder if the dangers of improperly stored food are greater with meat. i was reading part of the history of WW1, about some US troops in Spain, maybe 5000 of whom died from food poisoning from some canned meat, that was made in the USA.

i also wonder how much the taste test works. these beets tasted just like normal pickled beets, though actually not overdoing the vinegar taste, so they taste better than a lot of pickled beets.

it's been about 4 hours now so i think they're OK. they were given away at the estate sale, i would say they were canned with a lot of 'love', probably for family members. they looked like something from Imacannin's pantry.

[osoab]

Were you just buying canning jars or did you have a hankering for pickled beets?

[gunDriller]

Were you just buying canning jars or did you have a hankering for pickled beets?

they were free. i knew the jars would come in handy. i wasn't sure about the beets.