Newbie Question in Expiring Canned Food

**SuzanneTx** · 02-22-2011, 11:54 AM

I have 2 large cans of tomato juice that will be "expired" on Monday. What or how would you salvage these?

I can either freeze, recan in jars or vacuum seal the contents in a foodsaver bag.

Thanks!
Suzanne

**Mom2-3** · 02-22-2011, 11:58 AM

I would freeze the juice into ice cubes. When you make a soup/stew you could just plop a couple into the pot.

**MsMarieH** · 02-22-2011, 11:58 AM

Since the motto we should all be following is Store What You Eat and Eat What You Store, I would suggest that you use it and buy replacement tomato juice, if you are actually using the tomato juice and just overbought. On the other hand, if you are buying it but never use it, I would reconsider that item entirely in your stockpile.

You can use it in beef stew to replace part of any water or stock. You can use it in chili, lasagna filling, spaghetti (thickened with tomato paste), etc.

**savvy_sniper** · 02-22-2011, 12:00 PM

Just use it in the near future. It will be fine a month or so past the date.

**SuzanneTx** · 02-22-2011, 12:51 PM

We actually don't and didn't buy this. We inherited it from my mother in law after she passed away.

I'm of the frame of mind of waste not want not and since I can use it, and want it to be salvageable, I was just getting a sense of how to keep from throwing it out.

Thanks for all the tips and I think I will freeze it into cubes.

Suzanne

**Darlene** · 02-22-2011, 01:05 PM

No super hurry to use it up like savvy_sniper said.
You can use it in many dishes including soup and spaghetti sauce Here's bunches more Yum Recipes : page 1 on Recipe that use tomato juice

**frugalfranny** · 02-22-2011, 02:34 PM

Glad you found a solution suzanne.........

But reading this raised a question for me.......

Does anyone here do a "re-can".........and if so, with what? Do you do just a regular water bath?

Had never thought of 'recanning' anything that was outdated......and was wondering if this would be that safe. (for all my other 'bad practices', I tend to be extra careful with tomatoes)

**Contrary Housewife** · 02-22-2011, 03:34 PM

It should be fine for a while as long as the can is not bulging or rusted. Use it up soon. I use it in stew and pot roast.

Re-canning sounds like a hassle for $2 worth of juice.

**piney** · 02-22-2011, 04:29 PM

When i open a can of tomato juice i freeze the rest in 1 cup containers and if i need more then 1 cup for recipe i just take out2 or more.

**NikoSan999** · 02-23-2011, 06:13 PM

I used to use it in chili...now I use tomato sauce,paste etc..cheaper to use the juice but he says he can tell the difference...made it once with the juice using 1 small paste and he didn't.
Actually does it say use by or "best by"...either way it's got a ways to go before it isn't safe...quite a ways

**SuzanneTx** · 02-25-2011, 06:13 PM

I always grew up with the if it's past the date on the can then you toss it.

I did end up freezing it into vacuum sealed packages. I also got to thinking about it when I went to wash my coffee pot. So I froze the cup that was left in the pot. Not so much for emergency preparedness but for when I want just a small cup of coffee, toss it in the microwave and you have a hot cup of coffee.

Suzanne

**Moonrising** · 03-05-2011, 08:01 PM

I was just talking with a friend about this very subject...the length of time you can keep a canned item. He is an old farmer boy and was raised canning and preserving and keeping tabs on the government regulations.

He told me that according to the Canada Food Inspection Agency you must put an expiry date on all products. It usually ranges from 18 to 24 months according to the product. However, he advised me that he personally has kept home canned tomatoes up to 5 years. He says that commercially canned are made using pressure cookers in the canning process and are more stable than home canned. And he tells me that he has kept pickled beets 15 years without any problems! His Mom has kept home canned fish up to 3 to 5 years and beef 8 to 10 years and fruits 3 to 10 years. So the commercial producers should be able to do it to last longer.

He advised that how it is kept after it is canned is the trick. If you keep your cans in a cold room or cool environment, glass jarred items in cool dark places....they should last many, many years. And you should not transport items that have been canned from a low elevation to a high elevation and the reverse...as they will go bad fast due to depressurizing.

**MyLastRook** · 10-02-2011, 03:05 PM

The rule of thumb is that the printed expiration date is 1/3rd of the actual shelf life. The food companies do this for insurance reasons.

As long as the can wasn't bulged, dented or rusty. I would have no reservations at all consuming it as much as a a year to a year and a half after the expiration date.

**hippytreehugger4ever** · 10-09-2011, 08:46 PM

We're not big sticklers about expiration dates around here. Like others have said, if it's not bulging or rusted out, it's perfectly fine.

**bent** · 10-19-2011, 06:44 PM

hi all, I've got a friend who's big into (and I really don't know how much is talk and how much is exp) but he said that as long as the can hasn't bulged out or has any rust anywhere it's ok to eat... he ate some 4 yr old tuna at another friends house. lol
he recommend keeping canned goods in a cool dark place which is what I do- I think he thinks I'm not up on how to store food ...
I just went through my pantry and had to toss 4 cans of creamed corn that had rusty tops so I lost $1.50 and those cans were from 2007.