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| Two jars of tomatoes I canned. . . In 2009 |
I have to sit on a footstool to be able to clear the bottom three shelves. So, exbf takes the items where they go or puts them on a different shelf as I take them out. As I put items in the bottom shelf, he sat and wrote the inventory for this shelf. Now, no matter what I put down there, I will have a list of what is where. We will continue to inventory next week.
I probably would not want to eat commercially canned food with a use by date of 2009. These two jars may be devoid of nutrition, but they have not been in a jar, and they will be delicious in a pot of soup. Oh, they have been in dark about 99% of the time. The other 1% has just been low light on the top of the tall jar.
Here is a loose recipe I will use:
part or all of one lb of lean ground beef
onion
canned corn
dried lima beans
fresh potatoes
dehydrated carrots
dehydrated green beans
Shredded fresh cabbage
celery for seasoning
Bell pepper for seasoning
1/4 cup brown rice, uncooked
pint and quart of home canned tomatoes above
summer savory
bare shake of cayenne pepper I grew, dried and ground
NO salt
If I am missing an ingredient, I just leave it out.
I will make a pan of cornbread. Oh, yum! I will have my usual glass of unsweetened iced tea. I may be Southern, but I have not had sweet tea since I was seven-years-old. I like the taste of tea, not sweeteners.
Your turn
Would you eat canned goods this old, food you canned yourself that still has a seal? Is it soup weather at your place like it is here in the chilly, damp South?
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I would definitely use them. If the jars are sealed and the product looks good and smells good and all appropriate canning procedures done the food should be safe for quite some time and will retain at least some of its nutrition. So I would't worry about it but just enjoy knowing that what you put in the jars to start with was really good and has remained such.
ReplyDeleteSarah
Anon/Sarah,
DeleteSome people think that food canned so long ago might harm them. I am a careful and successful canner. Those tomatoes were delicious then and will be now, I just know. Now, I have to thaw the meat!
Oh yeah! I think home canning lasts quite awhile as long as the seal is still good. I have some whole tomatoes and stewed ones in the freezer that I am thinking of pulling out and canning. They are taking up too much room in there that I need for other stuff..
ReplyDeleteLeslie
Anon/Leslie,
ReplyDeleteI only canned tomatoes for a two or three years. That was so much more pleasant than canning in the heat of summer. But, I started canning tomatoes because. . . well, I just did. I want to start canning meat so I won't have to worry about the electricity going out. That should be an anxiety-filled venture.
Hi Linda, I want to start canning meat too, especially hamburger so all I have to do is open a jar and it is cooked and ready to go. Handy to have on hand and like you said you don't have to worry about losing electricity! Do you have a pressure canner? I have one that I have never used.
ReplyDeleteLeslie
Leslie,
DeleteHamburger and boneless chicken breasts are what I want to can first. Then, I want to try canning bacon. Some people can that in quarts, but I think a half-pint jelly jar is fine for me.
I have a pressure canner that my mother bought for me. It took me ten years to get the nerve to use it. I hid in another room the first time my friend showed me how to use it. Try yours. You will like it.
Absolutely. If the seal is still good then the vegetables are still good too. Just eye it [for mold] and smell it [for, well you know :) spoilage] and if it looks and smells good, eat it.
ReplyDeleteWe did it all the time at my Grandmother's home. Nothing went to waste.
They look purty! Hope you are having a nice start to your weekend. And nice job on the inventory. I need to do that too I think. My pantry is nuts.
I'd use them too. The only thing that would stop me is if when I opened them they had an acrid smell or the underside of the lid showed signs of corrosion. If not, I'd say Soups On!
ReplyDeleteThrifty Mom,
ReplyDeleteThat black stuff under the lid is not bad if it is still properly sealed. Only an unsealed lid or the odor or a very old date would deter me. Funny thing--botulism does not have an odor, no warning.
Soup's On!