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jar of jam expired (1 Viewer)

M

mass

San Francesco animals friend
my mother gave me a jar of cherry jam and cherries expired on 06/2018: it seems to be still good - i don't see any mold.
i'm thinking to put it into the fatballs i'm going to prepare for my wildbirds (first i would taste it to make sure it's still good).
what do you think about? any suggestion?....bad idea?

thanks a lot.
 
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I reckon for jam if there's no green bits it's in date. 'Expiry' dates are more often 'best before' dates, whatever that means. I'm with Dan, eat it yourself. As birds are susceptible to diseases from feeders I would say if you wouldn't eat it yourself it probably isn't right for them either.
 
Hi Mass... it's really not a problem using preserves well past their best before or sell by date. They can last for ages.

Use by on fish and meat products is a different thing.

Jam, and other preserves, don't really go off for absolute yonks. If you get a bit of mould on top, just scrape it off. That's what the bit of paper at the top is for, the mould sits on it and you just peel it off and throw it away.

Usually the date recommended is a year, simply because you get a new batch of fruit harvested a year later. But my mother and grandmother had preserves in the larder for a couple of years at least.

I'm just not sure about feeding to the birds with the high sugar content? Better than a high salt content though I suppose.

Hate waste!
 
Hi Mass,

mass said:
my mother gave me a jar of cherry jam and cherries expired on 06/2018: it seems to be still good - i don't see any mold.
Click to expand...

I once took part in a food safety training held by a recognized expert in the field, who explained, "Best before date is only about sensory quality, and has nothing to do with food safety."

She also said she'd eat anything from her own fridge regardless of best-before date, provided she liked the looks and the smell of it :)

Regards,

Henning
 
For human consumption Best before is a taste or quality thing and Use by is a food safety standard.
Older folk like me, will happily eat the stuff youngers throw away.

Jam... high sugar content is indicative of it being a preserved in sugar. This should last until it ferments or goes furry. So its down to taste if there is no Use by date.

Homemade - I am currently using home preserves that are 3 or 4 years old, and are perfectly fine, but if they separate, fizz, ferment or fur up, they are best left.

As a child we always gave the birds any blue bread we had in the pantry. how things have changed?
 
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