OT? storing canned goods

What are the no=no's of storing canned goods? I'm having problems with cans stored 2-3 years ago having the ends rust and discolor. They are stored at florida temperatures,in the dark.

Rotate your stock.

I hate to sound harsh but why buy it if you don't eat it within 6 months or so.

Gary

Sounds like a combination of two things... too many canned goods & too much moisture.

I only stock up on what we can use up within 6 months at a time. And yes, be sure you rotate your stock so you are using oldest items first. I would probably throw much of what you currently have - not worth getting food poisoning. Then start fresh and buy smaller quantities.

You may need a dehumidifier in your storage area as well. Because if it is real humid, cans can begin to rust rather quickly.

We have canned for years. A little rust on the caning lids is not a problem as long as the "seal" is good. We have cans that we are using from 2010. We also use the freezer extensivly for Asparagus, broccoli, califlower, peppers, hubbard squash, peas, Venison, Fish, Beef from the farm, etc. We also make a lot of pickeled beans and sweet and dill pickles sweet/sour slaw, kraut, plus around a 100 qts. of V8.5 juice and katchsup. All we buy at the gocery is staples and paper goods. We over produce, with the idea that next year may not be as bountiful. There is always someone around here that is not as fortunate as us.
I just finished building this storage cabnet for all our caned goods including the empties. The wifey will be painting it this comming week.

You look like a very resourceful dude.
I wish I had that ambition.
But.....Stocking up on Campbells chunky soup is what I do, about 40cans in the pantry, plus canned fruit, (from dole) and some General Mills cereal, about 10 boxes.

I want to learn canning. Helped alot when younger but didnt learn much then. Gonna freeze some corn soon.

(quoted from post at 18:33:44 06/21/12) We over produce, with the idea that next year may not be as bountiful.

Click to expand...

Serious wisdom in those words.


We do about 7-800 quarts in an average year. Freeze a bunch on top of that.

Mark the date on the can when you buy it.I keep a stash that gets me thru hard times.Bad roads in the snow country are a good reason to keep extra food on hand.

If you open a tin can of something and can see rust anywhere inside, I would throw it out. It probably would not make you sick, but it will taste "off" with some kind of metal taste that I don"t like. Of course, any can that leaks or is bulging should not even be opened, but just put in the garbage.

That said, I have eaten canned food that was probably at least 10 years old with no bad effects. It probably would have been better if it had been eaten sooner, maybe, but it tasted OK.

We do quite a bit of home canning, and sometimes canned food ends up being several years old before we get around to eating it. If the jar sealed properly when the food was canned, I figure it is OK for a long time, assuming that the seal remains perfect and it pops when I open the jar. Again, unless there is rust on the inside of the metal lid, it is probably just fine. It does not seem to make much difference if the food was canned last season or several years before. We store our canned foods in a very dry and usually very cool and dark room in the basement.

I do try to use my oldest canned goods first, but occasionally there gets to be something that is hidden or misplaced for a while. It probably would be a good idea to only use things that are within the "best used by" date on the can, but in my experience, most canned goods are fine long after that date. My daughter is a registered dietician and she disagrees with me strongly on that point, but I tend to do what I think is best for me...Good luck!

SweetFeet and IaGary, If you think that is the way to go then you must not like to eat. When foods are avaible only for maby a couple of months or even down to a couple of weeks a year you have to have over a years supply if you want it at anytime that the store does not have it.

Example, after my heart atack last year was told to eat turkey burgers instead of hamburgers, Found good ones in store but only the one time, then no longer avaible, this weeks store ad has them again as a SEASONAL item so probably will be out in 2 weeks, Same thing with purple plums that I like, perhaps 2 weeks a year all they have them.

So what do you do for the rest of the year if you miss when they have the item or did not buy enough, you go without. So you need to try to have a year or more supply of food on hand. Have home caned food setting here for 10+ years.