Canned Foods
 

Not a week goes by without someone in m.s asking about the shelflife  of canned foods.
Unfortunately, consumers living outside the European Community  are not protected
by the same laws as us. In the EC _any_  food that's sold in stores _must_ have an
"Eat by..." date stamped on the packaging.
 

This makes it real easy when I go shopping.
 

Usually tho, it seems that most canned foods seem to have an official shelflife of 2 to 5 years.
 

If the canned food you are looking at does not have an expiry  date somewhere on the packaging, you
should ask yourself if  this is a manufacturer that you trust.
 

I wouldn't trust such a manufacturer myself, because the question is :
-why can't they tell me when this food expires?
-or maybe they won't?

I like to think that if some canned food could last ten years the manufacturer would feel
proud enough of this to say so on the can.

If the canned food does not have an expiry date on it,  and you feel a need to buy some
( 'cause you really, really love Spam ) you should contact the manufacturer
and ask that they state the expiration date in writing.

In this age of lawsuits at every corner you can rest assured  that they will give you a date
far earlier than the real expiration date.

From my own experience I would say that most canned foods have a shelflife of up to ten years,
while some last even longer, depending on what's in the can.
Tomatoes and other 'acid' foods last a long time because of their acidity.
 

Similarly, sugar rich / syrup packed fruit tends to last a long time, as an environment with high levels
of sugar is extremely unfriendly to bacteria.
Most things canned in alcohol can also last a very long time.
 

A canning book I have has recipes with a " life expectancy " mentioned beneath the recipe,
some of those say " Almost indefinitely" when the recipes are for acid or sugar rich preserves.
My family has for three decades stored food for years past  the expiration dates with no ill effects.
 

Once we cleaned out a cupboard, and found 25 yearold cocoa powder that was promptly
consumed by me and my sister.
We also found some ten year old jelly powder that was turned into jelly and eaten.
No ill effects.
 

At our winter cabin in the mountains, we have eaten canned food that's been sitting there for
ten or twenty years, with no ill effects to this day.
I've also drunk two years old beer that tasted fine.
 

In Bosnia, relief food consisted of some revolting stuff  from Germany that was fairly fresh,
but still tasted like it had been on the shelf since Bismarck was head honcho down there.
 

So...Your Mileage May Vary.
 

Foods packed in oil, or containing large amounts of oils, usually have a 1 or 2 year life expectancy,
this has mostly to do with taste, as the oils can go rancid / stale.
 

All canned foods should be stored in a cool and dry place.
You can, if you feel like it, wax your cans with ordinary candlewax.
This will prevent rusting and oxidation, which are the numero uno enemies of canned foods.

Simply melt a large amount of wax in a metal container and dip your cans once or twice in the melted wax.
CAUTION - melted wax is _hot_ , and unless you're Madonna  you will not derive pleasure from spilling
it on your private parts ( the movie Body of Evidence LOL ).

A cool and even climate is the essential tho.
If canned foods are stored in a climate with large temperature differences,
shelf life is reduced due to the continuos expansion and retraction of the metal.
This weakens the metal in the can ( aka : material fatigue ) ' which can cause minuscule leaks in the seals.
You do not want the can to be dented, as this weakens the material.

A can with a hole in it should not be used, the food inside a can ' usually does not last long when exposed to air.

Another good thing about storing large amounts of canned food is that rats and other unwelcome visitors
of the four legged variety cannot chew their way through the metal of the can.

Usually sealed metal / glass or earthenware containers have superior storage capabilities,
because they seldom interact with your foodstuffs like plastic can do, I've yet to hear of anyone complaining
about their food tasting like glass ; )

If the contents of your can look, smell or taste 'funny' when you  open it you should not eat it.
If canned vegetables have 'slimy stuff' on them you should not eat them.
The slimy film comes about when the acid content  has been too low to prevent
rotting / fermentation / fungi growth.
There is only one exception that I know of, and that vegetable is so unusual that it's hardly worth mentioning.

Even fermented vegetables, such as sauerkraut, do not have any slimy stuff on it.

So, to conclude the slime section of our show :

---slime is not your friend---

( unless you're slightly kinky of course ).
 

One very important thing to remember when buying canned foods - does it taste nice?
 

You should not stock up on a years worth of supplies without knowing what it tastes like.
 

I usually take home a can of some food I want to stock, and eat  the stuff without
spices or vegetables. This shows me whether or not to buy more of that particular
product. I've had quite a few surprises in this area, with food  that I was sure would taste good,
tasting like something a dog  would choke on.
And food that I thought would be disgusting tasting like it's fit for a king.
 

Remember to have lots of spices for your canned foods tho.