Popped Jars and cans

[jennyjj01]

It's no secret that I pay very little regard to BBE dates. However, a few observations this week from my visit to the extended pantry.....

Black Olives: barely BBE 2021, the button had popped on the jar. Investigation revealed mass of white mould on the above surface olives.
Gustibus Pasta sauce: BBE June 2022, Button popped. slimey blob of white/green mold on surface
Many pasta sauces and tinned soup with BBE as far back as 2018, NOT popped. A bit of water separation, but the are fine after a shake.

But an odd one..... Several jars of marmalade and apricot jam, BBE only 2022 have gone almost black. The buttons have not popped and there's no mold, but they will be dumped. Can anyone explain that?

So, I'm guessing ( and it is guessing ) that either...
1) Air leaking in to pop the lid allows decay or
2) Decay creates gasses that pop the lid and
3) There's a kind of dramatic degradation in jams that neither needs or causes gases to pop the lid. Oxidation?

I'm concluding that popped lids really are to be chucked, but sight and sniff test still apply even when not popped.

And yes... We should rotate better.

[GillyBee]

It can be that bugs in the food that survived the canning process or snuck in via an imperfect seal have become prolific enough to produce gas and pop the lid. Or it can be chemical changes causing the changes. This happens with treacle and can cause the lid to fly off with enough force to cause injury. Think oxidation - causes iron to rust, potatoes to go black. Similar processes can happen in cans given enough time.

[pseudonym]

It happens to retort pouches too. They swell up to twice their size. Best to catch those early....

[jennyjj01]

It happens to retort pouches too. They swell up to twice their size. Best to catch those early....

Is that what your MREs are in. I read your post about switching to MREs and I must say that sounds expensive. Do you rotate them into your regular diet?

[pseudonym]

It happens to retort pouches too. They swell up to twice their size. Best to catch those early....

Is that what your MREs are in. I read your post about switching to MREs and I must say that sounds expensive. Do you rotate them into your regular diet?

Yes all "wet" MREs (UK.USA. UN and some Eastern Europe), French and some Eastern Europe Countries come in tins.

If you look around on Ebay they can be as found as low as £1.

A good mixture of curries, stews and omelette/Fritatas all portioned controlled.

The lifespan says 3- 5 years but I've eaten 10 year old ones in my regular diet.

The benefit is they are a complete meal for me at anytime, just boil in water for 7-10 mins and if you can be bothered pour into a bowl to eat. If not rip the top off and dig in.

Tonight I had a Lithuanian one of Stewed pork with buckwheat porridge.

[jennyjj01]

Yes all "wet" MREs (UK.USA. UN and some Eastern Europe), French and some Eastern Europe Countries come in tins.

If you look around on Ebay they can be as found as low as £1.

A good mixture of curries, stews and omelette/Fritatas all portioned controlled.

The lifespan says 3- 5 years but I've eaten 10 year old ones in my regular diet.

The benefit is they are a complete meal for me at anytime, just boil in water for 7-10 mins and if you can be bothered pour into a bowl to eat. If not rip the top off and dig in.

Tonight I had a Lithuanian one of Stewed pork with buckwheat porridge.

Interesting and amusing. Do you go for the lucky dip assortments. Any tips on what to look out for to get best value?

[pseudonym]

Yes all "wet" MREs (UK.USA. UN and some Eastern Europe), French and some Eastern Europe Countries come in tins.

If you look around on Ebay they can be as found as low as £1.

A good mixture of curries, stews and omelette/Fritatas all portioned controlled.

The lifespan says 3- 5 years but I've eaten 10 year old ones in my regular diet.

The benefit is they are a complete meal for me at anytime, just boil in water for 7-10 mins and if you can be bothered pour into a bowl to eat. If not rip the top off and dig in.

Tonight I had a Lithuanian one of Stewed pork with buckwheat porridge.

Interesting and amusing. Do you go for the lucky dip assortments. Any tips on what to look out for to get best value?

The 24hr Ration Packs vary from £10 - £20. They will do as advertised for a variety of dietary requirements Halal, Sikh, vegetarian and vegan,

Sadly not diabetic so they are not worth my investment hence individual pouches.

HTH

No I just go for the individual meals:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374732691338 ... 3753765459

This seller has a variety that he restocks often. you can see the meals he has sold out of.

These Fritatas at £1.50 are worth it in my opinion.

[jennyjj01]

Yes all "wet" MREs (UK.USA. UN and some Eastern Europe), French and some Eastern Europe Countries come in tins.

If you look around on Ebay they can be as found as low as £1.

A good mixture of curries, stews and omelette/Fritatas all portioned controlled.

The lifespan says 3- 5 years but I've eaten 10 year old ones in my regular diet.

The benefit is they are a complete meal for me at anytime, just boil in water for 7-10 mins and if you can be bothered pour into a bowl to eat. If not rip the top off and dig in.

Tonight I had a Lithuanian one of Stewed pork with buckwheat porridge.

Interesting and amusing. Do you go for the lucky dip assortments. Any tips on what to look out for to get best value?

The 24hr Ration Packs vary from £10 - £20. They will do as advertised for a variety of dietary requirements Halal, Sikh, vegetarian and vegan,

Sadly not diabetic so they are not worth my investment hence individual pouches.

HTH

No I just go for the individual meals:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374732691338 ... 3753765459

This seller has a variety that he restocks often. you can see the meals he has sold out of.

These Fritatas at £1.50 are worth it in my opinion.

Thanks,
Ignoring the non-main meal courses such as biscuits and lime juice etc, the menu I'd go for might include pasta with sauce, stews, curries and fritatas etc, but I'd not get MrJJ to stretch to poridges or anything with buckwheat
I've had a quick looksee and I'm put off a bit by prices which seem a bit all over the place with 24hr ration packs costing >£20 maybe because they include equipment. I do see that they are super efficient foods, but I just could not rotate them in. Many sellers have typical main course meals at >£5 which I can't justify. E.g https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274318606341

If you like stuff in sachets, check out Home Bargain. They do some really good IndiGrande curries that just need an added sachet of carbs (rice) to make a feast. I used to love their Punjab Choley, but they cut the range.
I don't know if they still do brattkartofeln, but that was a handy (almost) MRE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgkh8h91TIQ

[grenfell]

In a similar vein I've had the odd tin blow and for what it's worth I've dumped them even though some when opened have smelt ok. An interesting one is some homemade jam. A few years old but it had turned from a solid jam to something more akin to a syrup. Tasted ok but less easy to use and it made me wonder..

[GillyBee]

Pectin forms a gel when it has the right concentration of sugar, water and acid. The correct acidity is just right to prevent botulism. This explains why my grandma would refuse to store poorly set jams and used them immediately.
If the set jam has turned to syrup, one of these factors has changed. For example water ingress or it may be because there is a microorganism growing in there reducing the acidity. Not necessarily a dangerous bug itself but this opens the door for any surviving botulism bugs to start multiplying.