Jam use by date

[Macaroni46]

More of a WWYD
So I found a jar of unopened jam at the back of a cupboard.
Use by date Nov 2019
Would you use it?
I say yes.
My adult DC are horrified 😂

As my mother always says, ‘You’ll eat more than that before you die’

Surely the whole point of jams, chutneys, pickles etc. is that they last for yonks?

I'd absolutely use it. It's a Best Before date, not a Use By. And in any case, another word for jam is preserve - the sugar is there to preserve the fruit. It'll be fine

I'd eat it!

Unopened - absolutely yes eat it

Is it mouldy? If not, I’d eat it.

Nope.

I've eaten jam far older than that and am here to tell the tale! If it's not mouldy, it'll be fine. If it is, scrape the mould off and eat the rest.

I'd eat it without a moment's hesitation, it'll be fine.

Eat and enjoy

Yep. No problem.

I wouldn’t even think to check the date on jam. If it looks and smells ok I’d risk it.

I'd certainly hope to use it up. Keep it in the fridge after opening and aim to use it soonish. I think jam, pickles etc are made with less sugar these days so once opened don't keep as well as they would have done once, at room temperature anyway.

As long as it looks and smells OK then go for it.

I'd absolutely use it. It's a Best Before date, not a Use By.
Did you actually read the OP?

I'd use it, worst that can happen is that it will be of diminished quality. It will be a best before date rather than a use by date. Use by dates are placed on perishable foods that are deemed unsafe after that date.

Well readers, I ate some a couple of hours ago and ... I'm fine 😆

using one from june.

When we were nippers one used to scrape the mould off the top and reboil it and rejar it.

the last bit of jam in a jar in a warm kitchen can ferment though.

I make my own and don't date it , we haven't died from eating it yet.

I've got opened jam in the fridge with a April 2020 date on it, it's perfectly fine.

I'd eat it although I have scraped the mould off jam before and then used it so maybe I'm not the best person to take advice from on the subject, never did me any harm though :-)

If it wasn't mouldy it would get eaten in this house.

If it was mouldy, the mould would get scraped off and the jam boiled up and put back in the (washed) jar.

I did it last week.

The use by date would concern me.

I read somewhere, can’t remember where but it must be true, that advice around jams and sauces have changed due to them having more additives rather than pure sugar in them these days

I'm currently eating homemade blackberry jelly, made in 2011.

I've just checked the date on the jar of lemon curd I finished this morning. January 2015.

My husband made the plum jam I boiled up last week in 2002. I don't like plum jam but he has been eating it with no apparent problems.

It won’t be a use by date for an item with a long shelf life. My jams just have a date; no wording. It will be fine; just follow the instructions regarding what you do after opening.