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Original poster

Call me naive but did you know that most jams only have 4 weeks to be eaten

21 replies

pollyesther · 28/09/2006 16:17

I've been eating out of date jam for years and not only by a little bit but as much as a year and only just realised

I honestly didn't realise their life was so short. Please tell me i'm not the only one?

OP posts:

CountessDracula · 28/09/2006 16:21

I keep mine in the fridge and they last for ages

Pruni · 28/09/2006 16:22

Message withdrawn

ShowOfHands · 28/09/2006 16:22

Oh goodness me no, I also don't keep ketchup or brown sauce in the fridge and you are supposed to. I am sometimes a bit naughty with Mayonnaise too as that's 4 weeks then chuck.

It hasn't made you ill has it and I think lots of people do it!

Original poster

pollyesther · 28/09/2006 16:23

That's where i keep mine and it's always tasted alright that's why i was so shocked to realise it was so out of date. Went to the supermarket today and they all have between 4 and 6 weeks life...oh well, it hasn't done me any harm so far.

OP posts:

Crotchety · 28/09/2006 16:23

Who says they only have 4 weeks' life? I don't believe it and will carry on eating ancient jam. Ditto ancient yoghurt, ancient cheese, etc etc.

Eowyn · 28/09/2006 16:27

It's best if you don't tell us this, everyone has happily been eating ancient jam, I don't chuck out mayo either if it smells ok.
If jam has green mould on it I know that's bad, but it hasn't gone off since i've kept it in fridge.

alligator · 28/09/2006 16:27

Are we talking open or unopened jam tho? Obviously once opened jam will start to go off esp if contaminated with butter (grrrrrrr How many times do you need to say about using a spoon?) but unopened it will last yonks. Mind you I'd ahve given it more than 4 weeks tbh

Kif · 28/09/2006 16:29

Shelf life depends on the sugar content. This means that the posh ones have much shorted shelf life (and will actually go mouldy if you don't keep them in the fridge).

Worst thing for shelf life is toast crumbs in the jam - pet hate!

Sure it's fine if its not mouldy

Blandmum · 28/09/2006 16:29

Oh bollocks to this. If it isn't mouldy it is good to eat!

MerlinsBeard · 28/09/2006 16:32

if u store it upside down in the fridge it lasts longer b4 it goes off

gigglinggoblin · 28/09/2006 16:40

i thought the whole point of jam was that it preserved the fruit. my gran makes her own jam, 50:50 fruit:sugar and keeps it in the cupboard more than 4 weeks before we even start to eat it. i have never known hers go mouldy

Flamesparrow · 28/09/2006 16:42

MB said my words exactly

sorrell · 28/09/2006 16:42

That's rubbish! Supermarket shelf lives cause a huge amount of waste. Proper jam lasts for ever, practically. Sugar is a fantastic preservative.Did you know the honey stored in the pyramids was still ok hundreds of years later?

northender · 28/09/2006 16:54

I make jam and have eaten it up to 3 years after making. If there's any mould then it'll be round the top so I take a good scoop off and it's fine underneath. Completely ignore best before dates etc use common sense, eyes and most importantly, I think, nose!

mygirllolipop · 28/09/2006 17:00

Message withdrawn

Kif · 28/09/2006 17:14

When you make your own jam, you seal it while it is hot, so it is sterile and really will keep forever. Once you start eating it you let the bugs in, and then you have to be abit more careful.

Loshad · 28/09/2006 22:38

i've got 4 boys, yet to find a pot of jam that last 4 weeks , particulalry my homemade stuff [preen]

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 28/09/2006 22:48

I'm with northender. jam goes off by going mouldy. you can see mould. if it's there scrape it off. if it's not there it's fine. common sense

joelallie · 29/09/2006 11:48

Rubbish! Jam is mostly sugar which is just about the best preservative there. Do you know why they used to put those little greaseproof sheets on top of jam? So that it was easier to get the mould off the top. The mould is on the top not in the jam and it isn't usually dangerous anyway. Mum and dad are eating plum jam from 2002. Tastes lovely. The manufacturers put sell by dates on so that people don't get to see any mould on top, faint in shock and sue them!

FrannyandZooey · 29/09/2006 11:52

We get fruit spread which doesn't have any added sugar as such, and it goes mouldy all the frigging time.

If jam hasn't got mould on, I will eat it. There isn't going to be anything invisibly wrong with it.

edam · 29/09/2006 12:09

Agree they must be doing something wrong if jam has such a short lifespan once you've opened it - it's a preserve FGS, that's the whole point. Back in the olden days people bottled all the fruit they couldn't eat in order not to waste it!

Dh's mum still has jam she bottled years ago...

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