Jarred fruit mince expired. Can I still use it?

November 26, 2020 8:26 AM

Can I eat this, expat edition. I was very excited to discover a jar of fruit mince for Christmas mince pies in my cupboard. This stuff is hard to come by in the us. BUT I bought it last year and it expired in July. It’s completely sealed and unopened. Can I still use it, knowing it will be baked into pies? Or will I need to to brave the local fancy supermarket to get a new jar?
posted by media_itoku to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

It's totally fine. Enjoy your pies!
posted by belladonna at 8:32 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]

If it's sealed, the popper thing on the lid hasn't popped up (if there is one), and it looks/smells/tastes OK, I'd go for it. Is it a "best before" date or a "use by" date?
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:33 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]

July 2020? No problem at all.
posted by theora55 at 8:40 AM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Even the USDA has your back: it's fine, enjoy!

With an exception of infant formula (described below), if the date passes during home storage, a product should still be safe and wholesome if handled properly until the time spoilage is evident
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:53 AM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]

Eat the absolute fuck out of that shit. Enjoy!
posted by DarlingBri at 10:30 AM on November 26, 2020 [3 favorites]

Yeah that stuff will be totally fine. My parents had an opened half eaten expired jar in the fridge a few years ago that I used to make mince pies. Worked fine, no ill effects.
posted by Braeburn at 3:36 PM on November 26, 2020

As in UK-style meat-free mincemeat? That stuff keeps forever, I've used jars that were several years out of date with no ill effects. Enjoy :)
posted by altolinguistic at 4:36 AM on November 27, 2020 [2 favorites]

It might be a bit stiff but you can just use that as an excuse to mix some brandy in to loosen it!
posted by kadia_a at 12:04 PM on November 28, 2020 [1 favorite]