Innisfree Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 In cleaning out the garage, I’ve come upon a stash of old homemade pickles. These are very, very old pickles: more than two decades. They don’t look bad, the vacuum seal appears to be intact, but I’m not going to eat them. The jars should be fine, though, once sterilized, shouldn’t they? I hate to toss them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 I would reuse the jars but not for canning unless I got new lids for them. I use canning jars for freezing soups, cooked beans, spaghetti sauce, chili, and chicken pie filling. And also for decanting bagged dry goods, and refrigerating leftovers. So for me it would not be a hardship to use them that way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted August 13, 2023 Author Share Posted August 13, 2023 13 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said: I would reuse the jars but not for canning unless I got new lids for them. Yeah, I would definitely get new lids, for any use. One of the old jars is big enough that I was thinking it would be good for holding my sourdough starter. Who knows how the others would be used… maybe pickles again, lol. I used to make a bunch of jams and jellies, but haven’t in ages. I ought to make some while it’s summer and fruit is plentiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 Old jars are fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 I reuse the old jars all the time. Just do a quick look at the jars and make sure you don’t have one of the few ones that are valuable before using. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 Some of my canning jars are 30 years old. If the glass is pristine, then they would be fine with new lids. But yikes about the old pickles! That might really smell when you go dump them. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted August 13, 2023 Author Share Posted August 13, 2023 (edited) I guess I should clarify that I know the jars are pretty much infinitely reusable. It’s the fact that I would be reusing them after the ancient pickles were in them that gave me pause. I just wanted to make sure the standard sterilization procedures would suffice. Possibly the pickles are even still good, but in case they aren’t, I don’t want to poison anyone, either with the pickles themselves or with any spores or whatever that might survive boiling and still be in the jar. I’m probably overthinking this. Edited August 13, 2023 by Innisfree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 Old jars are awesome. Absolutely keep them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.