Oldest Condiments in Your Fridge

[andiesenji]

My oldest (that is identified - there is a jar of fermented bean paste and a couple of sambals that are possibly older) is a jar of pickled walnuts dated 1999. Not an expiration date - just the processing date.

In my experience pickled walnuts never actually deteriorate. The fresh ones have the same flavor and texture as the ones that have been hanging around for years.

I have some pickled peaches in a half-gallon jar that have been in the fridge since before I got my fridge before the one I have now. I had some recently and they are still good, no loss of flavor or texture, even the cloves are still intact. I think I originally canned them in 2001 because I remember they were in the Sub-Zero before I replaced it in 2002. Then I replaced that fridge in 2008, which gives me a pretty good timeline.

P.S. Y'all might find this site interesting.

I have to disagree with a few items, honey for instance. Honey, as long as it is not contaminated, will keep for decades.

Edited August 12, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[kaszeta]

A three year old jar of Bacon Jam from Skillet in Seattle.

[Shalmanese]

I have to disagree with a few items, honey for instance. Honey, as long as it is not contaminated, will keep for decades.

Try Thousands of years

[threestars]

I got a 2 year old bottle of pickles. Does that count? Just recently cleaned the fridge so I already removed the other condiments that I don't use.

[phatj]

My bottle of sriracha's "Best by" date was June of this year.

I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I keep a perpetual cornichon crock in the fridge. It's been there for some dozen years, never completely emptied before I tip a new jar in. I just consider them "aged". I also bought a half-litre snap-lid jar of anchovy that took us at least 5 years to get through. They were fine; lost a little toothsomeness, perhaps, but fine.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

My personal record is probably a five year old bottle of Ole green aji hot sauce. I bring it out for guests, because it really doesn't do anything for me.

[Kathyann]

I don't have any terribly aged condiments, but recently my sister dug out a container of food coloring for her daughter, only to discover it had expired in 1963. It had been inherited from my mother, who died in 1983. My niece decided to spring for some new ones : )

[merstar]

Ketchup, chili paste with garlic, harissa, chipotle in adobo, and raspberry jam.

[SylviaLovegren]

Good Umeboshi plums will last for years.

See, there's your problem right there -- no such thing as a good umeboshi plum.

[Smithy]

I don't have any terribly aged condiments, but recently my sister dug out a container of food coloring for her daughter, only to discover it had expired in 1963. It had been inherited from my mother, who died in 1983. My niece decided to spring for some new ones : )

How can food coloring go off? Other than drying up in the bottle, of course. I've had that happen.

I have some duck fat and duck jello that I've been hoarding for a few years, back when duck fat was all the rage on eGullet and I had time to render some. Looks and smells okay, but it's at leas 3 years old and possibly older. If I get around to using it instead of tossing it I'll give it a really good cookdown first. If some reader KNOWS that I'd be courting food poisoning, please let me know.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I suppose that food coloring from 1963 could still have Red Dye No. 2, which may not have merited all the paranoia it caused, but which would be easy enough to avoid.

[andiesenji]

I found a large, unopened jar of Branston Pickle back in a dark corner under a shelf in the pantry. It was BEHIND a crock wrapped in a newspaper dated Sunday October 29, 1995. The crock was behind some boxes of "junk" that has been back there for at least ten years.

Opened the jar, it looks, tastes and smells exactly like I expect it should.

A bright spot is that the box contained an ancient cast iron bacon press I thought lost forever.

[naguere]

Taetangcho gochujang

Korean Hot Pepper Sauce

The small red box is half full and works fine,

it says on a label (in English) best before 04.07.2010

In that way, I finished off a jar of Nutella last month, it was pretty funky but

the sign on the jar 'Best befor 2006' should have warned me

andiesenji

Branston pickle, food of the Gods,

what else would go as well with a strong cheddar cheese sandwich

'Shelf life,To the end of time'

Edited May 29, 2012 by naguere (log)

[Chris Hennes]

I have few jars of homemade strawberry jam that I made when I still lived in Pennsylvania, so they must be about five years old now. I can't decide whether I trust my canning skills enough to actually eat them, though.

[andiesenji]

I have few jars of homemade strawberry jam that I made when I still lived in Pennsylvania, so they must be about five years old now. I can't decide whether I trust my canning skills enough to actually eat them, though.

As long as there is no mold visible, there should be no problem with jam. The acid/sugar content is too high for dangerous pathogens to live. I've used homemade apricot and peach preserves that were more than five years old. The only home-canned sweets I don't keep for more than two or three years are curds (made with eggs) and apple jelly, which seems to get a bit funky and looks sort of murky, instead of clear, after that amount of time.

[rane008]

My mom once told me that when a couple gets married, they buy a bottle of Worchestershire sauce. That same bottle stays in the fridge until they both pass away. My own bottle is a decade old and I'm not married. (Note: I do not think that the presence of eldritch condiments in my fridge is the reason I am not married.)

[patrickamory]

I have some extremely old mustards. Whole grain French pommerys and similar. They don't seem to go bad.

[gfweb]

Is liquid smoke a condiment?

[Kerry Beal]

My mom once told me that when a couple gets married, they buy a bottle of Worchestershire sauce. That same bottle stays in the fridge until they both pass away. My own bottle is a decade old and I'm not married. (Note: I do not think that the presence of eldritch condiments in my fridge is the reason I am not married.)

Old joke - "did you hear about the couple that were married so long - they were on their second bottle of tabasco sauce?"

[Katie Meadow]

Tabasco sauce contributes to my long marriage: my husband and I both agree that when there is no food in the house a complete emergency meal can be composed of a bloody mary and stove popped corn. You've got your vegetables, carbs, fiber and protein. Okay, not so much protein. But at least the solid portion of the meal is home cooked and fresh from the pot.

What gets old in my fridge and then gets replaced every ten years or so is a jar of capers. I think they are essential but in fact I don't really like them, so I avoid using them.

[Darienne]

My mom once told me that when a couple gets married, they buy a bottle of Worchestershire sauce. That same bottle stays in the fridge until they both pass away. My own bottle is a decade old and I'm not married. (Note: I do not think that the presence of eldritch condiments in my fridge is the reason I am not married.)

When I was a young'un, my Mother taught me to make salad dressing (the only thing cooking-wise I ever learned from her) and it always had a dash of Lea & Perrins. Now I have been married 52 1/2 years and we currently have two bottles on the go, and have run through an uncounted number of bottles over the decades. I don't always use it, it's true, but it is a part of life.

ps. My parents were not of British extraction either.

What dries out to the point of being tossed is pure creamed coconut which I still don't 'know' how to use. Our daughter's Grenadian BF, who is a terrific cook, uses it when he comes and needs it. Otherwise it sits and takes up its space, unhonored.

[qrn]

My oldest stuff is in the freezerpart of the fridgeand there is lots of stuff vac packed that is older than I can remember,only redeeming thing is that I used a black magic marker to note on the bag what it is,,,,fixed some ham the other day that was 4 years old....at least

Bud

[Kerry Beal]

Not exactly a condiment - but I just discovered a tub of mascarpone that is either best before 08 Nov 2006 or 06 Nov 2008. Either way a titch past it's time. Strange thing is - it's sealed behind plastic and looks just the same as the new tub I have in the other fridge. Don't think I'll risk it though!

[weinoo]

I have some extremely old mustards. Whole grain French pommerys and similar. They don't seem to go bad.

While they "don't seem to go bad," I find mustards lose their potency fairly quickly and are not the same as when first opened. Since I go through a lot of mustard, I always check the sell-by dates and try to purchase whatever appears to be the freshest stuff.