What is shelf life for sun dried tomatoes?
 

I found a sealed bag of them in my pantry, I'm guessing it's about 4 yrs
old. Are they still useable? There's no expiration date on package.

--
Do not email if posting response. To email, replace x with 4

"Robin" > wrote in message
...

> I found a sealed bag of them in my pantry, I'm
> guessing it's about 4 yrs old. Are they still useable?
> There's no expiration date on package.

Maybe. Inspect the contents before opening the bag to see if there
are any unwelcome visitors. If not, open the bag and use your nose:
do they smell good? Oily? Rancid? Try rehydrating one with hot
water and see how it tastes.

A lot depends on whether the tomatoes were treated with oil -- olive
or otherwise -- in the drying process. If not, I'd say the shelf-life
is indefinite; if so, then you're more limited, as the oil will
eventually go rancid ... which is what happened to a big bag of
sundried tomatoes I bought from a local italian market. Very
disappointing, but I suppose my own fault for not using them up in a
timely fashion.

-j

"Robin" > wrote in message
...

> I found a sealed bag of them in my pantry, I'm
> guessing it's about 4 yrs old. Are they still useable?
> There's no expiration date on package.

Maybe. Inspect the contents before opening the bag to see if there
are any unwelcome visitors. If not, open the bag and use your nose:
do they smell good? Oily? Rancid? Try rehydrating one with hot
water and see how it tastes.

A lot depends on whether the tomatoes were treated with oil -- olive
or otherwise -- in the drying process. If not, I'd say the shelf-life
is indefinite; if so, then you're more limited, as the oil will
eventually go rancid ... which is what happened to a big bag of
sundried tomatoes I bought from a local italian market. Very
disappointing, but I suppose my own fault for not using them up in a
timely fashion.

-j

> "jacqui{JB}" writes:
>
>do they smell good? Oily? Rancid?
>
>A lot depends on whether the tomatoes were treated with oil, as the oil will
>eventually go rancid ... which is what happened to a big bag of sundried
>tomatoes I bought from a local italian market. Very disappointing.

Um, to an Italian rancid is the default. hehe


---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
*********
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."
Sheldon
````````````

> "jacqui{JB}" writes:
>
>do they smell good? Oily? Rancid?
>
>A lot depends on whether the tomatoes were treated with oil, as the oil will
>eventually go rancid ... which is what happened to a big bag of sundried
>tomatoes I bought from a local italian market. Very disappointing.

Um, to an Italian rancid is the default. hehe


---= BOYCOTT FRANCE (belgium) GERMANY--SPAIN =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
*********
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."
Sheldon
````````````

Robin wrote:

> I found a sealed bag of them in my pantry, I'm guessing it's about 4 yrs
> old. Are they still useable? There's no expiration date on package.
>


I have a jar of dried tomatoes from my garden 2 years ago, and they have
just started to fade in color a little, but the taste is still
excellent. I'm gonna try to use up most of them this winter.

Yours should be usable, but you won't know if they are good or if they
have gone tasteless on you until you try one.

Bob

Robin wrote:

> I found a sealed bag of them in my pantry, I'm guessing it's about 4 yrs
> old. Are they still useable? There's no expiration date on package.
>


I have a jar of dried tomatoes from my garden 2 years ago, and they have
just started to fade in color a little, but the taste is still
excellent. I'm gonna try to use up most of them this winter.

Yours should be usable, but you won't know if they are good or if they
have gone tasteless on you until you try one.

Bob