Freezing Jarred Applesauce?

[cparkly]

I found a great deal on 24 oz. jars of Mott's Organic Unsweetened Applesauce for $1.00 at the local DollarTree. I would love to stock up on lots of them as I typically pay $2.50-$3.00 for a jar of organic applesauce and my 21-month DS enjoys a serving each day and we bake with it. The issue is that they expire on 3/2/10.

Does anyone have experience freezing applesauce? If so, how do you do it? Ice cube tray?

Thanks in advance. I am sorry if this should have been postedin Meal Planning or something...

[possum]

I have frozen lots of my own apple sauce in jars. I fill them about 2/3 full, close them, and pop them in the freezer. I use pints and quarts and have never had one break.
I would just scoop out a bit from each jar before you freeze them (leaving ~2/3 seems to be safe for me) to give room for expansion as they freeze. I have kept apple sauce for up to ~6 months, but I would guess that it would last longer in the freezer.
Melinda

[Ola_]

I have frozen it since we don't use much (mostly for baking and stuff like that). Mind you by that point some has been taken out already so I'm not sure if there would be issues with expansion of an un-opened jar. Anyway we haven't had any problems with freezing them in jars.

[bender]

If the jars are vacuum sealed and shelf stable, I would think they would last beyond their expiration date. Manufacturers have to put dates on canned/jarred items, but I think you have wiggle room with eating it past the expirary date.

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by bender

If the jars are vacuum sealed and shelf stable, I would think they would last beyond their expiration date. Manufacturers have to put dates on canned/jarred items, but I think you have wiggle room with eating it past the expirary date.

I am not sure that putting them in the freezer extends their life either. I personally feel that my homecanned applesauce has a longer shelf life than any homemade applesauce I would freeze. Disclaimer I'm not a food scientist or anything, just my opinion.

[4evermom]

It's not going to "go bad" past the date at room temperature. It is still sterilized and sealed so no bacteria can get in. It's more of a "tastes best when eaten by" date. Some times it's a "sell by" date rather than a "eat by" date. I'm always pointing that out to dh when he tries to throw out food when it reaches the sell by date which allows for you to take some days past it to actually eat it.

[Denvergirlie]

No need to freeze, it's shelf stable as is. Sure you can freeze open portions if you like, but just leave the majority of it in the jar as is until you open, and then refrigerate as normal.

I can my own applesauce, it's fine on the shelf as is and some of my stash is going on 3 years old.

[dbsam]

I agree w/pp's. I've been over-zealous and purchased too many cases of applesauce when it is on sale - although I've never seen a deal as good as yours! I am sort of a freak about expiration dates but had one case that expired last year. We just started using it and it is fine.

[cparkly]

Thank you very much for all of the responses. I just bought what they had left (9 jars). That should cover us for a couple of months!

DS has decided that applesauce is the way to go. He will now bite into an apple, chew, then spit it out once he has removed the juice...Yay for toddler food texture issues! I have tried explaining/showing him that you can swallow the chewed up apple mass. But, he tells me it's "dooty" (dirty). I know that this will pass.