[Semi_Crunchy]

Hopefully this is going into the right forum! I wasn't completely sure where to put it...

The other day I was cleaning out the fridge and I noticed a jar of roasted red peppers that I only bought about 2 months ago had some blob of white mass floating on top....I was annoyed because they went bad and had to throw the peppers away even though the jar was half full. I didn't think of them again until tonight. I went to grab a jar of applesauce which I bought a couple of months ago as well. And it had 3 different types of molds growing on the top. The typical white/green furry mold and some deep red and some orange. It was a sugar/hfcs free.
Am I just expecting food to last longer than it should? I can't recall either type of food to go bad within a couple months. Or is there something going on in my fridge that I need to be aware of

Turn the temp down on the fridge maybe? Everything else seems to stay pretty cold though. I also don't think I've noticed anything else spoiling quicker than usual...sometimes veggies but with those, you never know how long they'd been around before you bought them. Something else, the only mold I recognized was the white/green furry kind. The other 3, I've never noticed on food before bleh

 

[texaspeach]

get a fridge thermometer. you can pick one up at the hardware store for under $5. It needs to be colder than 40F

be sure to not 'double dip' when getting stuff from a big container (ie don't eat from the jar, don't use a spoon that has been in your mouth to scoop stuff out)

Other than that.. I don't expect refrigerated food to last longer than 3 months, even stuff like roasted peppers.

 

[wild fire child]

I would expect peppers to last a long time if they're packed in vinegar, but in water not so much. Applesauce has a pretty short shelf life. Without preservatives, acidity is a big part of longevity.
My fridge is the opposite though, I keep freezing my eggs

 

[SevenVeils]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wild fire child I would expect peppers to last a long time if they're packed in vinegar, but in water not so much. Applesauce has a pretty short shelf life. Without preservatives, acidity is a big part of longevity. My fridge is the opposite though, I keep freezing my eggs

I was reading this, and thinking "this person sounds just like me".

Then I read who it was.

:

 

[wild fire child]

I did that the other day in the cast iron pan thread.

 

[SevenVeils]

Too funny.

 

[Semi_Crunchy]

My previous apartment's fridge always froze my eggs if they got placed on the one side of the fridge...lol Drove me crazy to crack an egg that won't run out

I'm not one for double dipping when it comes to food coming out of its original container. And after the mold I've seen....yuck lol

I probably am going to pick up a thermometer so I know its cold enough instead of just assuming...especially since it stays kind of hot in my kitchen! And apparently buy smaller jars of applesauce next time

Thanks ladies!

 

[texaspeach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squirrelly80 My previous apartment's fridge always froze my eggs if they got placed on the one side of the fridge...lol Drove me crazy to crack an egg that won't run out I'm not one for double dipping when it comes to food coming out of its original container. And after the mold I've seen....yuck lol I probably am going to pick up a thermometer so I know its cold enough instead of just assuming...especially since it stays kind of hot in my kitchen! And apparently buy smaller jars of applesauce next time Thanks ladies!

me either, but DH on the other hand.. yuck!

 

[Ruthla]

I think you're expecting food to last longer than it should. There's a world of difference between "shelf life of the unopened package in the pantry" and "shelf life of the opened container in the fridge."

I would not expect an opened jar of applesauce or tomato sauce to last more than 2 weeks; and I purchase it in small enough jars so we can finish it before it spoils. I'm not familiar with jarred peppers- are these in vinegar or just water? Was the liquid completely covering all of the peppers? Uncovered bits of veggie tend to go bad a lot faster.

 

[cristeen]

Jars of roasted peppers are often packed in water, and I always make the same mistake, and wind up tossing them. If you want them to last, be sure to get the kind packed in vinegar. As for applesauce, if it is SF and HFCS-free, it will not last. Sugar and HFCS are preservatives, without them, I don't expect more than a week, maybe two out of something like applesauce.

You may want to check the temperature of your fridge, as it is an important thing to pay attention to, but neither of those things are causes for alarm, just more attentive choices when shopping, IME.

 

[fanniefarkle]

Is your frig sealing properly? Stuff like roasted peppers stays fresh a very long time in my frig.