[LizardQueen]

Last week our grocery was having a good sale on canned stuff so I picked up a few extra cans of soup and beans.

Unfortunately when I unloaded the car - late at night and after a bad day at work - I missed a small bag of them on the floor.
I was cleaning out the back of the car yesterday and found them - they were frozen solid.
I never really thought much about canned things freezing but in Vermont in January when it's 5 degrees out at noon it's not surprising.

I brought them in last night and the seams don't appear split. I'll check them again once they thaw out to see how they're doing.

Is the stuff in them still good? Will they have a shorter shelf life (if any!) than if they hadn't been frozen?

LQ/Tweak of the Messy Car.

['plain o joe']

should be alright as long as you hear a "hiss" when you first open them...

[A.T.Hagan]

Hmmm, chancey I'd say.

Were it me I'd keep them refrigerated until you can use them up. As you know the expansion of the water as it freezes into ice stresses the seal integrity of the can. It would only take a minute hole in a seam in one of the lids or along the side to do the job. For a few cans of food I wouldn't take the chance.

.....Alan.

[SmartAZ]

When stuff freezes, the ice crystals break cell walls. That means the food turns into soup. Since it was already soup, you likely won't notice. The beans will just be more tender, maybe even slushy. It won't affect shelf life, only texture.

[Arubi]

MASTER FOOD PRESERVERS & SAFETY ADVISORS
WSU/Whatcom County Cooperative Extension
1000 N Forest Street, Suite 201, Bellingham WA 98225-5594
Phone: 360/676-6736
FAX: 360/738-2458


Frozen Canned Foods
During the last cold snap some of my canned foods froze in the camper. Are they OK to eat?

There are two critical questions to ask to determine if frozen canned goods are safe to eat. Is the seal intact or broken? If the seal is broken, has the food thawed?

To test the seal, push on the end of the can or metal lid on top of the jar. If the vacuum seal is intact the lid will not move when it is pressed down. Check the seams carefully on commercially canned foods that have been frozen to make sure there are no openings.

If the seal is intact, the food is safe to eat, even after it thaws. If the seal is broken and the food is frozen, either refrigerate the food and use it as soon as possible or keep it frozen until you plan to eat it.

If canned food has a broken seal and has thawed, the safest approach is to discard the food. The food may have been warm enough for bacteria or mold growth.

A can will often bulge when food is frozen in it. If a can is bulged--and still frozen--keep it frozen in the freezer until ready to use, then thaw in the refrigerator. A can that still bulges after thawing should be discarded.

Be careful even if the bulge disappears after thawing. Look for any obvious signs of spoilage. Listen for the vacuum-release sound when opening the can. As an extra precaution with low acid food, boil the food 10 minutes before tasting.

Information developed by Carolyn Rude, Retired WSU Extension Faculty - Family Living
March 1997
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/family/facts/frozcans.htm

[LizardQueen]

I checked them this AM - so far it doesn't look like the cans have lost vacuum, but they aren't completely thawed yet, either(!). I'll check 'em again tommorrow to see how they're doing.

I'm going to make an effort to eat these first... Big pot of bean soup for the weekend, I guess. ::sigh::

Thanks,all

LQ

[fruit loop]

Expansion/misshaping of the cans

Rust on them

Otherwise, they're fine. The food is in a vacuum, which is essentially a "time warp for food." As long as the seal is intact, it's fine to eat it. Once you open it, time begins again, and it begins to spoil

I've eaten home-canned food that was fine after 7 years.