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How Long Does Homemade Jam or Jelly Last? (Opened & Unopened)

By: Author Jeff Campbell

Posted on  - Last updated:

Categories Food Safety Tips

Making homemade jam and jelly is a great way to use fresh ingredients to make amazing jams that taste better than store-bought jams. In addition, making jams and jellies is a fantastic method to preserve fresh fruit, but after you’ve created it, how long does homemade jelly last?

Homemade jelly lasts approximately 2 years if canned using pasteurization, provided they are kept sealed and kept in a cool, dry environment. But once opened, homemade jam should only be kept in the refrigerator for up to three months.

Although these recipes usually take more than a first try to perfect, they are a fantastic way to upgrade morning toast.

Understanding that the approximate shelf life of jam varies and may be increased or decreased depending on several variables is critical. But if you spend the time and effort making your own jams and jellies, there are some food safety rules you should be aware of to produce shelf-stable foods that are safe to eat.

So, let’s have a look to understand more about what preserves a jar of jam and how the shelf life is affected by specific circumstances.

homemade jam last lg

How long does homemade jam last unopened in a mason jar in the pantry?

One to two years. You may store an unopened jar of grape jelly in the pantry for a year, if not more, as long as it contains a substantial amount of sugar and has been prepared by canning in a hot water bath.

For the maximum nutritional value, it is preferable to opt to consume your homemade jelly within a year. Once stored in an airtight container, all jams, jellies, and preserves have a similar shelf life.

When storing these foods, remember that they might spoil due to environmental factors like heat or light, so keep them at room temperature in a dark place until ready to open. Also, keep your jelly jars in a temperature range of 50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit since anything higher might cause the food to spoil sooner.

Keep home-canned jams and jellies away from heat sources, such as hot pipes, a stove, a furnace, and indirect sunlight. Depending on the climate, these conditions might result in the items losing quality in a few weeks or months. Label them with masking or painter’s tape to keep track of their expiration date.

If the seal has been broken, put it in the refrigerator immediately.

As long as it is a dry place and mold-free, basements, and cellars are the best way to store your sealed jars of jam, but you can also use the back of the pantry. If you want to be sure the temperature is within the acceptable range, you may install a thermometer in the area.

Both hot water baths and pressure canning will work well for pantry shelf stability as long as you are canning properly. To enhance the shelf life, use a pressure canner for low-acid or alkaline goods and a water bath canner for high-acid foods.

How long does homemade jam last if not canned?

If you just make homemade jam and put it in Tupperware or something similar, it will last between ten days to three months if kept in the refrigerator. How long it lasts depends on whether any acid is used in the making of it. Lemon juice is a great way to extend the shelf life without detracting from the flavor significantly.

When preparing fruit jam at home without using a canning jar, also known as fast jam or freezer jam, you may have to keep it in the refrigerator or freezer to preserve it. However, it must be used within ten days if refrigerated and three months if frozen.

Without appropriate canning, your basic homemade jam recipe is not shelf-stable.

Canning is an excellent technique to ensure that your homemade jam lasts longer. Transferring your cooked food to clean glass jars for canning as soon as possible is essential for maintaining maximum freshness. If enough moisture and air can enter the food, then it signifies that microbes can also enter.

The further processing of heating the jars after adding the jams and sealing them allows you to extend the shelf life of your jams. In addition, this boiling water bath can remove dampness in the jam jars, which might ruin the food.

To guarantee the lifespan of your jam and jelly recipes, you can also choose to utilize wax sheets throughout the canning process. It’s really simple to use wax paper; fill your entire jar with jam, place a wax disc on top of it, and then cover it as usual with a lid. The wax discs rest on the jam’s surface and prevent oxidation or oxygen exposure while sealed.

Typically, fruit and sugar are used in jams in an equal ratio.

But your bottled jams will stay fresher for longer if you use enough sugar. This is crucial for both the jam’s setting and proper preservation. In addition, sugar absorbs moisture, preventing the growth of rotting bacteria.

You need lots of sugar for a longer shelf life of your jam. However, keep in mind that certain jam recipes call for less sugar and that you must store them in the fridge as soon as the cooking process is completed.

Similar to jams and jellies, homemade salsa has recently gained a lot of popularity. Many people are very fond of its adaptability and fresh flavor.

But there are also questions over whether homemade salsa might contaminate people with botulism.

You might need to check out my most recent article if you also have similar concerns. Here, I discussed how to detect the presence of botulinum in home canned goods and if heating may eliminate it. The post also addresses whether adding vinegar would cause your homemade salsa to spoil.

Just click that link to read it on my site.

Does homemade jelly need to be refrigerated?

Yes, but this greatly depends on a few factors. Homemade jams and jellies must be refrigerated if you don’t plan to can them or have broken their canning jam seals. However, for unopened jams that have been pasteurized, you can keep them for several months in the pantry without needing to be refrigerated.

Opened jams and jellies are more prone to deteriorating quickly if not stored in the refrigerator.

So whether you purchase one of these toppings from the grocery store or create your fresh jam, a great way to make them last a long time is to refrigerate them correctly. When opened jams and jellies are kept in the refrigerator, the growth of spoilage bacteria is slowed, increasing the food’s shelf life.

To also increase the month of shelf life of the jam, avoid adding any other food to the surface of the jam if you use it for other purposes, such as a dip, since this may shorten its shelf life.

If you’re going to dip it, put the jelly into a different container instead to have extra to use for other things. Additionally, if you’re consuming jelly, ensure the silverware you’re using has been thoroughly cleaned.

After all, you don’t want bacteria to get inside of it.

If your homemade jam and jelly don’t have a lot of sugar, that’s another instance in which you should refrigerate it. Since sugar essentially serves as a preservative, jellies with low sugar levels won’t keep as long outside the refrigerator. In addition, it may start to taste strange if left out at room temperature.

How long is homemade jelly good for in the fridge after being opened?

Homemade jam should be kept in the refrigerator for up to three months. But whether any acid was used in cooking it (such as lemon juice or maybe balsamic vinegar) will affect the shelf life. Anything acidic will naturally extend the shelf life of homemade jam.

Spreads created with little or no sugar may have a shorter shelf life in the refrigerator than those made from high-sugar products. Variations from the fruit base’s natural taste can become more noticeable without much sugar to cover them up.

Also, depending on the particular product and its use, your homemade jams and jellies may last longer. You can greatly reduce the anticipated storage life if you leave the container open at room temperature for extended periods while using it.

To guarantee minimal exposure to sources of microbial contamination during usage, spoon out small batches of jam or jelly that you may need into a dish before rapidly relocating the jar of jelly to the refrigerator.

Remember to properly cap the jar and place it back in the refrigerator after each use.

This maximizes the jam’s quality retention and lowers the possibility of microbial contamination, which might cause it to deteriorate. Also, remember always to use clean wooden spoons and never double-dip when scooping.

Maintaining good food hygiene is the easiest way to help ensure your homemade jelly remains of good quality for a few weeks after being opened.

How long does homemade jam last without pectin?

Three weeks to three months.

Homemade jams without using pectin, also known as freezer jams, are simpler to make since they require a few ingredients that you may already have. Making a homemade fruit jam without using pectin can last for about three weeks in the refrigerator, and you can freeze it for up to three months.

Although many people do not like pectin, particularly due to its high sugar content, it is the basis of any best-quality jam or jelly. After all, it is the primary thing that makes the jelly congeal and not be runny.

Pectin is an organic carbohydrate that is present in plant cell walls.

It assists in producing a gel-like consistency when the right circumstances are present by establishing a network or web of bonds with other pectin molecules. An excellent jam is produced when much pectin is activated by medium heat and the right amount of sugar.

You may use your pectin-free homemade jam anywhere you choose, including on toast, in jelly sandwiches, fruit butter, peanut butter, and freshly baked biscuits. But pectin has an important role to play when used in jam preparation.

They work as a natural preservative and can help your jam keep for a long time, thickening it or adding a little sweetness to the fruit that would otherwise be sour.

Cooking your hot jam for longer periods might get it darker. However, by adding pectin, you get a shorter boiling time, allowing you to preserve the brilliant natural color of those jams that cheer up any winter morning.

Does jelly spoil if not refrigerated?

Yes, it does if the jar has been opened or if it was not pasteurized. They only last a few days before you begin to see visible signs of spoilage.

Uncontrolled access of air and moisture into our jam allows the breeding of harmful bacteria, which significantly leads to spoilage. It would be best to consider canning or refrigeration to preserve homemade jams and jelly.

Visible molds and yeast indicate that jams and jellies have spoiled since they are acidic foods. If you spot mold, yeast growth, or other typical signs of jam spoilage, it’s time to throw them away. Additionally, these spreads are past their expiration date when you detect fermented, alcoholic, or yeast-like scents.

Note that scraping out the moldy jam is not a safe alternative since mold can send invisible shoots down into the jam or jelly and cause food poisoning. Instead, the jam might need to be thrown away or composted.

Before consuming, you should check the jelly’s color because it might also be a symptom of organic growth. Keep in mind the original color; if it has changed, the jelly is likely no longer suitable for consumption.

This is only true if additional problems, such as mold or odor, are present, as use may somewhat alter the jelly’s color over time, but it should still be okay.

Final Thoughts

Jams and jellies are delicious treats a lot of people will continue to enjoy in large quantities. However, there are instances when it’s simply impractical to consume all of your homemade jellies at once, which might pose a small storage space issue.

You can leave most jellies out in the open for up to a month as long as they are tightly sealed and you plan to consume them within that time frame. But if you won’t be eating it within that time limit, it’s best to place it in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage.

If you don’t plan to eat your jelly anytime soon or have extra bottles to last a long time, safely canning them and storing them in a cool, dry place is perfect for extending the shelf life of your homemade jam. Always remember to store your jam cools best-by date.

Image by Frauke Riether from Pixabay

Jeff Campbell
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