Do raisins have a maximum shelf life?
I have a box of raisins in my cabinet that have been there for many years. Should I discard them or can they still be salvaged for use in baking or cooking?
Best Answer
According to this Sun Maid specification sheet, the shelf life is up to one year, and they contain about 15% water.
This is probably not sufficiently dehydrated for truly long term storage, and mold would be a risk. Also, if they did dry further in storage they would be rock hard, and probably quite nasty.
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Quick Answer about "Do raisins have a maximum shelf life?"
Fruits such as dried apricots, prunes, and raisins will keep at top quality in the pantry for six months. After opening, you may wish to store them tightly sealed in the refrigerator to preserve the quality for up to six additional months or freeze them for one month.Do raisins really expire?
How Long Do Raisins Last? An unopened bag of raisins lasts for a couple of months past the date printed on it. Once you open up the bag, raisins should keep quality for about 6 months if you store them in a sealed bag. Without a tight seal, they will dry out sooner.Can you eat raisins past expiration date?
So long as the box of raisins is unopened, and stored in your pantry, raisins have a shelf life of a year past the expiration date. After this point, while the raisins may still be safe to eat, their quality will have greatly diminished.How long can raisins stay on the shelf?
Raisins can last from 6 months to over 2 years if stored in the right conditions. Make sure to keep your raisins away from the heat by storing them away from windows and ovens. Avoid letting them get in contact with any moisture, which can accelerate their spoilage.Can raisins be stored long term?
You can store raisins in a jar as long as that jar is tightly sealed and free of moisture. Mason and vacuum-sealed jars work best for that purpose. You can put the jar in the fridge, kitchen pantry, or cellar. If you put raisins in the refrigerator, they can last for about six more months.6 Food Storage Preps That NEVER Expire!
More answers regarding do raisins have a maximum shelf life?
Answer 2
I just found a pack of Sun-maid that were dated 05 04 00. Opened them up & tried a couple , not too bad . And not hard at all.
Answer 3
They usually spray the raisins with Sulphites to preserve them. The ones with sulphites look a little shiny whereas the ones without look a little chalky (but taste better to me).
If your cabinet is not very humid, chances are they have not gone bad. Otherwise you might see 'signs of life'.
However, the good shelf life of raisins is about a year. They are likely to carry an off taste and mess with your cooking/baking flavours.
Answer 4
Maybe after we have inspected the raisins, and they still look good, (have no mold whatsoever, using a magnifying glass), we can use them in baking of cookies, cakes, etc. In fact, just to make sure, we can probably boil them first (to soften them), and then add the drained raisins to our cookie, cake, etc. batter. Just a thought. I have a package of boxed raisins that I've had for a couple of years. (Now that I've thought about and posted this, I'm going to inspect them and boil them first before adding to my pancake batter.)
Answer 5
In the refridgerator they last for years. A lot longer than you might think.
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