SPRING CLEANING

Colour, texture, nutritional value and flavour decline in home canned goods within a year

The kitchen is a great place to start this starts annual seasonal chore

We’re more than halfway through April and some are likely suffering from a bout of spring cleaning fever.

I have a degree of immunity, but occasionally I get a mild case.

Here is some advice from the experts who study everything from how long various foods last to help with cleaning cupboards, freezer and fridge.

It’s generally recommended to use home canned foods, jams, jellies and pickles within a year. They will be safe to eat if they were handled and processed properly using up-todate methods, so long as the seal is intact. However, colour, texture, nutritional value and flavour deteriorate gradually, making the products less appealing with age. Any canned foods, whether processed commercially or at home, that have broken the seal or that are bulging or spurting liquid when opened are not safe to consume.

Recommended storage times for frozen foods vary. These are established to ensure quality rather than safety. Food that is handled safely before freezing and then held consistently at or below -18 C will be safe to eat for longer but will lose quality.

For example, Health Canada says you can store whole chickens or turkeys, hard cheese and unopened packages of salted butter for 12 months. Beef should be good for 10-12 months, pork, lamb and veal for 8-12 months and chicken or turkey pieces, and lean fish, such as cod, for six months, ground meat for two to three months, fatty fish, such as salmon, for two months and uncooked sausage for one to two months.

Wondering about the little packages of frozen leftovers? Cooked poultry and fish, meat stock and gravy will keep for four to six months, and meat, stews, egg or vegetable dishes for two to three months.

There is a more complete list at www.canada.ca/en/healthcanada/services/general-foodsafety-tips/safe-food-storage. html.

People also wonder about baking supplies stored in cupboards at room temperature. Baking powder and baking soda are said to have a shelf life of nine to 12 months with the possibility that if they are too old or have become damp at any time they will not do their job as leaveners. I have never had any problem with them, but if you are in doubt, stir about 2 mL (½ tsp) into a little water; if the mixture bubbles and fizzes, the baking soda or baking powder is still good.

Whole wheat flour has a shorter shelf life than white flour because the wheat germ in it contains oils that can go rancid. Both whole grain flours and wheat germ should be stored in a cool, dark spot or wrapped tightly and stored in the refrigerator or freezer. You will notice an off smell in rancid foods and it’s best to discard them and replace with a quantity that you can use within a month or two.

Since rhubarb is the first thing that we harvest from our garden and I still have several bags of it in the freezer, I will be using frozen rhubarb this month. Stewed rhubarb is the easiest and I find it easiest to cook it in the microwave. I like it made with brown sugar, in the proportion of about 1:8 by volume, that is 125 mL (½ cup) brown sugar to 1 L (4 cups) of chopped rhubarb.

This is my favourite recipe for Rhubarb Crisp:

Rhubarb Crisp

2 L (8 cups) chopped rhubarb, fresh or frozen 250 ml (1 cup) brown sugar For topping 50 mL (¼ cup) brown sugar 50 mL (¼ cup) whole wheat flour 50 mL (¼ cup) cold butter 175 mL (¾ cup) rolled oats 50 mL (¼ cup) sliced almonds (optional) 50 mL (¼ cup) shredded coconut (optional) 50 mL (¼ cup) pumpkin seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place rhubarb in a greased ovenproof casserole, and sprinkle with 250 mL (1 cup) brown sugar. Make the topping. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and the 50 mL (¼ cup) of brown sugar. Cut in the cold butter to the size of peas, and stir in the rolled oats and any of the optional ingredients. Spoon the topping evenly over the rhubarb, and bake until the rhubarb is bubbly, the topping golden brown and crisp. With frozen rhubarb, this takes about an hour. Serve as is, or with vanilla yogurt or ice cream.