Can Pickles Go Bad?
Pickles possibly go bad after a period of time but they can stay good for as long as even 2 years past the expiration date. And if they are hanging for a more long time, they are still safe to eat. The only outcome is the loss of the satisfying crunch of the pickles.
Most recipes for fresh canned pickles state that they do not eat pickles for a certain amount of time after canning, usually about four weeks. While many canned pickles will last up to a year, for best results in terms of texture and firmness, eat canned pickles within six months of canning. To get the best quality, cook dill cucumbers within a year of their date of manufacture, or 3-4 months after opening the jar.
| Storage of pickles | Shelf life |
| Canned pickles | 6 months |
| After opening | 3-4 months |
| In refrigerator | 2 years |
Pickles usually last two to four weeks under normal conditions, depending on how well they keep and whether the jar has been opened. Pickles can go bad, but if refrigerated and in a jar, they will keep for about 2 years. Pickles can be stored for years from the moment they are packaged and sealed in a jar to their expiration date.
By the way, if you’re interested in How To Preserve Food, check out my article on that.
You can keep kimchi in the refrigerator for over a year, and if you store them properly, you can be absolutely sure they will taste great. If you store your kimchi correctly, an open kimchi jar will last for several months, and an unopened jar will last for years. In short, if you open a jar of pickles and store them properly (in a closed jar, in the refrigerator), your pickles will last up to two years.
If kimchi is kept in a cabinet (below 75 degrees), you can expect a jar of kimchi to have a much longer shelf life (usually 1-2 years). An unopened jar of pickles can be kept at room temperature (i.e. in the pantry) or in the refrigerator for up to two years. Unopened cucumbers can be stored at room temperature, and unopened cucumbers can be stored for 1-2 years.
To learn about How To Preserve Cucumbers, check out my article where I cover everything you need to know.
An unopened jar of marinade is considered stable, meaning that it does not need to be refrigerated and can instead be stored in a cool, dry place such as a cellar, pantry, or closet. Once opened and used, cucumbers should be stored in the refrigerator, otherwise they can spoil very quickly at room temperature.
Refrigeration increases shelf life, although if pickles are left in the refrigerator for more than 2 years, they should expire. If you add pickles as an ingredient to a dish, it will last as long as the first expired ingredient is still edible. You can use an opened jar of pickled cucumbers even after the expiration date printed on the jar, as long as you follow proper storage practices or if the jar is intact and shows no signs of spoilage.
To properly store a jar of pickled cucumbers, leave it in the back of your pantry, where it’s cooler and where it can’t be exposed to light. You should always keep pickles in the fridge when you open pickles, but an unopened can of pasteurized pickles doesn’t need to be refrigerated because they were just cooked that way. The shelf life of pickles will not be affected even if you store them in the refrigerator without a prescription.
In addition, you can also prevent pickles by storing them hygienically, as well as refrigerating them properly and handling them carefully. You should also remember that you should keep all kinds of pickles in the refrigerator after opening them.
You can safely use commercial pickles after this date if you store the jars in a dark, cool place. Even after opening and expiration date, you can still eat your sweet cucumbers, as long as they keep well and the jar is not damaged or dirty.
Regardless, there’s a good chance that an unopened jar will retain the quality of your pickles years after the shelf life. Pickles, including kimchi, can be stored for one to two years after the printed production date in both opened and unopened kimchi jars.
The cucumbers you buy at the store usually have an expiration date printed on the can. Commercial pickles have an expiration date printed on the jar label, giving you a pretty good estimate of their expiration date.
However, pickles are particularly tough and will likely stay fresh in both the pantry and the refrigerator for a year or two past their expiration date if they’re properly sealed, Healthy Canning’s experts tell us. In general, cucumbers do not last forever, but they do not spoil immediately after the date on the label. Pickles, if properly sealed and the lid of the jar shows no signs of swelling, remain safe to eat for at least 2 years, and in some cases even beyond the expiration date printed on the top of the lid, on the bottom of the jar, or somewhere on the label.
The good news is that if you store them in the refrigerator under the right conditions, it can take up to three months. In our home, these homemade pickles rarely last that long because, as the saying goes, “One cucumber a day drives away sad times. Even in the refrigerator, storing cucumbers in a jar can change the taste and speed up spoilage.
While fermentation is important to the deliciousness of kimchi, if you leave the jar at room temperature, the fermentation process will overdo it and the kimchi will turn sour. We always recommend storing opened foods in the refrigerator to slow bacterial growth, but due to the high acid content and airtight jars, unopened pickles can be stored at room temperature for years. Store-bought (unopened), frozen, and fermented pickles can keep for up to two years.
As for the marinade sandwich, we highly recommend eating it within three days of making it, which means that the marinade added to the sandwich will only keep for three days before the marinade goes bad. Note that the marinade container will have an expiration date on it, but this does not necessarily mean that the marinade has gone bad.
What happens when pickles go bad?
Pickles don’t expire, but they become more acidic with every passing of time. At some point, they become impossible to eat. For getting the best taste, finish your pickles within a year of their expiry date or 3 to 4 months after opening the jar.
How long do opened pickles last unrefrigerated?
According to the official USDA regulations for any goods needing refrigeration, pickles left for even more than 2 hours (even overnight) should be discarded. Pickles left out overnight, on the other hand, may be less likely to induce foodborne illness than other non-acidic items due to their acidic brine.
Do homemade pickles go bad?
Pickles can spoil, but if kept chilled and preserved in a bottle, they can keep up to two years. This is due to the fact that pickles go through a ‘pickling’ procedure. Pickles are made by soaking cucumbers in brine (concentrated saltwater), boiling them, and then firmly sealing them in a jar.