Does Relish Go Bad?

Relish is a mixture of different vegetables or fruits and sometimes with vinegar as a side ingredient; the sugar can also be added along with vinegar. It is used as a side dish with different cuisines like sandwiches, burgers, and roasted meats.

Many people confuse pickle and relish as the same thing, but there is a slight difference between these two; pickle uses vinegar as the main ingredient, while relish is mostly made up of vegetables and fruits with a little amount of vinegar or sugar or both. It has a very bold taste and adds brightness to your cuisines; it has a pretty long shelf life and remains fresh for one and half years.

How To Store Relish

Despite having a long shelf life, relishes need more attention while storing them because they can catch mold or fungus faster than any other food after being exposed to moisture.

So you should take extra care while storing relishes and always follow precautions of storing it, like never use a wet spoon to take out the relish from its jar as it is already mentioned above that moisture is an enemy of your relishes spoil it before you even imagine.

Some helpful ways are given below which you can follow and make your relishes last longer,

Store it in Glass Jars

When you decided to make relish at your home, but you are worried about how to store it well, then don’t worry, first find any glass jar with a normal plastic lid which do not contain PVC material because it has toxic chemicals that can be very dangerous for your health, now carefully covert your relish into this glass jar with the help of stainless steel spoon, and store it either at your kitchen counter or rack.

Use Sterilized Jar

Always sterilize the jar in which you are going to store your relish; you can do that by washing the jar completely, then put it into your microwave oven and set the temperature at 200⁰ F for 15 minutes, make sure that the jar you are using is microwave friendly and if the jar is made with the glass then check it whether it is heat resistant or not. This way, your jar will be sterilized, and you can easily store your relish in it.

Keep it in Refrigerator

Relish remains good at room temperature for a pretty long time provided that the storage conditions are met. Still, refrigeration can make you guaranteed the safety of your relish, put the jar into the Refrigerator and close its lid perfectly to prevent your relish from getting moisture.

Can You Freeze Relish

When we think about freezing our food, the main reason is to preserve its flavor and taste for a long time. Still, in relishes or pickles, they already contain preservatives in their ingredients and lasts way too much longer, even at room temperature. After putting them into Refrigerator, their shelf life extended even more. Hence, it is better not to freeze relishes because freezing can cause your relishes to lose potency and the bright flavor, which adds specialty to your cuisines as a side dish.

You have to store it carefully, and it will remain stable and flavorful for a very long time that you will not need to freeze it.

How Long Does Relish Last

Relishes remain good for a very long time even at room temperature if you store them properly, like always keep them in a perfectly closed container, use a dry spoon to take them out of the container, etc.

Unopened relishes can remain good for approximately two years without going bad, while in the case of opened relishes, they will be good for one-year minimum after being refrigerated.

If you made relish at you, you have to be extra careful while storing it because, on a commercial basis, there are so many preservatives added, which makes them stable for a very long time. Still, at home, except vinegar, there are not many preservatives included in your relish, so store it carefully, and it will probably remain good for six months at least.

How To Tell If Relish Is Bad

You can check the health of your relish by observing the following changes that usually occur in spoiled or rancid relishes,

• Mold Growth: Always check for mold growth before using your relish; if you notice any fuzzy white appearance in your relish, then do not use it and discard it immediately.
• Off Odor: Healthy relish has an acidic plus sour aroma coming out of it, but if it has an offensive odor, then it shows the spoilage in it, and it is better not to use it.
• Dark Coloration: If you notice that the color of vegetables and fruits has gone darker and brownish and does not look fresh, it means spoilage has occurred, and you can no longer use it.

Sources

• Preserve And Pickle
• Still Tasty