Sealed jam, jelly and chutney made to a tested recipe keep around a year in a cool, dark cupboard, and go in the fridge once opened. Low-sugar jam keeps for less time, both sealed and open. Pickles have no single figure, so follow the timings in the tested recipe you used.
Storage times at a glance
| Preserve | Unopened | Where to store | After opening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jam (full sugar) | Around a year for best quality | Cool, dark, dry cupboard | Fridge; within a few weeks to a month or two |
| Jelly, including rowan and bramble | Around a year for best quality | Cool, dark, dry cupboard | Fridge; within a few weeks to a month or two |
| Reduced-sugar jam | Less time than full-sugar jam | As the recipe says; if in doubt, the fridge | Fridge; sooner than full-sugar jam |
| Chutney | Around a year | Cool, dark cupboard | Fridge; within a few weeks to a month or two |
| Pickles | As the recipe says | Cupboard or fridge, as the recipe says | Fridge; as the recipe says |
| Frozen soft fruit | Best within about 3 months for quality; safe for longer | Freezer at −18°C | Thaw in the fridge and use within 24 hours |
Keep the fridge at about 4°C or below for opened jars. Frozen fruit stays safe beyond 3 months; it just slowly loses quality. There's more on freezing in the freezing and blanching guide and in dealing with a glut of raspberries and blackberries.
Write the date on each jar as you fill it. A year only means something if you know when it started.
A tested recipe means one from a reputable source, such as a food-safety body, followed exactly. Pickle recipes differ: some are made to keep in the cupboard, others belong in the fridge from the day they're made, and the recipe tells you which. Any jam made with a sweetener in place of sugar needs the fridge or freezer.
Why sugar and vinegar keep preserves
Jam and chutney last for different reasons. In jam and jelly, sugar is the preservative: it stops microorganisms growing. That's why you shouldn't cut the sugar a jam recipe calls for, and why reduced-sugar jam deteriorates sooner. Sugar also helps the set, covered in how to tell when jam has reached setting point.
Chutney and pickles rely on acidity instead. Vinegar stops harmful bacteria, moulds and yeasts, but only when there's enough acid spread evenly through the whole jar. The amount of vinegar or sugar in a recipe is there for safety, not just flavour. Mixing fruit and vegetables changes the balance, so see mixing fruit and veg in preserves before adapting anything.
Neither barrier is complete. Some moulds and yeasts can cope with both sugar and acid. Clean, properly sterilised jars and a good seal are what keep them out in the first place.
Give chutney time to mature
Chutney's flavours mellow in the jar. Leave it at least a few weeks, ideally around two months, before opening. In Scotland the short, cool season often leaves tomatoes still green on the plant when the first frost arrives, so green-tomato chutney is a regular autumn job. A batch made in October will be ready to open by about Christmas.
Storage temperature and the seal
For the cupboard, about 10–21°C is the range to aim for.
The seal matters as much as the shelf. Fill hot sterilised jars and put a new lid on each one straight away while the preserve is still hot, so a vacuum seal forms as it cools. Don't reuse old lids. Once the jars are cold, check each one. Press the centre of each lid: a sealed lid is pulled down slightly and doesn't move, while one that flexes or clicks hasn't sealed. If a lid didn't seal as the jar cooled, put that jar in the fridge and treat it like an opened jar. A lid that sealed but has since domed or popped back up in storage is a different matter: see the signs below. Waxed discs and cellophane covers don't give this kind of seal, so they suit jam you'll eat within a few weeks, not jars meant to keep for months. The guide to jars for preserving covers lid types and what to reuse.
Signs a jar has gone off
Throw out the whole jar if you see any of these:
- mould of any kind, even one small spot
- signs of yeast growth
- a fermented, yeasty or alcoholic smell, or fizzing when you open it
- a lid that sealed but has since domed or popped back up.
Don't scrape the mould off and eat the rest. Removing the mould and a good amount of the food around it might remove unseen toxins, but there is no guarantee it removes them all. Mouldy jelly can contain mould toxins (mycotoxins). This applies however young the jar is.
Oil and vinegar: the real safety risks
These are the storage mistakes that carry a real safety risk, rather than just a loss of quality.
Never keep herbs, garlic or vegetables in oil at room temperature. Foods preserved in oil are linked to botulism, and bottling herbs or garlic in oil at home is risky because a home kitchen can't control the bacteria's spores well enough. Oil is not acidic, and it shuts out air, which gives botulinum bacteria the conditions they need. This applies to garlic oil, herb oil and vegetables stored under oil alike.
Never cut the vinegar. Don't change the proportions of vinegar, food or water in a chutney or pickle recipe, and don't reduce the vinegar or lemon juice. There must be a minimum, even level of acid throughout the jar to stop botulinum bacteria growing. Use vinegar of a known strength, as the recipe states, and check the acidity on the label.
If you've changed the recipe, or it isn't a tested one, use the fridge from the start. Chutneys and pickles need a pH of 4.5 or lower to be safe in the cupboard, and that can't be judged by eye or taste. A tested recipe followed exactly is how you know. Jars that can't be relied on need the fridge even before opening, and should be eaten within 10 days.
For recipes that make the most of a surplus, see jam and chutney from a glut, or the glut guides for apples, plums, gooseberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants, rhubarb and courgettes.
Common questions
Is jam still safe to eat after a year?
A year is the best-quality guide rather than a hard limit, so an older jar may simply have lost some quality. Whatever its age, any jar with mould, yeast or a fermented smell goes in the bin.
My chutney has turned darker in the jar. Why?
Darkening in storage usually comes from too much air left in the jar. Filling jars properly helps next time. Mould, yeast or a fermented smell are still the signs that mean it must be thrown out.
Is it safe to reuse old jam jars?
Yes, glass jam jars can be reused. Throw away any jar that is cracked or chipped, sterilise the rest, and always use a new lid.
Which vinegar should I use for pickles and chutney?
Use the vinegar the tested recipe names, at the acidity it states. Tested pickling recipes are commonly written for vinegar of 5% acidity, so check the label. Don't use a vinegar whose strength you don't know.
Can I freeze soft fruit now and make jam from it later?
Yes. Open-freeze berries in a single layer on a tray, then bag them so they don't set into one lump, and use them within about 3 months for best quality. Defrost them in the fridge rather than at room temperature. Raspberries freeze well. Strawberries go mushy when thawed.
Sources
Show the 17 sources
- Storing Home-Canned Jams and Jellies (National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia): unopened jam and jelly best within a year; cool, dark, dry at 50–70°F (10–21°C); reduced-sugar products deteriorate sooner; opened jars in the fridge at 40°F or lower (about 4°C); about 1 month after opening for full-sugar jam; discard for mould, yeast, fermented/yeasty/alcohol smell
- Jellied Product Ingredients (NCHFP): sugar is the preservative; never cut the sugar; fridge or freezer for sweetener-substituted long-boil jams
- Basics of Jelly Making (Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC): sugar preserves, and aids in gelling
- General Information on Canning Jams, Jellies, and Marmalades (NCHFP): mycotoxins found in mouldy jelly
- General Information on Pickling (NCHFP): don't alter vinegar, food or water proportions; don't use vinegar of unknown acidity; 5% acidity vinegar; minimum uniform acid level to prevent botulinum
- How Long Can I Store Frozen Foods? (NCHFP): frozen fruit 8–12 months at 0°F (−18°C) for quality; still safe after, lower quality
- Dry or Tray Packing for Fruits (NCHFP): open-freezing fruit on trays
- Berries e.g. blueberries, strawberries (Love Food Hate Waste / WRAP): frozen berries up to 3 months; tray-freezing so they don't lump; defrost in the fridge and use within 24 hours
- Harvesting and storing fruit (Garden Organic): raspberries freeze on trays; strawberries go mushy when thawed
- Bust a glut: how to harvest and store your veg (Garden Organic): jam lasts a year in a cool, dry cupboard; opened jam up to 3 months
- 25 dirt-cheap ways to garden organically and save (Garden Organic): chutney stored cool, dry and dark for up to a year; flavours mellow over 2–3 weeks
- Checklist for Chutneys (Kilner): chutney stored cool, dry and dark; at least 8 weeks before opening
- Chutney (Penn State Extension): never reduce vinegar or lemon juice; vinegar acidity stops bacteria, moulds and yeasts; darkening from too much air in the jar
- Food Safety and Labelling Guidance for small scale home producers of chutneys, pickles, flavoured oils and jams (Scottish Borders Council): sugar and acidity stop bacteria but some moulds and yeasts tolerate them; amount of vinegar/sugar essential for safety; oils riskier (not acidic, air-free); pH 4.5 or lower, else refrigerate before opening; lids on while hot for a vacuum seal; don't reuse lids; jar reuse not a food safety concern; discard cracked or chipped jars; cool, dry storage
- Making Jam and Similar Products (Orkney Islands Council): 10-day maximum shelf life for refrigerated chutneys/pickles that can't guarantee pH 4.5 or lower
- Botulism (Clostridium botulinum) (Food Standards Agency, GOV.UK): foods preserved in oil linked to botulism; bottling herbs or garlic in oil risky; use recipes from reputable sources
- Home food fact checker (Food Standards Agency, GOV.UK): mouldy food should not be eaten; removing mould and surrounding food may not remove all toxins