Pro tip: my emergency bean pot turned into a science experiment

Last month I stashed a can of baked beans in my car for a camping trip and forgot about it. Two weeks of 90 degree heat in Phoenix made the can bulge like a balloon. I almost cracked it open out of habit, but the dome on top stopped me. I tossed it and now I check every can for swelling before I even touch the opener. That close call pushed me to label my pantry stock with dates on the lid with a sharpie. Does anyone else rotate their canned goods on a regular schedule, or am I just paranoid now?

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1 Comment

lee.jake4d ago

Honestly, you're way overthinking this. Canned goods basically last forever, that's the whole point of them. The date on the can is just a suggestion, not a hard rule. I've eaten beans that were a couple years past their date and they were fine, just a bit mushy. The bulge thing is real, but if you're storing them inside your house instead of a hot car in Phoenix, it's rarely an issue. Labeling everything sounds like a lot of extra work for no real payoff. I just grab whatever's in the front of the pantry and it always works out. You're not paranoid, just overly careful in a way that doesn't match how most people actually use canned food.