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I'm just curious as to why (to me) this seems like one of the worst choices of food to introduce into a long term storage format.

How does it taste after all those years sealed up?

to tell the truth for me I had some old one and it was still good. Proper storage is what makes the difference.

I can only guess that the way they make applesauce makes it ideal for long term storage - it has fruit, it's high calorie, and there's lots of sugar. I've had some 12 year old applesauce and it held up pretty well - got a little dark, but was still edible.

It's OK, but it always has a slightly metallic taste to me, even when only a couple years old.

That could just be the recipe used- I find the malic acid in commercial applesauce makes it taste metallic from day 1.

Applesauce is a good choice- it's easy to preserve (high acidity kills the bugs. Retort cooked means aseptic technique) and provides lots of sugar for gloomy days

I'd say for me applesauce is a comfort food even.. it just reminds you of eating better things.. porkchops and peas, apple pie, etc. I do hate the apple slices though, I know it tastes like apple pie filling, but I cant stand the texture.

Even commercially packaged aseptic applesauce, like those in the 4 oz cups at the grocery store, can have an incredibly long shelf life. Picked some up recently that had a pull date that was over 2 years out.

icarus wrote:I'm just curious as to why (to me) this seems like one of the worst choices of food to introduce into a long term storage format.

How does it taste after all those years sealed up?

That makes me wonder...

I don't have a problem hanging onto canned food for long periods of time. But what about the stuff that's packaged in plastic cups - things like applesauce. How much longer past the "best by" date would you guys keep/eat the stuff?

I'd think the general rule of exercising common sense would prevail. The amount of time past the pull date would vary depending upon storage conditions just as they would for retort products like MREs, or for canned products. The packaging on those cups of fruit and pudding don't have much of an oxygen barrier so the one would think that the storage life would probably be shorter. The method of packaging involves the same kind of thermostabilization that is used for retort packaging, but both aseptic and retort packaging costs much more than canning, and as such, the cost to the consumer for this convenience is considerably more. The cost of those 4 oz fruit cups is at least 50% more than their canned brethern with the pull-top lids, and personally I think the cans will last longer.

kman wrote:That makes me wonder...

I don't have a problem hanging onto canned food for long periods of time. But what about the stuff that's packaged in plastic cups - things like applesauce. How much longer past the "best by" date would you guys keep/eat the stuff?

Applesauce is fairly cheap - I would bet that this plays a large role in its frequent appearance on the menu.