<p>I’m considering giving little jars of savory homemade food gifts to co-workers and neighbors this year instead of cookies, but I don’t want to give foods that might go bad too quickly or that might be discarded by recipients worried about shelf life. Ideally I’d like to include a note indicating, “Best enjoyed within five days” or similar.</p>
<p>I’ve searched on-line but can’t find helpful guidelines for food freshness. Sometimes, food freshness guidelines seem to be exceedingly conservative. If any of you can suggest the likely refrigerated shelf-life of the following I’d be very grateful. I wouldn’t be canning or processing these items; just mixing ingredients and putting in jars.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>A tomato/feta/olive oil/kalamata olive/basil/garlic topping for bruschetta made with canned tomatoes </p></li>
<li><p>A feta, garlic, olive oil, dried oregano and dried basil mixture</p></li>
<li><p>A dip made with marinated artichoke hearts, mayo, parmesan and garlic</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for the quick replies. I am not canning or processing, and the recipes don’t suggest a shelf life. I don’t think any of them would freeze well, unfortunately. </p>
<p>ek, I was also thinking that a week would be safe. The feta is something PCC used to sell in the deli as “Mediterranean Mezza” and it has so much olive oil and garlic that I can’t imagine it going bad! How could any cooties live in all that salt and oil and garlic?!</p>
<p>I hate to say this…but unless you KNOW that they will either be eating these things themselves, or having guests within the five day window…you might want to consider something with a longer “shelf life”, or a non-food item.</p>
<p>What if the friends are going out of town?</p>
<p>We receive a ton of food gifts during the holidays and I’m sad to say…much of it spoils before eaten. Last year we got four fruit baskets. We tried to give the fruit to our neighbors but THEY also were swamped with fruit. </p>
<p>We do love the canned jellies, and cookies we can freeze for a later date. We also really like things like pumpkin breads, banana bread, or pie…again…all can be frozen for a later date.</p>
<p>Garlic in olive oil is the ideal environment for botulism. Low acid, low oxygen, some water. You’re probably good for a week if refrigerated, but there’s no way to tell by looking whether it’s still safe. Commercial products are acidulated for safety.</p>
<p>I’m kind of with thumper on this. Something that is canned or preserved or can be frozen and enjoyed later might be better. A neighbor gave me some garlic oil for Christmas a few years ago that she had made and put in a nice container. Unfortunately, I didn’t have immediate use for it and I became hesitant to use it after a while so ended up throwing the oil out. But, I am pretty cautious about that kind of stuff, maybe more so than most.</p>