The Best Way To Store Canned Tomato Sauce To Keep It Fresh

Pre-made tomato sauce will never taste as good as homemade sauce. You know that. But, sometimes the canned version is just more appealing. Whether you're trying to make a simple baked pasta recipe for dinner or find a whimsical way to use your leftover rigatoni, using canned tomato sauce is a guaranteed way to save you time and money. With a canned sauce, you don't feel pressured to make an extra special Italian Sunday sauce from scratch. You can simply pour the pre-made sauce over pasta and have an equally delicious meal. Plus, think about all the money you're saving by not buying fresh ingredients for a homemade sauce. The price of one can of tomato sauce might be equivalent to the price of a few fresh tomatoes. However, if you want to be cost-effective, you need to know how to properly store your canned tomato sauce.

Now that you opened a can of tomato sauce to use as a dip for your fried pasta chips, what should you do with the leftover sauce? According to the USDA, highly acidic canned goods such as tomato products do best when placed in a glass or plastic container. This actually helps retain the flavor and quality of the sauce. If you leave it in the can, the metal and the acidity from the tomato will have a reaction that alters the flavor of the sauce. And if you don't plan on using the sauce for a while, you can store it in the freezer in either an air-tight container or a freezer bag.

When left at room temperature, unopened tomato sauce can last for 12 to 18 months in your pantry. If your can doesn't show any signs of damage, bulging, or leaking (when opened), it might be safe to consume if it's past the expiration date on the can. But even if it's still good, it's best to avoid eating it since it's probably lost some of its flavor. Once it's opened, canned tomato sauce can safely be stored in the refrigerator for five to seven days. This means you have roughly a workweek to use all or most of the sauce before it goes bad.

Regardless of what brand of pasta sauce you're using, it should always be stored at a safe temperature. The FDA recommends all refrigerated food be stored at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit while freezer food is stored at zero degrees Fahrenheit. When stored correctly, canned tomato sauce can be stored for up to six months in the freezer.

After that time frame, how do you know if your pasta sauce is bad? Simple, use your senses. If it looks moldy, throw it away. No visible mold? Open the container and smell it. Any type of pungent, rotten smell means the canned tomato sauce has unfortunately gone bad before you could use it. The final thing to look out for is a sour taste. If it doesn't taste right, trust your instincts and get rid of it. Accidentally eating really old food can cause you to get very sick and no tomato sauce is worth that.