Marinara sauce left in the trunk

For over a month, in Texas. It’s Rao’s but I’m thinking not good. Now, it comes in truck trailers and I’ve unloaded more than a few and they get brutally hot in the summer, unless refrigerated.

Opinions, please.

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Unopened, with the vacuum unbroken? I’d use it ( if I didn’t think Rao’s ties with Hazan’s tomato and butter sauce for the worst tomato sauces I ever had the misfortune to taste😉).

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That’s a good point. Don’t those jars usually have the buttons that pop up if it’s been tampered with? But I wonder if there is a similar pop if there is contamination like in cans or cartons of milk when there is extra gas and bloat as it starts to turn.

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@jcostiones - don’t waste much food here, but I’d be skeptical with the amount of both time, and heat. But, always curious, I’d pop it open, see if it’s still under seal, and give it a sniff. If you get the pop, and it smells and looks ok, would heat to a thorough boil and use. After maybe googling first lol.:upside_down_face:

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If it already went through the canning process, what’s a few more rounds of ultra-pasteurization?

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I’m not sure the “buttons” are (meant to be) “anti-tamper” devices per se, but they won’t  remain concave after the seal has been broken. And/but yes, as a practical matter, there’s very little risk of dangerous contamination as long as the seal is intact. If the lids bulge (much less if anything has actually oozed out from under the lid), and/or anything sprays/pours out under positive pressure when you open the container, something has gone wrong inside the container. If not, it’s very unlikely that anything has gone wrong enough to hurt you. (Strictly speaking, there’s probably some very fine line at which point bacteria could have reproduced enough to produce enough toxin that could hurt someone  before the problem becomes visibly obvious, but I think that’s probably very  rare…)

As far as @jcostiones’ original question is concerned, prolonged storage at high(er) heat might compromise the flavor (certainly sooner rather than later), but I wouldn’t hesitate to eat it if the seal isn’t compromised and none of the above happens when you open it…

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I think that’s true within reason… at least as long as the subsequent heating isn’t hot enough to actually melt whatever rubber compound serves as the gasket around the edge of the lids. And even in a car trunk in Texas in June-July, I don’t think that’s very likely. (And in any event, I think the negative pressure inside the container would probably suck in enough air to “pop” the lids if it did happen…)

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Really?! I don’t think Rao’s (at least the latter-day Rao’s) is The Best Tomato Sauce I’ve Ever Eaten , but I like it (and when it first came out, was very high on the list, for jarred sauce). But unless one loathes tomatoes and/or butter, I can’t fathom not liking tomato-butter sauce (which, with all due respect to La Marcella, was not her “invention”, nor is her recipe unique, even if she did introduce it to Mainstream America…). I invariably have to force myself to stop eating it straight from the pan as I cook it, to have enough left to use on my pasta…:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

ETA: I didn’t mean any of the above as a negative comment on your preferences, I was just surprised, and am a bit curious to know why - if you don’t dislike “tomato-based pasta sauce” in general - you do dislike both of these specifically. Is it that they’re just too  oily/fatty to your taste?

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I’ve got two jars and the lids are fine. I’ll give it a try with some good linguini I scored and fresh parm.

Thanks everybody, more comments welcome.

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@MikeG, wonder if you’d be willing to hypothesize on my grape juice (home canned) over on the jamming/home canning thread. I have some possible ideas, but would like to hear yours. Recent post, maybe just a couple up from bottom. TIA!

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Today, I’m thinking about how much my ruminations and sleep are worth. “I’m not going lie” ( I like that ); I lose sleep over waste, but I try to tell myself there are choices I’ve made that I have to let go.

Now when I see BOGOF., or buy two for one, it’s with a plan to take it to our local shelter.

Too much stuff!

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I like tomato sauce on the sweet side, with mellowed garlic and onion.

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+1 on everything lambchop said!

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@jcostiones - did you ever open the sauce? Inquiring minds want to know!

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Yes and still kicking.

Excellent - I’m tickled pink, hate to throw stuff out @jcostiones!