How Long Can You Keep Jarred Olives Before They Go Bad?

Olives are a mainstay in salads and charcuterie boards, but outside of special occasions, you may not regularly indulge in these unique treats.

It's highly likely that you currently have a jar of olives stashed somewhere in your pantry or refrigerator, whether you realize it or not. But how good are the chances that those olives will still be fit for eating when you remember them? According to the experts, that depends.

When it comes to the timeline of olives going bad, there are a few different factors, including what kind of shape they were in when you first bought them.

You can learn more about jarred olives below, including what you'll need to do to find out whether it's safe to eat the ones you have at home.

Jarred olives can go bad, but how long they last in a sealed container will vary. For example, those that are packed in liquid brine and kept unopened can last for up to two years, according to PureWow, no matter what the expiration date says.

That staying power is pretty impressive, especially when you discover that opened olives are typically safe to enjoy for up to 18 months after they've been opened.

Dry-storage olives have a much shorter shelf life. These include the olives you purchase at a salad bar or any others sold outside of a brine. They are typically only safe to eat for three days after you buy them!

While I did mention that you can still snack on those liquid-stored olives for up to 18 months, the experts say that you really shouldn't try your luck. According to PureWow, you'll have a better experience eating refrigerated olives within a year of opening them.

This information is not well-known, especially considering a viral video featuring a woman who thought that olives had to be consumed within a week of opening the jar.

TikTok user @makinnabacon raised quite a stink when she told her followers a jar of olives she'd purchased from the store said they had to be consumed within seven days of opening them. The comments were full of people saying they'd never heard of that, including one person who claimed the user was trying to get people to throw away perfectly goodolives to run out and purchase more.

Of course, while this advice is pretty sound, you should definitely look for signs that your olives have spoiled before eating them, especially if you think they're nearing the two-year mark.

According to All Recipes, some ways to tell if your olives have gone bad include obvious indicators, like mold. Other less noticeable signs may include a weird smell and changes in color or texture.

And, if you have an unopened jar of olives, a bulging lid is a pretty big sign that it's time to toss them.

Of course, when in doubt, it's always safer to err on the side of caution and throw them away so that you can avoid suffering from symptoms associated with eating spoiled food or foodborne illnesses!