Storing Canned goods in Freezing Weather

[Doc]

Hello Friends,
I am sorry if this has already been covered, but I am not very good with the search option. My question is about letting canned goods freeze. We have purchased many cans of chili and soup as they were on sale. But Now we are going to have to move. Since it is winter my question is if anyone has experience with storing these cans in freezing conditions. They will be in our garage, but the temps are below freezing quite a bit of the time. One problem that could effect them is if they freeze then thaw then freeze again. Just trying to decide if I should store them or give them to family that can use them instead.
Thanks for any help you can offer.

[hidden_waldo]

I don't have an exact answer to your question.

If you don't have to move your supplies tomorrow; I would try a trial run with a couple of cans. Place them in a zip lock bag and put them in the garage (or freezer if you don't have time to wait for the garage to freeze them); see what happens.

The worst I think could happen is: "if" the can expands AND the can doesn't break AND the can has one of those food safe liners in it AND that liner breaks...Then your food will come in contact with that actual metal of the can. Then anything from metal leching into the food could occur AND/OR the can rusting from the inside out. This is one of the reasons why buying dented cans from the grocery store is not the best idea.

Also, why can't you pack them into a box and just move them with the rest of your house contents?

[EX121]

I have had cans of chili freeze that I forgot in the cabin over the winter and they did not burst the can. I have also had other high water content cans burst. I ate the chili with no bad results. As the saying goes your actual milage may vary.

[Swampwood]

I would store in "sealed"plastic footlocker/5gal bucket and bury below frost line.

[miked2345]

I would store in "sealed"plastic footlocker/5gal bucket and bury below frost line.

Of course, that maybe a 3 or 4 foot deep hole in some places. Here in Michigan, they quote a 42 inch deep frostline for bldg codes.

[Swampwood]

Of course, that maybe a 3 or 4 foot deep hole in some places. Here in Michigan, they quote a 42 inch deep frostline for bldg codes.

Owch... I don't dig that deep :)

[cabingal3]

i have stored canned goods in our cabin and outside in the very cold and they had nothing happen to them...but i did store canned goods outside in a storage shelf at our house in town and it was out there since y2k .alot of them got rusted and the liquid drained out and the food inside dried up to nothing and i finally tossed them out.

[Doc]

Thanks everyone. I had not even thought about burying it. I cant take it with me as I have to leave the country for a couple of months. I decided that the freezer test was the best choice. I put the Tomato soup and Chili in there with no problems. I have a few other things to test but looks like it wont be a problem. I believe you are right about the water content being the most important. I will continue to test different cans and see if I find any that will burst.
Thanks again for you help in working this out.

[hidden_waldo]

Let us know what worked and didn't work for you!

[Lily]

Friend had the same sort of incident happen. They rented a small temperature controlled unit at one of those places you find all over the country. Once they had resecured their new location they grabbed all their stuff back. Don't know if this would work for you or not.

[JUSTIFIED]

Thanks everyone. I had not even thought about burying it. I cant take it with me as I have to leave the country for a couple of months. I decided that the freezer test was the best choice. I put the Tomato soup and Chili in there with no problems. I have a few other things to test but looks like it wont be a problem. I believe you are right about the water content being the most important. I will continue to test different cans and see if I find any that will burst.
Thanks again for you help in working this out.

Doc, I noticed you live in eastern Washington. I wouldn't think the drier air in the eastern part of that state would affect your cans as much as the moister air on the coast. Unless you live in a high elevation where temps get below zero often I wouldn't think you're cans would freeze. If you need to store them in the garage I would suggest setting them against the wall connecting the garage to the house or perhaps a closet in the garage and make sure they're off the floor. Heat rises.