Jelly is a popular food with both adults and children. As children, we are often given a bowl of jelly and ice-cream at parties.
As adults we might find it at the bottom of a delicious festive sherry trifle where it would be topped with custard and cream.
Jelly is also now a common snack food available in convenient little pots. Its low-calorie content and sweet taste make it a popular choice for children’s packed lunch bosses and adults snack selections.
With its increasing popularity it is helpful to know how well jelly lasts in the fridge.
How Long Do Different Types of Jelly Last in the Fridge?
Originally jelly was a gelatine-based dish, sold in firm blocks of concentrated flavour that were then mixed in with boiling water. Once this cooled it would be added to the refrigerator and then set into a looser consistency with its characteristic wobble.
There are now several types of jelly available, and these can all have different storage needs.
- Sugar-free jelly – This can be in a sachet or in a single serve pot. Sachets and pots can be stored at room temperature. Once a sachet is made up it is best kept in the fridge where it can last for 7-10 days. Preprepared pots have a shelf life of 6-9 months.
- Gelatine based jelly – Once made up this jelly lasts between 7-10 days in the fridge.
- Agar based jelly – Made with plant-based ingredients and therefore vegetarian and vegan, this can last for 4-5 days in the fridge.
How Should Jelly Be Stored?
If jelly is unopened or not made up it can be kept at room temperature, in a cupboard.
Once jelly has been made up or opened it does need to be refrigerated. Jelly does not need to be covered in the fridge, but it may be better to keep it covered to stop any other fridge flavours being taken on by the jelly.
If you are looking for a convenient way to consume jelly, then it would be worth considering the single-serve pots as these are self-contained and do not require refrigerating and due to their small size, you are unlikely to not finish a portion and so storage would not be an issue.
Does Jelly Need to be Refrigerated?
Jelly that has been opened or made up from a fresh block needs to be refrigerated. Jelly also tastes a lot better served cold. If your jelly product is part of another food item such as trifle, then it also needs to be kept refrigerated so that it does not spoil.
Can You Freeze Jelly?
As jelly has a high water content and is often made by adding water, you might assume that it could be frozen. However, it is the high water content that means that it is not suitable for freezing.
As the water content of the jelly freezes it crystalises, If you were to defrost frozen jelly, you would find that it changes in texture and your jelly will no longer be a stable product and will instead be just a flavoured water.
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