41 Yr. Old Cherries in Brandy - Shelf Life??

[Mdmike52]

Going through some cupboards in my new home I discovered several jars of preserved Cherries in Brandy that were put up in 1969, according to their labels. Does anyone know the shelf life of these? I am hesitant to open any of them until I know if they are of any value.

Thanks
Mike

[KarenB]

Preserve life should not be more than 2 years. Not sure about cherries in brandy. There are other foods that do better with age like cheese and wine. I'm thinking if they were good why didn't the previous owner take them?

[CM]

It really will depend upon how strong the brandy solution was that they used. If they put the cherries up in 100% brandy, then it's quite possible you might have a prize!

You should be able to tell by looking at them - are the cherries intact? When you open a jar (what type of jars are they?), it should smell like good brandy and like alcohol, too. If it doesn't smell like brandy or alcohol, they may not have used 100% brandy (with a little sugar) and they're less likely to be any good.

If it smells very much like alcohol/brandy, you can always strain out the cherries. Try igniting a tablespoon of the liquid in a spoon to check for alcohol which if present, will just have aged and mellowed.

Also check to be sure there was a good seal and there is no leakage around the seal.