Bulging can

[iggy]

Went into my long term storage cupboard to get a new #10 can of dehydrated onions, and the unopened can of Honey Cornbread Muffin is bulging! Both ends. 1211121212131214 The stripped of the label can is now on my back porch on the step with the ends pointed away from any house. Has this ever happened to any one? I bought this in 2013 - It has been kept in my large cupboard in my bedroom where is is cool and dry. None of the other cans are bulging. What do I do now? Pop a hole in the top, save the contents and send it back to Emergency Essentials???

[arbilad]

This happened to me with a can of Muffin mix from Walton Feed. I contacted them, and what they told me is that the mix was still safe, but what happens sometimes is that the baking powder gets activated in a mix like that and starts bulging out the can. It's totally safe, but you should probably use it soon. You might need to add a little bit of baking powder because the stuff in the mix will be partly spent.

[iggy]

arbilad, did you use it? If I did my calculations correctly, there is only three batches in the can. If you used yours then I will stab the can with a cleaned up screwdriver to release the pressure and repackage it.

[arbilad]

Yes, I used mine, and it made some delicious muffins. It did taste of baking powder after I added a bit more but it wasn't bad.

[iggy]

OK, I'll give it a shot - tomorrow as today is nearly done. Don't know what is wrong with me, but I have been sleeping nearly all day since I got home from Church. [2:30 PM]

[iggy]

20 months later and I am browsing through the forum and see this. To report what I did way back then, I stabbed the can to release the pressure, but couldn't open it as the bulges were just too bulged out and the swing-away can opener wouldn't work. So I tossed the entire can into the trash.

[Earthling]

I've been wondering all this time! ;-)

[DMGNUT]

To me, a bulging can always means botulism (or something else I certainly wouldn't want to consume :ack2:)... straight to the trash can in my book.
But hey... maybe I'm just overly cautious.

[iggy]

To me, a bulging can always means botulism (or something else I certainly wouldn't want to consume :ack2:)... straight to the trash can in my book.
But hey... maybe I'm just overly cautious.

@DMGNUT ~ same for me WHEN the ingredients are WET. Had a few tomato products swell up and when I opened them they spewed all over. These were smaller cans - and I expected a #10 can's explosion to rip a hole in the kitchen. Also had a jar of Alfredo Cheese Sauce blow up the lid - That one I tossed into my empty, plastic garbage bin, when the jar broke it exploded! A few shards of glass embedded in the bin.

I came across yet another Muffin can that was bulging. This one I could open, When the blade pierced and released the gas - it was just a short PFFFT and really didn't smell at all. Got the lid off, and looked in - no growth of any kind, no discoloration. So I mixed up a batch without adding baking powder. Blah, it was flat and never got past the thick, not done quite yet center.

I still have three more batches to bake up, but I will add some more baking powder. I also have 14 packets of marie callender's Corn Bread mix. They didn't swell up, but they were flat also. Thus will need more baking powder added.

FYI - once baking powder is opened, it begins to loose it's rising properties. So - repackage your #10 cans into 4oz vacuum sealed packets. Rather than purchase the small cans purchase the ingredients to make it. 2:1 tartar to soda to make baking powder. I re-packaged the tartar from the tin to a plastic jar w/lid then vacuumed sealed it. As for baking SODA, I use that a lot. Cleaning, deodorizing the fridge, etc as well as cooking, and I bought the small boxes on sale at Walmart for $0.49 each.

So, in asking again ~ ~ what else can salt be used for?