Q: How can you tell if a jar of minced garlic is still good? I have one that expired in June. It has darkened in color a little, but it still smells OK.

A: If it smells OK (or as OK as garlic ever smells) and there's no mold or obvious discoloration, it's probably fine.

Remember that the date on a jar often isn’t an expiration date. It may be a sell-by date, meant to help stores rotate the stock on their shelves, or a best-by date, which is about the quality of a product, not the safety. Sometimes it will say that in very tiny print next to the date.

Jarred garlic usually has preservatives, such as citric acid, that give it a long shelf life. That’s why fans of fresh garlic dislike the stuff in the jar: too many preservatives.

About the Author

Featured

Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com