Q: What is a good way to preserve homemade fudge sauce? I have a great family recipe that I would love to give as gifts, but I worry that it would have to be constantly refrigerated and only last for a few days.
Sent by Liz
Editor: Readers, what's your take on this? How do you gift jars of fudge sauce? Do you just leave them in the refrigerator until gift time? Or do you find that some recipes have shelf life at room temperature? Any tips?
Related: Oreo Hot Fudge Sauce
(Image: Faith Durand)
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What's in the sauce? If no dairy, won't it last indefinitely?
SKYSKY's question is right on the nose. If it has dairy (which it probably does) then its refrigerator life is about two weeks.
Hot fudge sauce is SUPER easy and quick to make. So make it the day before/day of the gift, keep it refrigerated, and label it clearly with an expiration date and refrigeration info.
Otherwise, choose another gift for safety's sake.
I recently made magic shell chocolate sauce which the recipe said would keep for 2 weeks, but given the ingredients (just chocolate and coconut oil - neither of which is particularly volatile), I imagine it could keep almost indefinitely in the refrigerator, or at least for a couple months.
PLEASE STOP USING GIFT AS A VERB!!!!!
@craftybeaver, thank you. I thought I was the only one...
Ditto on the use of gift as a verb. Blech.
oh, you guys. English speakers verb nouns all the time (see what i did there?), and sometimes noun verbs, like using "invite" to mean "invitation". you don't have to use the word, but why stop other people? there's nothing immoral, ignorant, or harmful about language adaptation. /linguisticslecture
anyway, even assuming there is dairy involved, it should keep in a jar for more than a few days. i had a jar of homemade cajeta (goat-milk dulce de leche) that lasted a couple weeks. honestly, we enjoyed the fact that time was of the essence---an excuse to put it to good and frequent use! :)
"Gift" is definitely a verb. Check any dictionary.
But more to the point...for obvious reasons I've always shied away from gifting ;) food that requires refrigeration. I second the recommendation for ''Magic Shell'' topping--that stuff is bomb. I'm not sure if I'd gift it however, as it hardens at room temperature and isn't very attractive.
It seems to me that I just saw chocolate sauce on a list of things you can't can at home. But what about making a gift of the mix--grated chocolate, milk powder, vanilla seeds, sugar? That's how I would get around the problem.
Just a week ago I was raving enviously about the ability the English language has to nominalise - and the opposite. It is a feature of flexibility I really wish my mothertongue (Norwegian) had. We are picking it up, though - my daughter uses sex as a verb.
As for the sauce, I clearly agree that dairy is the big IF. I also suggest experimentation if there is time for that, both with the original recipe and adaptions. Having a recipe that is good for giving is such a great thing, worth the effort even for those who do not gladly bring the clipboard to the kitchen. Good luck with it!