You can find just about anything you want to eat at Trade Joe’s and that includes soy chorizo. It’s delicious and a wonderful treat for anyone who enjoys that kind of cuisine. But does it go bad? If so, how long does it take? How much can you delay the process? These are quite common questions asked by many shoppers.
Well, to be blunt, Trader Joe’s soy chorizo does go bad, eventually. It is food, after all, and there are very few, if any, food items in the world that never go bad, ever. Soy chorizo is not one of those seemingly immortal foods, so don’t buy it thinking that it will be pristine and safe to eat forever.
As for the rest of the aforementioned questions, we will be answering all of those here today as well, so keep reading to find out what you need to know.
How Long Does Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo Last?
The good news is that soy chorizo lasts a pretty long time. That’s because it’s vegetable-based, and the oils and spices help prevent it from spoiling too quickly. Of course, even with all of that, you don’t want to leave it out in the open at room temperature. Instead, you’ll want to keep it refrigerated.
With proper refrigeration, Trader Joe’s soy chorizo can last anywhere from two to four weeks. It’s a bit of a toss-up as to how long it will last exactly.
For one, it depends on how old the chorizo was when you bought it in the first place. Secondly, it depends on if you’ve opened the original packaging or not.
It’s also a matter of whether or not you put the soy chorizo in an airtight container with as little air and moisture as possible.
If you do that, you’ll be able to maximize the longevity of any soy chorizo you want to keep. It will last several weeks for sure under these circumstances.
If you leave the soy chorizo out at room temperature, they won’t go bad overnight, but don’t expect them to remain palatable or safe after a few days.
Storing Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo
As mentioned previously, there is an objectively better way to store Trader Joe’s soy chorizo if you want to. You can put it in the refrigerator or the freezer, but how you go about doing that makes a big difference. First and foremost, storing the soy chorizo in the unopened original packaging will lead to the best results.
But if you’ve already opened the soy chorizo and just have some of it left over that you need to store, you’ll need to put it in other packaging for the best results. First, you’ll want to make sure there isn’t excess moisture on the soy chorizo. Secondly, you’ll want to make sure you use an airtight container.
Air and moisture exposure are both the prime culprits when it comes to food going bad. So, pick an airtight container and make sure there is no moisture around.
This is especially important if you are storing the soy chorizo in the freezer, because water will freeze and the food will get freezer burn: it’ll be edible, but not very tasty.
Other than that, there are no special considerations to worry about. It’s always best to store food items in sealed airtight containers during refrigeration. That’s true for nearly all foods.
Signs of Spoiled Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo
Even if you do everything right, soy chorizo is still going to go bad eventually. No food lasts forever, even if some of them last a really long time.
Because of this, it’s quite important to be aware of red flags with the edibility of soy chorizo. You want to know what is a sign of expiration and when you should throw soy chorizo away.
There are three things you need to be on the lookout for when it comes to expired food, with pretty much everything: smell, appearance, and texture.
Generally speaking, when something is wrong with one of these aspects of a food item, that means you shouldn’t be eating it. The same is true with soy chorizo.
Remember, it it’s vegetable based instead of meat-based, so smelling wrong will mean something a little different than it does with soy chorizo. If the soy chorizo is slimy in any way, then you definitely need to get rid of it! You wouldn’t want to eat that.
As for smell, if the soy chorizo smells sour, ripe, or rank (basically any smell that makes you wrinkle your nose), it’s also safer to throw it out than to eat it.
Finally, we have appearances. This generally isn’t a big concern when it comes to soy chorizo, but it is possible for it to develop mold, like many other food items.
Naturally, if you see any mold, that’s a sign that you need to throw away the food and not put it anywhere near your mouth.
But there are some more subtle signs as well. Any amount of discoloration is definitely something that you want to be wary of. If something doesn’t look right, it probably isn’t right.
Even if you like to be frugal, just keep in mind that food is replaceable and it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you feel that something is off, just throw it away. You can always buy more, and it’s definitely preferable to getting sick.
Final Thoughts
Soy chorizo from Trader Joe’s is great and it does last quite some time, but it doesn’t last forever! You need to store it properly if you want things to really last. That means refrigeration or freezing. Both of these methods will extend the lifespan of the chorizo by several weeks or months.
Be sure to store it in an airtight container that is free of as much air and moisture as possible, since those things contribute to faster rot times and you may cause freezer burn.
If you ever detect mold, discoloration, a sour smell, or a slimy texture on your soy chorizo, be sure to throw it away. It is most certainly not safe to consume at that point!