Would you like to know how long Pico De Gallo lasts? Well, we have researched this question and have the answers for you. Understanding how long it lasts in the fridge is essential to ensure your Pico De Gallo is safe to eat.
Pico De Gallo lasts for between one and one and a half weeks, depending on how fresh your ingredients are, how cold your fridge is, and how tight a seal your storage container has. The best way to ensure your Pico De Gallo is still good to eat is to check for changes in smell, taste, or texture, which can indicate spoiled food.
In this article, we will learn how long Pico De Gallo Lasts in the fridge. We will also learn the answers to other interesting related questions such as, how do you keep Pico De Gallo fresh after day three, and can old Pico De Gallo make you sick? Keep reading to learn more.
How Long Does Pico De Gallo Last?
Pico De Gallo typically lasts seven days in a sealed container in the refrigerator. However, several factors affect how long Pico De Gallo Lasts, and they are how fresh your ingredients are, the temperature of your fridge, and how good a seal your storage container has.
Let's look into each factor and learn how they affect how long your Pico De Gallo Lasts.
Ingredient Freshness
Ingredient freshness is a significant contributor to how long your Pico De Gallo will last. If you make a Pico De Gallo with aged ingredients, your Pico De Gallo may last one or two days less than if you used fresh ingredients.
If you want to ensure that your Pico De Gallo lasts at least a week or more, you will want to use the freshest ingredients you can.
One thing that can affect the freshness of your ingredients for Pico De Gallo is whether you make it at home or get store-bought. Store-bought Pico De Gallo is typically made a day or two in advance, limiting how long it will last at home.
If your access to produce is poor, then the store-bought Pico De Gallo may be fresher than what you can make at home, but in most cases, you can make a fresher Pico De Gallo with home-cut ingredients.
Fridge Temperature
Another major factor to the fridge life of your Pico De Gallo is to ensure your fridge is cold. While you don't want to accidentally freeze your Pico De Gallo, keeping it cooler will help to preserve it longer.
The reason that a colder fridge preserves Pico De Gallo for longer has to do with cell growth. Refrigerators keep your food cool so that bacteria multiply slowly. The reason Pico De Gallo goes bad in typically about a week is that that's how long it takes for bacteria to multiply to the point that they make the food unsafe to eat.
Storage Container Seal
The next thing that will keep your Pico De Gallo fresh longer is a well-sealed container. Food items last longer when they are in sealed containers.
Food is fresher when stored in a well-sealed container because a sealed container limits oxygen to bacteria, which slows down their growth rate. The container also keeps the Pico De Gallo from drying out, helping to keep it tasting fresh.
One of the most popular air-tight containers for Pico De Gallo is a glass jar because of its tight seal.
You can make your Pico De Gallo last for a week or more if you use fresh ingredients, keep your refrigerator temperature low, and ensure your storage container has a tight seal.
How Do You Keep Pico De Gallo Fresh After Day Three?
While the previous techniques can keep your Pico De Gallo safe to eat for over a week, there is a drawback to Pico De Gallo. While Pico De Gallo is safe to eat for over a week in the fridge, it begins to lose some of its freshness after the first three days.
There are two great ways to counter this loss in freshness due to aging Pico De Gallo. These methods are daily draining excess water and adding lime juice. Let's look into these solutions and see how they keep Pico De Gallo tasting fresh after the third day.
Daily Draining Your Pico De Gallo
One of the issues with Pico De Gallo that can cause it to lose some of its freshness after three days is a build-up of water. The tomatoes in Pico De Gallo are very high in water and, over time, begin to sweat it out.
One of the signature traits of Pico De Gallo is its lack of water. To keep your Pico De Gallo tasting fresh, you need to drain off the excess water that builds up each day. Often Pico De Gallo lovers will drain their Pico De Gallo jars each morning to ensure it is ready for their daily meals.
Adding Lime Juice To Your Pico De Gallo
Another thing that can cause your Pico De Gallo to taste less than fresh is a breakdown in acids. Over time the citric acid from the lime juice in Pico De Gallo breaks down, losing its strength.
One way to combat the loss is acidic flavor is to squeeze some fresh lime juice in your Pico De Gallo just before you eat some. The fresh lime juice will restore the lost taste from the aging Pico De Gallo.
Daily draining and lime juice additions can keep your Pico De Gallo tasting fresh long after it is.
How Do You Know When Pico De Gallo Has Gone Bad?
While the one-week estimate for how long Pico De Gallo will last is helpful, it is just an estimate, and it can be necessary at times to know how to identify whether your Pico De Gallo has gone bad. Determining if your Pico De Gallo has gone bad may be needed if you forgot when you stored your Pico De Gallo or if you are unsure if it has spoiled.
Your body is one of the best detectors for determining whether food has spoiled. Over millions of years, your body has evolved to tell safe food apart from unsafe food. Before eating your food, you should check it with your sense of smell, taste, and texture, even if it isn't a week old yet.
Checking The Smell
If you notice any foul smells, it can be a sign that the food has spoiled. The food may not smell wrong but simply different, maybe even sweeter. The important thing you are looking for is whether it has a new smell, which is a sign of spoilage.
Checking The Taste
If there are any new or different tastes in your food, that can also signify that it has spoiled. Like smelling the food, it may not necessarily taste foul, just different if the food is spoiled.
Checking The Texture
One of the other signs of spoiled food is a change in texture. If you notice that your Pico De Gallo has a new texture, like perhaps it's slimy, it is a sign that it has spoiled.
Remember to pay attention to the smell, taste, and texture of your Pico De Gallo to ensure you don't eat spoiled food.
Can Old Pico De Gallo Make You Sick?
Old Pico De Gallo can make you sick, but it depends on if it is spoiled, what it is spoiled with, and how spoiled it is. Let's look at each of these to see how they affect whether you get sick from old Pico De Gallo.
If The Pico De Gallo Is Spoiled
Just because your Pico De Gallo is over a week old and expired, it doesn't mean it is spoiled. Food spoils when bacteria or fungus get inside and grow to dangerous levels.
If you notice no signs of fungus growth, and the Pico De Gallo still smells and tastes the same and has the same texture, then it is likely your Pico De Gallo isn't spoiled. Pico De Gallo that isn't spoiled won't make you sick, even if it is old.
What The Pico De Gallo Is Spoiled With
If your Pico De Gallo is spoiled, it may make you sick, depending on what it is spoiled with. Some bacteria and fungi use toxins to keep other organisms from competing with them, and these toxins can build to levels that make you very sick or even put your life in danger when eaten.
Since not all bacteria and fungi release dangerous toxins, the kind of fungi or bacteria is in your Pico De Gallo will determine whether you get sick or not. If you notice that your food is spoiled, it is best to throw it out.
How Spoiled The Pico De Gallo Is
Another thing that will affect whether you get sick from old Pico De Gallo is how spoiled the food is. If your Pico De Gallo only has a small number of bacteria, then your body should be able to handle it without getting sick. However, if there are many bacteria, they could make you sick.
If there are any signs of spoilage, you should throw out your Pico De Gallo.
Final Thoughts
We learned that Pico De Gallo lasts for a week and a half homemade with fresh ingredients but lasts about two days less when bought from a store. We also learned how to use our senses to tell if our Pico De Gallo has gone bad by checking for smells, taste, and texture changes.
Remember to check your Pico De Gallo every time before you eat since the one-week fridge lifespan is only an estimate, and actual spoilage times will vary.
We hope you enjoyed this article. If you want to learn more, check out some of these other posts.
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