If you’re someone who enjoys baking or decorating desserts, you’ve likely come across those colorful little toppings known as sprinkles.
Sprinkles come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, and are used to add a pop of fun to cakes, cupcakes, and other sweet treats. But have you ever wondered if sprinkles can go bad?
Do they have a shelf life or expiration date? In this blog, we’ll explore whether or not sprinkles can spoil and what you should keep in mind when using them in your baking.
About Sprinkles
What Are The Ingredients Of Sprinkles?
There are many types of sprinkles, and they might have different ingredients to form different tastes and smells. Still, in general, all sprinkles are made of cornstarch, corn syrup, food coloring, sugar, and food flavoring.
These ingredients are all edible, and they can last for a long time. If you look at these ingredients separately, you will know that they have a long expiration time. For this reason, most sprinkles can last a long time or even indefinitely if they are still in the unopened package.
Do icing decorations expire? Now that we have grasped all of its ingredients let’s start answering this question with the sections below!
Types Of Sprinkles
As mentioned above, there are many types of sprinkles, but we can sort them into six main types based on their smell, taste, usage, and more.
- Dress: Unlike the classic sprinkles, these guys are much bigger and have a round shape.
- Quins: Quins are adorable as they have different shapes like hearts, stars, moon, dot, etc. They are sometimes called sequins or confetti sprinkles as well.
- Jimmies: These are the classic ones you can often see in cakes and cupcakes. They normally have a rod shape.
- Sanding Sugar: These sprinkles are like sugar crystals but in a bigger size. People use them to create a better crunch.
- Coarse Sugar: This one is like crunchier and bigger sanding sugar.
- Nonpareil sprinkles: Nonpareil sprinkles are tiny, and they have a ball shape.
- Do nonpareils expire? Yes, they do, but they can last for years as they are made from starch and sugar.
How Long Do Sprinkles Last? Do Sprinkles Expire?
Most food items have an expiration date, but for sprinkles, people might wonder if they have. So, can sprinkles expire? The quick answer is yes. They are still food, and when the manufacturer made them, they had to add the producing date and expiration date.
Like many other food packages, sprinkles might come with an expiration time of around a few months up to two years. So, if you store them well, you can use that one sprinkle package in two years.
Do candy sprinkles expire? We know that they have an expiration date, but how long are sprinkles good for? Ideally, it would help if you used them before the expiration date but even when that day has passed, sprinkles can still have good quality for months or even years after.
And, do sprinkles go bad and discolor easily? According to experts, sprinkles might not go bad after they expire, but you should always keep them in good condition (we will discuss this later in a whole section.) The way you store these sweet candies might be even more important than their expiration date.
Even though you can use most sprinkles for a long time, you should always ask yourself, “how long do candy sprinkles last” when you check the ingredients or buy some sprinkles with “oil” as one of their ingredients.
Unlike starch or sugar, oil can make food last shorter since it can go rancid quickly. You should pay extra attention to candies with oils or simply avoid buying them if you want sprinkles that can last for years.
How To Tell If Sprinkles Are Bad?
How long do sprinkles last? We already know it, but can we tell when they already go bad before or after the expiration date? Here are a few things to pay attention to:
Their Colors Are Faded
Sprinkles normally have many colors to make your food look great, but if you see the color start fading, chances are they already go bad. In this case, you might consider throwing them away or checking other factors like their smell and taste.
They Smell Bad
If your sprinkles have oil as one of their ingredients, they can smell bad easier if you do not store them correctly. When they smell unpleasant, it means their quality is not the same anymore.
They Taste Weird
Sprinkles normally taste sweet and have a pleasant scent. However, when you eat them and feel like the taste is not as good as when you first bought them, it might be because their quality has reduced. Again, the oil might also be the reason why your sprinkles tasted bad earlier.
There Is Mold Growing On Them
When you see mold growing on your sprinkles, that means you need to throw them away no matter if they reach the expiration date or not.
Normally, mold grows on them because you did not store them carefully and the humidity level inside the container is high. Some people even have a habit of using a wet or dirty tablespoon to take the sprinkles out, which will cause the mold to grow.
FAQ
How To Properly Store Sprinkles?
Do cookie sprinkles expire if you do not store them properly? Even though these candies do not reach the expiration time yet, storing them the wrong way will affect their quality. Here are the few things you can do to store your sprinkles properly:
- Keep them in dry and dark pantries.
- Store them at room temperature (or you can put them on the fridge’s cool shelf if you want.)
- Keep them in glass or plastic boxes or other types of containers. The lid should be tight-fitting.
- Can sprinkles go bad? Many people wonder why their sprinkle has mold or discolor quite fast, and the reason can be because they use wet and dirty spoons when they take some sprinkles out. Ensure you always use dry and clean ones.
Can You Eat Expired Sprinkles?
After the Betty Crocker sprinkles expiration date has passed, can we eat them without getting sick? Fortunately, the answer is Yes. When you eat expired sprinkles, the worst issue you might have is that the taste and smell will become really bad.
When it comes to health, the color sugar crystals will not give you any sickness. Still, as the taste and smell of them can affect the taste of your food, you should throw them away and buy a new package.
Should You Refrigerate Sprinkles?
You do not have to store them inside the fridge, but you can store them on the cool shelf if you wish to. The best temperature is a room or cool temperature, but keeping them in hot areas is not recommended.
Conclusion
Do sprinkles expire, and how do you know if sprinkles are expired? By the time you read this section, you will surely know more about your sprinkles’ expiration issues and how to keep them high-quality for a longer time.
In general, storing these sweet little candies is not difficult, and if you do it right, these sweets will last for an incredibly long time.
