other people's canning

How do you all feel about eating other people's home canned goods?

We recently got an auction lot of empty canning jars. It was 14-15 dozen for $12, so an incredible deal.
I think part of why it was so low was because it also came with a couple of flats of filled jars. The auction house put up a big disclaimer on the lot saying they were not responsible for issues with the canned food and it was "at your own risk".

We could just trash the filled but they look pretty good to me. At least some of them seem low risk. It's hard to fail a basic pickle, do long as the seal is good.
I did get to see the kitchen and part of the house and they, and everything that we got out of it was immaculate.  Including all the empty jars. Also, it was a very nice house and she clearly canned just for fun and/or gifts since money was not an issue.

What do you think is worth gambling on? There are sweet garlic pickles, ( a very safe bet, imho) 2 types of tomato sauce ( iffy) possibly candied jalapeños ( likely safe but nothing we would eat) some pickled veg and antipasto ( unsure??)

Honestly, I'd eat them. I'd check the seals, but if it was as you said a nice house and clean etc, I'd do it.

I'm with Pearl. Those look relatively recent - not like they've been lost in a time warp. The jars, lids, & rings, from what I can see, all look clean & leak-free, no rust that I can see, and the colors look right.

I agree with the other folks.  I saw a date 2021 on some labels, not too old for canned foods.  I would use the good old fashion sniff test, there will be little doubt if the contents have gone over, for the jars you don't like, add them to your compost pile !

Peace

The "Bad" worry with canning is Botulism toxin as it is odorless and not destroyed by heat. So acid levels below 4.6 pH are safe. So if you can get some pH paper strips covering the right range and test with those as you open the jars to use, you would be adding a level of safety.

The one I would worry a bit about is the one labeled Anitpasto as I've seen recipes for that which have enough low acid ingredients and things like mushrooms, that I consider that a higher risk item.

Similarly, "canned tomatoes" are fairly safe if the owner wasn't growing low acid tomatoes, but "spaghetti sauce" may have enough low acid ingredients added to be more of a risk.

So anything you open that smells vinegary is likely totally safe! Others are easy to test for.

I agree that from the pictures, I would be willing to try the jars and just be a bit cautious. Whatever happened to the owners, the likelihood that they were intentionally trying to poison people seems down in the weeds! (poisonous weeds - not friendly weeds like dandelions)