Long shelf life foods

[Mtn_Guy]

I know you guys don't rely only on freeze dried stuff. I was curious about how much of it you actually eat.
I had some that the guy i know was throwing out. He brought a big box of it to the jobsite dumpster as the expiration date was past. . So i took some home to try. I would say it was better than starving to death. I don't recall the brand as it was over a decade ago but i think he was buying from like BudK or Cheaper than Dirt so it was bargain price stuff.

Yummm… freeze dried dumpster food. 100% agree, better than starving, but doesn’t earn any bragging rights unless you’re competing with the homeless guys… womp-womp

 

[Fritz the Cat]

Yummm… freeze dried dumpster food. 100% agree, better than starving, but doesn’t earn any bragging rights unless you’re competing with the homeless guys… womp-womp

I did grab it BEFORE it went into the dumpster. So not technically dumpster food. It was expired by a few months.

 

[xtry51]

There is lots of info other and I have posted in the Confirmed Shelf Life thread. I've eaten 8 year old Dinty. It's duller in taste but fine.

 

[BerettaOrSig]

I know you guys don't rely only on freeze dried stuff. I was curious about how much of it you actually eat.
I had some that the guy i know was throwing out. He brought a big box of it to the jobsite dumpster as the expiration date was past. . So i took some home to try. I would say it was better than starving to death. I don't recall the brand as it was over a decade ago but i think he was buying from like BudK or Cheaper than Dirt so it was bargain price stuff.

I love the Mountain House meals, especially the pasta primavera and beef stew. Introduced it to the wife and she was amazed at the quality of an old freeze dried pasta meal... I think the pouch was 10 years old. We bring it hiking, camping, and sometimes I sneak some on the side. It's that good, even better when you're really hungry.

That said, more recently I have been buying a couple #10 cans here and there when MidwayUSA has free shipping to increase my meat supply. As well as stocking seeds in the refrigerator for growing vegetables. It's never too late... but the WWIII BS has already begun.

 

[ridleyman]

Yummy. Sold the house, so I have 7 weeks to go through my stash
View attachment 530735View attachment 530736View attachment 530737

Any intestinal issues? Although 2017 isn't that old. Do you think you could eat soup with meat in it that's 10-12 years old?

 

[Palladin]

Any intestinal issues? Although 2017 isn't that old. Do you think you could eat soup with meat in it that's 10-12 years old?

90% of the canned goods I had were under 5yrs old. no issues

 

[Knob Creek]

Howie Carr just had a person on his show talking up their one of their company's product. I did a little quick research and ordered it. One of the things I look for in emergency foods is/are menus which I would eat. Maybe in a real emergency I would force down some mango chutney vegetarian whatever, but I would prefer foods that I like.

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BJ's used to carry 4-packs of Dinty Moore Beef Stew at $7.99. I love the stuff but no one else in my family seems to have the same taste. However since COVID struck they no longer have them.

Looks like limit of one. Shipping is $15 and why are they charging tax?

 

[FPrice]

Looks like limit of one. Shipping is $15 and why are they charging tax?

I think they expected a "run" on these so that is probably the reason for the limit. Or maybe it was a marketing ploy to get people to buy. Yep, shipping is high. They charge tax because it;s a taxable item.

 

[Knob Creek]

I think they expected a "run" on these so that is probably the reason for the limit. Or maybe it was a marketing ploy to get people to buy. Yep, shipping is high. They charge tax because it;s a taxable item.

Didn't think there was a tax on food unless it you got it at a restaurant.

 

[FPrice]

Didn't think there was a tax on food unless it you got it at a restaurant.

Prepared foods are taxable Don't you pay tax on other survival foods you purchase?

 

[FPrice]

If you are interested and care to peruse Massachusetts laws:

Sales Tax on Meals

www.mass.gov

 

[Knob Creek]

Prepared foods are taxable Don't you pay tax on other survival foods you purchase?

No I don't. I just put something similar to that in a checkout to see. No Tax

Amazon product ASIN B08C9JZYPGView: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C9JZYPG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A18CTQN0GZSGNQ&psc=1

 

[FPrice]

No I don't. I just put something similar to that in a checkout to see. No Tax

Amazon product ASIN B08C9JZYPGView: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C9JZYPG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A18CTQN0GZSGNQ&psc=1

Somebody may not be playing according to the rules. Considering it's Massachusetts, all the more power to them.

 

[Poxbox]

Somebody may not be playing according to the rules. Considering it's Massachusetts, all the more power to them.

This isn't a problem. There is a spot for that on your MA tax form. You declare your tax there.

 

[JayMcB]

So, a second lesson in complacency in as many weeks.

Our 'shorter term' larder is a closet with folding doors in our laundry room. I've been doing some Fall checks and getting traps out for the inevitable mouse-vasion that happens after the first frost.

A recent pull of a pound of pasta from this closet showed we had.....weevils. Like, "pour your pound of pasta into the pot of boiling water and brown dots came to the top" level weevils.
Effing gross....

This is in a laundry room that is kept quite clean (by me). Like a 'wash the floor at least 1x a week with a bleach solution' clean.

The stuff left in their cardboard boxes or plastic bags in the closet (but not expired) all had evidence of infestation.

Spot checked some of the (I thought) sealed totes on the shelves, yup, more weevils. A few of the flour bags I hadn't gotten around to getting boxed/bagged/sealed up on the counter had them too.

I just threw away a literal truck bed load of over 300 pounds of food. All carbs, but it was literally hundreds of dollars in calorie dense food.

Now the whole larder needs to be emptied, the closet disinfected with a disinfecting agent and then a white vinegar treatment......and then start over the carbs part of my shorter term preps just about from scratch.

F*ck....just.....f*ck.

The glass half full is better to know about it now. The glass 1/4 full is - in the event of weevil infestation in a food shortage, you can still eat it. Certainly not there yet, but give Biden time, he's getting us there.

PSA: Check your preps, check your seals.

EDIT: Anything in glass (mason) or metal is uninfested. So there's that.

 

[42!]

So, a second lesson in complacency in as many weeks.

Our 'shorter term' larder is a closet with folding doors in our laundry room. I've been doing some Fall checks and getting traps out for the inevitable mouse-vasion that happens after the first frost.

A recent pull of a pound of pasta from this closet showed we had.....weevils. Like, "pour your pound of pasta into the pot of boiling water and brown dots came to the top" level weevils.
Effing gross....

This is in a laundry room that is kept quite clean (by me). Like a 'wash the floor at least 1x a week with a bleach solution' clean.

The stuff left in their cardboard boxes or plastic bags in the closet (but not expired) all had evidence of infestation.

Spot checked some of the (I thought) sealed totes on the shelves, yup, more weevils. A few of the flour bags I hadn't gotten around to getting boxed/bagged/sealed up on the counter had them too.

I just threw away a literal truck bed load of over 300 pounds of food. All carbs, but it was literally hundreds of dollars in calorie dense food.

Now the whole larder needs to be emptied, the closet disinfected with a disinfecting agent and then a white vinegar treatment......and then start over the carbs part of my shorter term preps just about from scratch.

F*ck....just.....f*ck.

The glass half full is better to know about it now. The glass 1/4 full is - in the event of weevil infestation in a food shortage, you can still eat it. Certainly not there yet, but give Biden time, he's getting us there.

PSA: Check your preps, check your seals.

EDIT: Anything in glass (mason) or metal is uninfested. So there's that.

I'm curious, other than being gross, is there a health risk to some amount of weevils? Or could you just skim them off the top and keep boiling?

I'm sure if left to breed they would eventually consume much of the stored food and you'd be opening bags of weevils.

 

[JayMcB]

I'm curious, other than being gross, is there a health risk to some amount of weevils? Or could you just skim them off the top and keep boiling?

I'm sure if left to breed they would eventually consume much of the stored food and you'd be opening bags of weevils.

You can literally eat them. You already do in some fashion. But you can filter them out. I put the grains and rice I was going to toss into a steel trash can outside and it will be mixed with my chicken feed and converted to eggs. The chickens will 100% eat the weevils too, so the little fvckers will become eggs for my table.

As far as getting rid of them, you can float them out, sun them out, freeze them out, or cook them out. Weevils in Your Food, How to Deal With It. - PREPAREDNESS ADVICE

At least for now, I can replace much of what I tossed with a shopping trip or 2. If it was a food scarcity environment, it would have been a different call.

I will NOT be storing anything like that again absent a weevil proof barrier though....

 

[Uzi2]

You can literally eat them. You already do in some fashion. But you can filter them out. I put the grains and rice I was going to toss into a steel trash can outside and it will be mixed with my chicken feed and converted to eggs. The chickens will 100% eat the weevils too, so the little fvckers will become eggs for my table.

As far as getting rid of them, you can float them out, sun them out, freeze them out, or cook them out. Weevils in Your Food, How to Deal With It. - PREPAREDNESS ADVICE

At least for now, I can replace much of what I tossed with a shopping trip or 2. If it was a food scarcity environment, it would have been a different call.

I will NOT be storing anything like that again absent a weevil proof barrier though....

 

[McReef]

You can literally eat them. You already do in some fashion. But you can filter them out. I put the grains and rice I was going to toss into a steel trash can outside and it will be mixed with my chicken feed and converted to eggs. The chickens will 100% eat the weevils too, so the little fvckers will become eggs for my table.

As far as getting rid of them, you can float them out, sun them out, freeze them out, or cook them out. Weevils in Your Food, How to Deal With It. - PREPAREDNESS ADVICE

At least for now, I can replace much of what I tossed with a shopping trip or 2. If it was a food scarcity environment, it would have been a different call.

I will NOT be storing anything like that again absent a weevil proof barrier though....

As regards getting rid them, tapping your biscuit on the table prior to eating may help.

“You must always choose the lesser of two weevils.”

 

[kieron]

As regards getting rid them, tapping your biscuit on the table prior to eating may help.

“You must always choose the lesser of two weevils.”

Another Patrick O'Brian fan, I see!

 

[garandman]

If crystallized, all you need to do is heat it up to get it liquid again.

We don’t even do that. We store the squeeze bottle upside down. To use we take the cap off and you can squeeze out a teaspoon at a time.

 

[McReef]

As far as getting rid of them, you can float them out, sun them out, freeze them out, or cook them out. Weevils in Your Food, How to Deal With It. - PREPAREDNESS ADVICE

I will NOT be storing anything like that again absent a weevil proof barrier though....

Informative read Jay, on a subject I had never given so much as a passing thought. Thank you.

Another Patrick O'Brian fan, I see!

One of my favorites.

 

[Greg7580]

Freeze Dried Food - Mountain House

My preference is Readywise only because it has lower sodium that other products that I reviewed.

 

[Twigg]

I found a five year old jar of Skippy Extra Chunky, Had some on an English muffin this morning. It was still good.

 

[TG Pioneer]

For bulk foods like rice, beans, wheat berries, we use a method I saw from Alaska Prepper on YouTube. Take an empty Vittles Vault, fill with bulk food, drop in a few bay leaves to prevent weevils, and you’re good for decades. You can get the Vittles Vault at Tractor Supply or Amazon.

 

[MrsStrangeNH]

For bulk foods like rice, beans, wheat berries, we use a method I saw from Alaska Prepper on YouTube. Take an empty Vittles Vault, fill with bulk food, drop in a few bay leaves to prevent weevils, and you’re good for decades. You can get the Vittles Vault at Tractor Supply or Amazon.

We use Vittles Vaults for some of our storage. They have rounded corners to help prevent vermin from chewing their way in, and the lids seal up well.

 

[TG Pioneer]

We use Vittles Vaults for some of our storage. They have rounded corners to help prevent vermin from chewing their way in, and the lids seal up well.

They stack nicely too.

 

[Christian]

Going through the pantry the other day I found a pouch Idahoan Buttery Homestyle potatoes that expired in April of 2021, ate them(being lazy) and I'm still here.

me some taters.

 

[xtry51]

I've used the single serve package potatoes 2-3 years past and they are fine. Great backpacking food.

 

[Robert Peel]

What is the shelf life of rice? I was at BJs tonight and noted that the 50-lb bags of rice are only $14. I'd like to set aside 3-4 months worth of food for my family and I'm thinking of storing rice inside large Rubbermaid plastic containers. I estimate each 100 lb would be good for about a month for my family.

I'm also thinking about stockpiling large cans of tuna, bags of sugar, jugs of oil, etc. Any thoughts on rice or other readily obtainable (and edible) staples other than Raman noodles?

Rolled Oats, Pasta and a Foodsaver will help a great deal.