Long shelf life foods

I posted this in the vacuum sealer thread, but relevant here. Just came in...
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I'm sampling emergency rations for bug in or out. This one tastes like a dry sugar cookie, $12.64 for 3600 calories ($3.51 per 1000cal) in 9 bars, 5-yr shelf life, 1.66lbs. Not balanced nutrition for every day but it's going in my rotation to buy two and eat one monthly. Really good with coffee.

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Amazon product ASIN B01H5SF8AGView: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H5SF8AG

Thanks for the review, the one thing I hate more than pretty much anything else is wasting food. I'd hate to have to choke down nine bars if I didn't like them, but I would.
 
I do not come close to what you guys are doing, but do many of you can your own food? I have been trying to build our inventory, but we keep eating it during the week. I have some stuff now that is two years old but most of our stuff is consumed within a year because it is just so convenient. I started canning potatoes and carrots in bulk, not just for convenience but because fresh vegetables suck and they go bad too fast. Potatoes on the ready are great to have around. Mashed, french fried, baked; just takes minutes to make now. Carrots are something special. All I can say is they become more carroty. I stew a lot of meet using the canning method. I have venison that is over a year old. Great for stir fries, burritos and other quick meals. I even have a couple jars of barbecued ribs on the shelf somewhere. I have lots of meatballs, chili, and homemade sauce.

Other things I have learned is to make my own bread and pasta. I have started dehydrating some vegetables as well. Trying to figure out how long they will last. I will try some meals as well but I think pressure canning is just better.

I also infuse vodka with pineapple and orange, make my own limoncello, and I have three jars of vanilla extract on the upper shelf in the works. Gotta have some luxuries when the SHTF :)

Pete

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The wife was inquiring about making soup with some of the lentils, I’ve been stashing away, so.... why not? I I also used a few other preps from the pantry, along with some fresh ingredients. 5 hours in the crockpot
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Looks delicious!!!!! Did the lentils cook up tender?

Sometimes when lentils or beans get too old they can be a little tough.......something I'd never complain about in hard times.
 
Looks delicious!!!!! Did the lentils cook up tender?

Sometimes when lentils or beans get too old they can be a little tough.......something I'd never complain about in hard times.
It came out great. The lentils were the consistency of mushy cooked peas or baked beans.
 
I'm sampling emergency rations for bug in or out. This one tastes like a dry sugar cookie, $12.64 for 3600 calories ($3.51 per 1000cal) in 9 bars, 5-yr shelf life, 1.66lbs. Not balanced nutrition for every day but it's going in my rotation to buy two and eat one monthly. Really good with coffee.

View attachment 333743

Amazon product ASIN B01H5SF8AGView: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H5SF8AG

Sampled another emergency ration: Mayday. Tastes like a sweet but hard biscuit, $12.65 for 2400 calories ($5.27/1000cal) in one solid block, 5-yr shelf life, 1.5lbs. Resealable bag is nice but more bulky than the SOS Food Labs bars mentioned above, wouldn't pack so tightly, and only 2/3 the calories for the same price and nearly the same weight. Biggest gripe with this one is how I had to chisel pieces off with a dinner knife and wasted a ton as crumbs. I can imagine myself eating more of this flavor as it's less like a cookie but it's far less practical, so I'm stocking up on SOS bars rather than this one.

IMG_1738.JPG IMG_1739.JPG

Amazon product ASIN B0093BH6CWView: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0093BH6CW/
 
How do these emergency rations store in a vehicle longer term? Does the heat and cold effect them much? How about MRE's stored in a vehicle? Thinking itd be not a bad idea to have a little something stashed away in the truck.

How would a jug of water with a few drops of bleach last in a truck?
 
How do these emergency rations store in a vehicle longer term? Does the heat and cold effect them much? How about MRE's stored in a vehicle? Thinking itd be not a bad idea to have a little something stashed away in the truck.

How would a jug of water with a few drops of bleach last in a truck?

Heat is always an enemy of long term storage. A case of Poland Spring will last a year....with no bleach. I leave peanut butter in my vehicle, and rotate it out. A jar of peanut butter will feed you for a while, and it's always cheaper than any 'emergency rations'.
 
Heat is always an enemy of long term storage. A case of Poland Spring will last a year....with no bleach. I leave peanut butter in my vehicle, and rotate it out. A jar of peanut butter will feed you for a while, and it's always cheaper than any 'emergency rations'.
Does the water freeze and split open in the winter? I was thinking a juice bottle filled with water and a few drops of bleach but maybe easier to just throw a couple of bottles of bottled water under the seat and rotate.
 
Does the water freeze and split open in the winter? I was thinking a juice bottle filled with water and a few drops of bleach but maybe easier to just throw a couple of bottles of bottled water under the seat and rotate.
Water bottles have not split open on me. I rotate them out every week or so as I drink them. I also carry a quart of water with lemon every day for general hydration.
 
Does the water freeze and split open in the winter? I was thinking a juice bottle filled with water and a few drops of bleach but maybe easier to just throw a couple of bottles of bottled water under the seat and rotate.

I keep a few bottles in and rotate out at 6mos. I have never had a bottle freeze and split.
 
I keep every cup holder in my truck with a water bottle in it. We drink them regularly so they get rotated at least once every 2 weeks. Freezing has never been an issue.

To thaw lay the bottle on dash on top of the defroster and leave it on.
 
How do these emergency rations store in a vehicle longer term? Does the heat and cold effect them much? How about MRE's stored in a vehicle? Thinking itd be not a bad idea to have a little something stashed away in the truck.

How would a jug of water with a few drops of bleach last in a truck?
Lifeboat rations (typically 5-yr usable life) will do fine in a car, year round, even up here. Those SOS biscuits Fritz posted above are an example. The big brands are Datrex and Mainstay.

Not full nutrition as said, but good for the car.
 
Visited the northern pantry this weekend to inventory. Tuturosso tomatoes blew out and leached acidic tomatoes down through 4 other layers. Lost about 80 cans.

EDIT: I am done with Tutorosso. THis is the third time they've had a seal break. Not sure if it's the acidity of the tomatoes or the cans, but the ones I have left have all been moved to bottom shelves and I am done putting them ahead. Pastene and Market basket tomatoes from literally the same shopping trip were on the same shelf, and they're fine. Made chili with them and I'm still standing today. Just keep your distance ;)
 

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Scour craigslist for the freezer. I bought one 3 years ago for $25.

Also save a few milk jugs (4-8). Fill with water and freeze in bottom of the chest. This will help keep stuff colder longet if you lose power.
It also helps to conserve energy when your freezer isn't full of food. A full freezer runs better. I love my chest freezer. I organize it with tupper ware type buckets with locking lids and handles on top. I stack 2 tall ones and over the compressor I can fit a tall one and a half sized one. I will put all steaks in one bucket and ground beef usually. Another for italian sausage, 1 for chicken thighs, 1 for breasts, etc. I usually have 1 or more for foods I already cooked and froze in individual servings as well. It varies as my supplies shift but this way I can grab a bucket out to get to the meat container below it instead of trying to dig through a bunch of packages. I also keep an inventory sheet on the outside that gets updated as things go in and out.
 
I posted this in the vacuum sealer thread, but relevant here. Just came in...
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you're going to love it. Mine is on a rolling cart. looks like yours is as well. It stays in a corner until I need it. I can roll it into the kitchen or if I don't have much to do I will just take my food over to it after I have it all in bags ready to seal.
 
I do not come close to what you guys are doing, but do many of you can your own food? I have been trying to build our inventory, but we keep eating it during the week. I have some stuff now that is two years old but most of our stuff is consumed within a year because it is just so convenient. I started canning potatoes and carrots in bulk, not just for convenience but because fresh vegetables suck and they go bad too fast. Potatoes on the ready are great to have around. Mashed, french fried, baked; just takes minutes to make now. Carrots are something special. All I can say is they become more carroty. I stew a lot of meet using the canning method. I have venison that is over a year old. Great for stir fries, burritos and other quick meals. I even have a couple jars of barbecued ribs on the shelf somewhere. I have lots of meatballs, chili, and homemade sauce.

Other things I have learned is to make my own bread and pasta. I have started dehydrating some vegetables as well. Trying to figure out how long they will last. I will try some meals as well but I think pressure canning is just better.

I also infuse vodka with pineapple and orange, make my own limoncello, and I have three jars of vanilla extract on the upper shelf in the works. Gotta have some luxuries when the SHTF :)

Pete

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dehydrated veggies will last a long time so long as you keep them from "regaining" moisture. So, mylar bags with O2 absorbers or jars with absorbers and vacuum sealed. Just remember that dehydrated food will need water when water may not be plentiful but I would still store some as you can also simply rehydrate them in your mouth.
 
you're going to love it. Mine is on a rolling cart. looks like yours is as well. It stays in a corner until I need it. I can roll it into the kitchen or if I don't have much to do I will just take my food over to it after I have it all in bags ready to seal.
Thanks. It’s been sitting on that bench like that since I got it. No wheels. Haven’t had time to test it out yet. I need to get a rolling cart. I wish I had it up and running today, because I cut up about 50 pounds of meat and sealed it all with the food saver. What a PITA. I had to use gallon bags for steaks etc. because the quart bags were sucking blood into the machine, creating a problem. I know some people say to freeze the meat first and then seal it but I didn’t want to do that. This won’t be a problem with the Vacmaster.
Do you think I can store the Vacmaster in an attached unheated garage? Although, I do normally put a portable heater in there to keep
the pipes above from freezing. The only other place I could possibly store it is in the basement which is finished. It’s definitely Not going to stay in my kitchen. The layout and my wife simply won’t allow it. LOL
 
I stopped storing any canned tomatoes products because of the corrosion issue. Even if the cans don't burst they rust internally in a year or two.
That’s good info. I have a bunch. I’ll rotate them out quicker than I had planned.
 
Thanks. It’s been sitting on that bench like that since I got it. No wheels. Haven’t had time to test it out yet. I need to get a rolling cart. I wish I had it up and running today, because I cut up about 50 pounds of meat and sealed it all with the food saver. What a PITA. I had to use gallon bags for steaks etc. because the quart bags were sucking blood into the machine, creating a problem. I know some people say to freeze the meat first and then seal it but I didn’t want to do that. This won’t be a problem with the Vacmaster.
Do you think I can store the Vacmaster in an attached unheated garage? Although, I do normally put a portable heater in there to keep
the pipes above from freezing. The only other place I could possibly store it is in the basement which is finished. It’s definitely Not going to stay in my kitchen. The layout and my wife simply won’t allow it. LOL
not sure about the garage. I would think a temp controlled space would be the best. We used to have ours in "the office." I would get all my bags filled, or a batch of them, and then bring them in on a tray to the office to seal them. You have to do what you you can.
 
So, I’m starting to stock up the new freezer chest. I bought a wireless thermometer/alarm. I have the temperature set at 0°F. I just read between -10°F & -20°F would be better? What temp. are you guys running them?
 
I stopped storing any canned tomatoes products because of the corrosion issue. Even if the cans don't burst they rust internally in a year or two.
Weird, I've never noticed any corrosion issues with canned tomatoes. I made veg soup last week and used some from 2014. Aside from a slight metallic taste that went away after everything blended they were fine.
 
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