Long shelf life foods

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?
-20 I see no reason to squabble over a few pennies.
 
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?
Mine runs 0 to - 5. Good idea on the alarm. I lost a freezer a couple of years ago for no apparent reason, just stopped. I had an alarm for power but not temp. By the time I noticed most things were thawing. I'm usually in my chest freezer once or twice a week so it didn't take long to go bad.
 
That’s the temperature I’m running now. I believe it was you who suggested the temperature alarm? If so , thanks. I never would have thought about it.
 
That’s the temperature I’m running now. I believe it was you who suggested the temperature alarm? If so , thanks. I never would have thought about it.

You want a "loss of power" alarm that sounds when power goes out. That is what will prevent loss long before the temp alarm ever sounds......like days.
 
What I've ended up with over the years, and can be cycled through continuously

stuff that keeps for decades if stored well:

rice
lentils
navy beans
#10 cans vacuum sealed corn meal
wheat and grain mill
#10 cans oats
salt
powdered milk if packaged properly
dried soups
dehydrated vegetables in #10 cans


stuff that keeps for a couple years
sardines
spam
canned tuna
dehydrated beans for chili
pasta
tomato sauce
sugar
soy sauce
honey
maple syrup
toasted coconut flakes
baked beans
campbell soup



stuff that keeps ~6-8 months
nuts, raisins, dried berries
tasty-bite prepared lentil dishes
jam
peanut butter
whatever is in the freezer
seeds for sprouts (lentils, peas, radish, mung beans, etc)
 
Does anyone store outside the house? I’m at a serious premium for storage, 700sqft with 2 kids myself my wife, 2 dogs and a cat!

I am woefully behind on“prepping” of any kind, I have 2-3 weeks of pasta, rice etc but would like to start storing more dry goods long term, I have 2 sheds that I could put a rack of shelving in and store 5gallon buckets? Good plan? Bad plan?

I haven’t done much canning before and know I couldn’t store that outside but I’ve done plenty of jerky and dehydrated fruits and veggies which I’d imagine I could vac seal with o2 absorbers in buckets as well?

thanks!
 
Does anyone store outside the house? I’m at a serious premium for storage, 700sqft with 2 kids myself my wife, 2 dogs and a cat!

I am woefully behind on“prepping” of any kind, I have 2-3 weeks of pasta, rice etc but would like to start storing more dry goods long term, I have 2 sheds that I could put a rack of shelving in and store 5gallon buckets? Good plan? Bad plan?

I haven’t done much canning before and know I couldn’t store that outside but I’ve done plenty of jerky and dehydrated fruits and veggies which I’d imagine I could vac seal with o2 absorbers in buckets as well?

thanks!
I'm no expert by any means, just learning. But I would imagine the extreme the temperature fluctuation would add to spoilage.
 
Does anyone store outside the house? I’m at a serious premium for storage, 700sqft with 2 kids myself my wife, 2 dogs and a cat!

I am woefully behind on“prepping” of any kind, I have 2-3 weeks of pasta, rice etc but would like to start storing more dry goods long term, I have 2 sheds that I could put a rack of shelving in and store 5gallon buckets? Good plan? Bad plan?

I haven’t done much canning before and know I couldn’t store that outside but I’ve done plenty of jerky and dehydrated fruits and veggies which I’d imagine I could vac seal with o2 absorbers in buckets as well?

thanks!

If you mylar with 02 absorbers it will still be fine for years. Yes heat will lower the very long term, but you're ok storing it that way for now if you mylar (not vac seal in plastic).
 
Does anyone store outside the house? I’m at a serious premium for storage, 700sqft with 2 kids myself my wife, 2 dogs and a cat!

I am woefully behind on“prepping” of any kind, I have 2-3 weeks of pasta, rice etc but would like to start storing more dry goods long term, I have 2 sheds that I could put a rack of shelving in and store 5gallon buckets? Good plan? Bad plan?

I haven’t done much canning before and know I couldn’t store that outside but I’ve done plenty of jerky and dehydrated fruits and veggies which I’d imagine I could vac seal with o2 absorbers in buckets as well?

thanks!

Dry goods like pasta, rice, beans, powdered milk, grains, etc. if sealed in mylar bags w/ O2 absorbers and in buckets should store outside no problem. Anything with liquid will freeze.
 
Does anyone store outside the house? I’m at a serious premium for storage, 700sqft with 2 kids myself my wife, 2 dogs and a cat!

I am woefully behind on“prepping” of any kind, I have 2-3 weeks of pasta, rice etc but would like to start storing more dry goods long term, I have 2 sheds that I could put a rack of shelving in and store 5gallon buckets? Good plan? Bad plan?

I haven’t done much canning before and know I couldn’t store that outside but I’ve done plenty of jerky and dehydrated fruits and veggies which I’d imagine I could vac seal with o2 absorbers in buckets as well?

thanks!
Bury it in containers and it will be just fine. Just like ammo.
 
Does anyone store outside the house? I’m at a serious premium for storage, 700sqft with 2 kids myself my wife, 2 dogs and a cat!

I am woefully behind on“prepping” of any kind, I have 2-3 weeks of pasta, rice etc but would like to start storing more dry goods long term, I have 2 sheds that I could put a rack of shelving in and store 5gallon buckets? Good plan? Bad plan?

I haven’t done much canning before and know I couldn’t store that outside but I’ve done plenty of jerky and dehydrated fruits and veggies which I’d imagine I could vac seal with o2 absorbers in buckets as well?

thanks!

Basement? Utility closet? Over washer dryer? Heat is going to be your enemy long term, but I'd rather have heat stressed preps than no preps.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone, still have plenty of research to do and start collecting some supplies.

Storage of anything long term indoors has been maxed out here unfortunately, a move in the next couple years is in the works and maybe I will just take up some storage at my office, not ideal but maybe preferable to subjecting it to temp extremes.
 
So back to the topic. I dug out some Pastene crushed tomatoes with an 'expiration date' of 3-15-14. Literally almost 6 years past. made a sauce Sunday, fed to the whole family. Zero rust on the inside or outside of the cans.

Delicious.

I don't like the politics of the libs that run/own that company, but those cans last, and I'd suggest anyone add them to their preps for flavorful long term storage.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone, still have plenty of research to do and start collecting some supplies.

Storage of anything long term indoors has been maxed out here unfortunately, a move in the next couple years is in the works and maybe I will just take up some storage at my office, not ideal but maybe preferable to subjecting it to temp extremes.

Splitting your preps is never a bad idea, it's good to have an alternate supply place if you ever needed it.
 
I have a question for the doomers present, it maybe answered somewhere, but I can't find it.

Are cans that have the easy open pull tabs as reliable for long shelf storage?
 
I was going through my pantry recently and the amount of pull tab cans I had on the shelf concerned me, but this is good to hear.
 
Does anyone store outside the house? I’m at a serious premium for storage, 700sqft with 2 kids myself my wife, 2 dogs and a cat!

I am woefully behind on“prepping” of any kind, I have 2-3 weeks of pasta, rice etc but would like to start storing more dry goods long term, I have 2 sheds that I could put a rack of shelving in and store 5gallon buckets? Good plan? Bad plan?

I haven’t done much canning before and know I couldn’t store that outside but I’ve done plenty of jerky and dehydrated fruits and veggies which I’d imagine I could vac seal with o2 absorbers in buckets as well?

thanks!
I would guess pasta, rice and beans would fair better out in the shed if you put them in mylar with O2 absorbers and into buckets. Jerky and dried fruit/veg would likely not do as well.
It may not be the "optimal" plan to store food in a shed subject to temperature fluctuations but it may be the best available option.
 
Posted in Prep of the Day thread, sharing the idea here, too.

Gotten a lot of good ideas from this thread so I want to share the end of a long-developing project (mostly taste-testing). People discuss an emergent WROL/SHTF situation and the advantages of bug in (keep the majority of your resources near) vs bug out (get to safety). Neither is likely but I don't want to neglect the possibility of either. I’ve been thinking about how to arrange for both at once for max versatility. Today potential bug-out food and water are settled.

This is $260 for 40,000 cal across four boxes, 28lbs total weight, $65 each in the end. You can dump them in a bug-out bag, load the tray in a car, or dispense individual containers. Cases with o-ring seals will stop wrapper smells from attracting predators if out in the woods. These little tags on the boxes are not for security but tamper evidence so you can tell at a glance that nothing was taken from inventory.

Screen Shot 2020-03-13 at 12.01.53 PM.png IMG_1780.JPG IMG_1782.JPG IMG_1785.JPG

Next I need to print inventory cards with macronutrient info and item expiration dates (if I get motivated/quarantined). Thought about putting a multi-tool like a Leatherman Style CS (scissors, bottle opener, knife, screwdriver, tweezers) but that’s another $27 (42%) in the price per kit. Water filtration is another kit in the same kind of ammo can:

Screen Shot 2020-03-13 at 1.01.11 PM.png IMG_1790.JPG IMG_1789.JPG IMG_1788.JPG

But that water filtration is only necessary if running out of stored/treated water. Grab a few AquaBricks for the road and you're good, just watching your vehicle's weight capacity. Large tanks are cheaper per gallon stored but can't be thrown in a car or dispensed to others without separate containers and returning to the 500-lb stationary water tank. Spigot attachment from the same brand not pictured here.

Screen Shot 2020-03-13 at 2.09.05 PM.png IMG_1787.JPG IMG_1786.JPG

With these ammo can trays I'm setting up the last-resort food and water for bug-in or five minute's notice bug-out/distributing scenarios. Everything was from Amazon, so once supply chains recover you could scale up and create/customize a set as fast as it ships to you.
 
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Keep a salt shaker, or a mason jar, and refill as needed. It's salt, you just want to keep moisture away so you don't end up with a salt lick of rock salt
Don’t worry too much about salt. We use Culinox999 where I work, to create saline for salt fog testing. It doesn’t have any anti-clumping agents like the store bought salt. We store it in a 5 gallon bucket that has a rubber seal on the lid. Occasionally we find a lump about the size of a baseball, but it is easily broken back up by crushing it in your hand. The stuff you buy in the stores has anti-clumping agents added. It should be a non issue as long as you don’t store it open in a really damp place.
 
Posted in Prep of the Day thread, sharing the idea here, too.

Gotten a lot of good ideas from this thread so I want to share the end of a long-developing project (mostly taste-testing). People discuss an emergent WROL/SHTF situation and the advantages of bug in (keep the majority of your resources near) vs bug out (get to safety). Neither is likely but I don't want to neglect the possibility of either. I’ve been thinking about how to arrange for both at once for max versatility. Today potential bug-out food and water are settled.

This is $260 for 40,000 cal across four boxes, 28lbs total weight, $65 each in the end. You can dump them in a bug-out bag, load the tray in a car, or dispense individual containers. Cases with o-ring seals will stop wrapper smells from attracting predators if out in the woods. These little tags on the boxes are not for security but tamper evidence so you can tell at a glance that nothing was taken from inventory.

View attachment 338309 View attachment 338301 View attachment 338302 View attachment 338303

Next I need to print inventory cards with macronutrient info and item expiration dates (if I get motivated/quarantined). Thought about putting a multi-tool like a Leatherman Style CS (scissors, bottle opener, knife, screwdriver, tweezers) but that’s another $27 (42%) in the price per kit. Water filtration is another kit in the same kind of ammo can:

View attachment 338310 View attachment 338308 View attachment 338307 View attachment 338306

But that water filtration is only necessary if running out of stored/treated water. Grab a few AquaBricks for the road and you're good, just watching your vehicle's weight capacity. Large tanks are cheaper per gallon stored but can't be thrown in a car or dispensed to others without separate containers and returning to the 500-lb stationary water tank. Spigot attachment from the same brand not pictured here.

View attachment 338311 View attachment 338305 View attachment 338304

With these ammo can trays I'm setting up the last-resort food and water for bug-in or five minute's notice bug-out/distributing scenarios. Everything was from Amazon, so once supply chains recover you could scale up and create/customize a set as fast as it ships to you.
 
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JUST a caution: make sure everything is pest proof. 5 gal buckets are a good idea Critters can be a problem-been there.
Thanks for the responses everyone, still have plenty of research to do and start collecting some supplies.

Storage of anything long term indoors has been maxed out here unfortunately, a move in the next couple years is in the works and maybe I will just take up some storage at my office, not ideal but maybe preferable to subjecting it to temp extremes.
 


Hi RG and Welcome.

If you type your response after the [QUOTE} of the person you're quoting it will show up separately and we can see your response better.[wave]
 
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