Food Storage conditions

[phideaux]

I am trying to find out just how long you guys will store some food items that you have canned or Vac sealed .

I have finally opened up some Salt and sugar , that we vac sealed in glass quart jars ,
That has been kept in the closet , in the house with AC in summer and heat in winter,

I know its been kept in the dark also for 5 years,

It is as good , same as the day we put it in storage,

Now I' thinking.....just how long can I keep these items, 8 years? 10 years? maybe 15-20 years?
and , what about some other items we have in the same circumstances.
Like Flour, Corm Meal, Rice...


Any body here got any feedback or experience here .


Jim

 

[greg_r]

Dried foods, beans, rice and such I guess will last a lifetime it you don't allow them to draw moisture. There is corn in the crib that has been there for years. Used to take it to the FCX to have it ground, turned into sweet feed. FCX is closed now, but there is still a bit of corn left. Still dry. I feed it to the skwerlz (they are evil) deer, turkeys, and whatever else eats it!

Salt is a preservative, I have a salt filled trouth we use to preserve hams. It's cleaned, mind you, but I wager it wouldn't be too hard to find salt from my granddaddy's days! Again, just don't let it draw moisture.

We put our canned goods in a room built under the porch. Good dark room. I doubt there is anything in there over 3 years old. Still, canned goods will keep a long time if stored properly. As long as the top is still tight it is good, if you can push the top in, discard it. FWIT, don't know if it helps as long as you keep your jars in the dark, but I like the green canning jars.

Another tip. Do you like fish? Salmon and mackeral? Try some canned carp. I think you will be surprised!

Root crops go in the, you guessed it, the root cellar. Turnups, carrots, potatoes, onions. By the time the next crop comes in they are about all gone. Turnups and carrots last the longest. Onoins and potatoes sprout and grow eyes, even in the dark. I guess the potatoes are just trying to see!

 

[Cubbie_Blues]

I have been ordering from My Patriot Supply when they have sales going. Freeze dried and good for 25 years. I’m up to about a months worth for my family of 5.

 

[buildit]

Scientifically Greg is on the right track that moisture, heat and air are the conditions to avoid because without those MOST bacterial actions are stopped. Obviously not 100% or things would last much longer and anaerobic decompositions can occur with little moisture but of course you'll know if it's going on by the foul odor of methane upon opening the package.
I have very little trust for food preservation in my own kitchen, too many biology classes? Even my canned goods go into the refrigerator but can remain fresh in there up to 6 months. I've not played with smoked and salted meats but stories I've read indicate if stored in a dry cool area a well preserved meat could still spoil in as little as a month, where people would then try to cut off the outer portions to find unaffected meat inside. Molds and Archaebacteria can like salty dry conditions, so a big part of preservation is what has the preserved material been exposed to during preparation?
I've also looked at survival supply foods. Like any shopping you gotta know what you're looking at. I can buy preserved foods at Walmart for less which will last as long as anything a survival food vendor will sell at five times the price. Simple foods like knorr rice and noodles, Idahoan mashed potatoes, canned fruits and canned fish are simple easy to find foods that can really last a long time beyond the time stamp on the package. They are also easy to keep current by using them in normal daily food preparation so that new packages are always being added. What they don't offer, which a survival food does, is tougher more resistant packaging, often greater limiting nutrients for survival (Carbohydrates, minerals and sugars often depleted in survival situations) and in package food preparation sometimes.
In the end I view food storage as the stop gap answer for the time between a disaster and when new food sources can be obtained. In reality I think the biggest material survival minded people forget is water storage. Water from the tap will be useless in many situations if there is water coming out at all and we've all seen store water hoarded the instant a disaster situation is mentioned even outside the disaster area . If it's too cold water will be frozen and if to hot it can all be contaminated. Likewise water in containers can putrefy or become stagnant. I keep three gallons of purified water in the refrigerator which I rotate for use in my dogs water bowl and in my cooking so it remains as fresh as possible. I also store another 5 gallons in cleaned jugs kept inside for non-potable use. The key I have found is to keep the water cold as possible and in as dark a location as possible like a closet or under a cabinet. I'm on a well so my non-potable water does have some salt in it from my water softener which I assume is why after a year the water is still useable? Well, that and packaging it with as little air inside as possible by filling till they overflow before capping the container. So many foods require water for cooking it just seems like something too many people forget because normally it is so readily available.

 

[Cubbie_Blues]

Agreed on the water. I know that is my week point right now. You use more water than you realize. Right now I’ve been rotating 5 cases of bottled water and I have a couple small water purifiers. I would like to get a larger water purifier so I can go to the river to collect and clean it back at home if the need ever arises.

 

[bargeahead]

I was reading over on the Homesteader site that a good place to score containers is the bakery dept' of supermarkets. Might get food grade containers in 2, 3, ? gal size for cheap or maybe free.

http://forum.homestead.org/threads/cheap-or-free-water-storage.78/

 

[greg_r]

Salt cured meat is only good for a month? Just wow! I have been eating bad meat all my life I guess. I know we have often had hams that were over a year old. We kill yearly, enough to last us until next killing day.

Water is something we have an abundance of. We are on well water, have the old well covered we could open it. Windlass is still there. Also have a spring on the property. I have drank out of it often in years past. Been a while though. Also have an irrigation pond. Water there would need purification though.

We don't prep per say, we have always grown our food, just a way of life. Each generation loses some though. We don't dry beans and which, like when I was young, we just buy. Canning is still a yearly thing with us though.

My kids don't raise meat other than what I and my brothers do, but they still garden. My grandkids will be depending on the local fast food joint though.

 

[buildit]

Salt cured meat is only good for a month? Just wow! I have been eating bad meat all my life I guess. I know we have often had hams that were over a year old. We kill yearly, enough to last us until next killing day.

That's close to what I said, "stories I've read indicate if stored in a dry cool area a well preserved meat could still spoil in as little as a month, where people would then try to cut off the outer portions to find unaffected meat inside. Molds and Archaebacteria can like salty dry conditions, so a big part of preservation is what has the preserved material been exposed to during preparation?"

 

[greg_r]

I guess I was just surprised. It's rare for us to lose meat. I have been salt curing ham for over 50 years.