Long shelf life foods

Marcus in the Darkus said:
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?
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I have about 50 pounds of rice in my shooting bags. Gotta be five years old. They sound perfectly fine. I bet I cook them if needed. Rice, it's dual purpose 😀
 
Came across this from Eric of Pew Pew tactical. Can't vouch for his expertise in this area but he appears to have done some homework and extensive testing.

www.pewpewtactical.com

Best MRE Brands & Kits in 2023 [Taste Tested]

We taste-test some MRE brands to find out who has the yummiest, healthiest, and most convenient options for prepping, survival, and camping.
www.pewpewtactical.com www.pewpewtactical.com
 
JayMcB said:
Snow's clams, expiration in 3/2018 made some perfectly reasonable chowder at 5+ years past expiration
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Expiration dates are such bullshit. I've had several canned products 5 years past expiration and they were all fine. This is why I love OSJL since their canned/dry items are close to expiration so they're all priced to liquidate.

Medications too. Your 5 yr expired ibuprofen and sterile gauze is more than fine.
 
Where do you guys store all of your long shelf-life food? I’m running out of space… I have rice, dry beans, popcorn, sugar, flour, etc. in 5-gal buckets with screw-top lids in one closet, #10 cans in another closet, and gallons of water and other food-stuffs in the insulated garage… starting to run out of space, so looking for storage ideas…

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I have a good size space in the garage. We have stairs leading to a storage space the second floor in the garage. But I've got a pretty well full at this point
 
Palladin said:
I have a good size space in the garage. We have stairs leading to a storage space the second floor in the garage. But I've got a pretty well full at this point
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How hot does it get in the summer? Heat is your enemy almost more than humidity and rodents. Heat definitely shortens the shelf life. I guess if SHTF, eat that food first.
 
Mtn_Guy said:
Where do you guys store all of your long shelf-life food? I’m running out of space… I have rice, dry beans, popcorn, sugar, flour, etc. in 5-gal buckets with screw-top lids in one closet, #10 cans in another closet, and gallons of water and other food-stuffs in the insulated garage… starting to run out of space, so looking for storage ideas…

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Behind, under and inside furniture, Under beds. I knew a girl who made a make-shift coffee table by using a storage tub for a base, covered it with some sort of fabric that hung down to the bottom and then used a glass top.
 
JayMcB said:
How hot does it get in the summer? Heat is your enemy almost more than humidity and rodents. Heat definitely shortens the shelf life. I guess if SHTF, eat that food first.
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Fortunately, my garage stays relatively cool and does not get too hot since it is insulated.

I tend to store my water jugs in brown paper bags or contractor grade black plastic bags and as far from direct sunlight as possible to extend the shelf life, since I don’t rotate through it as regularly as I should.
 
JayMcB said:
How hot does it get in the summer? Heat is your enemy almost more than humidity and rodents. Heat definitely shortens the shelf life. I guess if SHTF, eat that food first.
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insulated...the garage level doesn't get hot at all, 2nd fl is an oven. in winter garage is at 40deg on the coldest days
 
JayMcB said:
Be warned that these canned tomatoes do not age well.
This is my second Tutorossi tomato case cans that have failed and destroyed cans below.

This is in temp and humidity controlled space.
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Ive heard tomato products in general dont age well
 
I have pasta sauce in glass jars from 2014 we're still using. My son made pasta with one today. I don't keep anything tomato past a year or two in cans though.
 
JayMcB said:
Be warned that these canned tomatoes do not age well.
This is my second Tutorossi tomato case cans that have failed and destroyed cans below.

This is in temp and humidity controlled space.
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How old are those? I've never seen that. Not that we ever keep them on the shelf very long.
6 months max the way we co thru them.
 
Costco: Kirkland Signature, Organic Reduced Fat Chocolate Milk, 8.25 fl oz, 24-Count. Shelf-Stable. Sold unrefrigerated in the Juice/Soda area.

Tastes fine 1.5 years past the "Expired 06/01/2022" date

imageService
 
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We try to cylce through the dry goods, but I found a wayward bag of Costco Dried Mangos at the bottom of the screw-top 5-Gallon dried fruit bucket...

"Best Before 05.03.2022?" Pretty damn good almost two years later. Other than the date, I wouldn't have known these weren't just out of the warehouse.
 
Sunny said:
Expiration dates are such bullshit. I've had several canned products 5 years past expiration and they were all fine. This is why I love OSJL since their canned/dry items are close to expiration so they're all priced to liquidate.

Medications too. Your 5 yr expired ibuprofen and sterile gauze is more than fine.
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Expiration dates are a way to get the consumer to keep buying the product.

Can't have these super companies if you're not buying. I wish I had been wiser and my family were about hunting, farming, canning etc. I'm catching up in an inflated economy with lesser quality.
 
If you or people you know don't have some food stored, you need to be dragging them or yourself to a BJs/Costco, etc and stack rice, flour, yeast and salt. If you can, add sugar. People need to have substantial baseline calories on had before the election.

If Trump wins, you should expect thr democrats to immediately start rioting and expect congress to attempt to not certify him as president.
 
xtry51 said:
If you or people you know don't have some food stored, you need to be dragging them or yourself to a BJs/Costco, etc and stack rice, flour, yeast and salt. If you can, add sugar. People need to have substantial baseline calories on had before the election.

If Trump wins, you should expect thr democrats to immediately start rioting and expect congress to attempt to not certify him as president.
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And expect the democrats to start WWIII
 
We can a lot of stuff. I also dehydrate, but mostly for backcountry trips. We vacuum seal and triple wrap meats. They will easily last two years. Even with our small yard I can plant enough veggies to last at least six months. Longer if I sacrifice my lawn. I have a river at my disposal and wildlife to hunt. If I have to store food for an event that goes beyond two years, we have bigger problems. I place greater importance on natural resources. I can always find food because I have firearms, lots of ammo and plenty of reloading supplies. I think if you are serious about Armageddon survival, where you live likely trumps what you have in dry storage.
 
Thankfully I was wrong about the rioting (so far).

Bucketed food prices dropped recently. We bought some pails of oats for under $25 each. Shop around and watch black Friday deals coming up.
 

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