- Introduction
- Facts That Effect Food Storage
- Storage Life For Fruits and Vegetables
- Storage Life For Dairy Products
- Storage Life For Proteins
- Storage Life For Grains/Pasta’s & Beans
Now is the time to begin preparing and living from your food storage. Start practicing new skills and adjust to some of those unfamiliar foods you’re sure to acquire before the necessity arises and you must live solely from your storage.
Three important keys to food storage to keep in mind are:
- Store what you eat
- Eat what you store.
- Use it or lose it.
In other words when buying food for your food storage obtain foods your family normally eats and would enjoy eating when things are more stressful than now. Incorporate the foods that you store in your regular meal regimen and continually restock. That way you keep your supply in rotation, just as a grocery does, and neither your food nor your money goes to waste.
Don't expect dehydrated vegetables to taste exactly like their fresh or canned counterparts. For example, the first time my children ate peas’ fresh out of the garden they thought they tasted weird. They were used to eating canned peas from the grocery store. Now I can’t even can my peas’ because they are eaten before they ever make it into the house. In a similar way, some people will think that dehydrated fruits and vegetables will taste weird or funny the first time they try some. Dehydrated foods don’t have a bad taste they just have a little different taste. And in most cases people are pretty surprised after they have eaten some fruits and vegetables to find out they were “dehydrated”. Generally speaking, dehydrated foods won't have quite as strong a flavor as fresh foods. However, after adding a little butter and salt and pepper, dehydrated food is every bit as good and sometimes even better tasting than canned vegetables.
Storing your food storage is at best an inexact science because there are
so many variables that come into play. A few of theses are the quality and condition
of your food when it was first purchased the area and climate in-which you live.
The information provided below should be used as a general rule of thumb, not
exact science.
Facts that Effect Food Storage
Temperature is the key to long lasting food storage. Your food storage life depends on the temperature it is stored at. Here is a simple chart that shows the relationship between temperature and food storage
| Storing Foods Constantly at Temp in degrees
F |
Food Storage Life in Years |
39.76 degrees |
40 years |
49.84 degrees |
30 years |
59.92 degrees |
20 years |
70.00 degrees |
10 years |
80.08 degrees |
5 years |
90.16 degrees |
2.5 years |
100.24 degrees |
1.25 years |
You can expect good food storage life if the storage temperature is 60 degrees F or below. Optimum storage temperature is at 40 degrees F or less. It is also important that you find a place where the temperature remains constant. If you do not have a cool place for your food storage, plan on rotating your storage on a regular basis.
According to the USDA nutritional tables grains, beans, and flour contain an average of 10% moisture. Although it is very difficult and unnecessary to remove all moisture from dry foods, it is important that any food be stored as dry as possible.
Dehydration is commercial food drying with special equipment to remove water from food at temperatures below cooking level. Most food storage programs are built around storing dehydrated foods. Dehydrated foods dry quicker, easier and they retain a substantial amount of vitamins and minerals.
To get the best storage life out of food storage all food storage containers must have a hermetic (air tight) seal. Here are a few well know types of food storage containers.
- #10 (1 gal.) or #2.5 cans
- Sealable food storage buckets
- Sealable food quality metal (lined) or plastic drums.
We here at Mountain Brook Foods store all of our foods in either # 10 (1 gal) or #2.5 cans. All of our foods come in a double enamel can to ensure no rusting and to protect the contents of the can. Each can has been nitrogen flushed with oxygen and moisture absorbers added to ensure freshness. All our cans come with plastic re-sealable lids.
There are four things that can and will deteriorate food. They are light, moisture, heat and oxygen. Food storage companies can control the light, moisture and oxygen, the heat is up to the buyer and where they choose to store their foods.
Foods that are packed in air do not store as well as in oxygen free gasses. This is because air contains oxygen which oxidizes many of the compounds in foods. For example bacteria, one of several agents which make food go rancid also needs oxygen to grow.
Here are a couple different processes which food storage companies go through in removing the oxygen:
- Displacing the oxygen: This is done by purging out all the air in the product with an inert gas. “Nitrogen flushed” is the general term used for this. Nitrogen is almost always used because it is the most inert gas known.
- Absorb the oxygen: Oxygen absorbers do just that, they absorb the oxygen. Air contains about 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, leaving about 1% for the other gasses. If the oxygen is absorbed, what remains is 99% pure nitrogen in a partial vacuum.
- Moisture Absorbers: Moisture absorbers will absorb any moisture that was in the air while the product was being canned. The main purpose of the moisture absorber is to keep the moisture content of the product at the desired level.
Storage Life for Fruits and Vegetables
Dehydrated fruits do not keep as many of the other dehydrated items. Hermetically sealed with oxygen absorbers, plan on a storage life of 10 – 15 years at a stable temp of 70 degrees. They will keep longer if stored at cooler temps.
Dehydrated vegetables store well and long if they are kept in a cool dry storage area. Hermetically sealed with oxygen absorbers, plan on a storage life of 10 - 15 years at a stable temp of 70 degrees.
Storage Life for Dairy Products
Non Fat Milk / Whole Milk Powder / Whole Egg Powder / Cheddar Cheese Powder / American Cheese Powder / Butter and Margarine Powder
Dehydrated dairy products generally store well if stored in a dry cool storage
area. Most dairy products if store properly can store for up to 5 years.
After dairy products have been opened they require no refrigeration and come
with re-sealable lids. These products can last as long as up to 2 years after
they have been opened, as long as they are stored in a cool dry area.
Total Vegetable Proteins’, Chicken, Ham, Sausage & Bacon
Total vegetable proteins, made from soy beans, have a wonderfully long storage life. Hermetically sealed with oxygen absorbers, plan on a storage life of 15 – 20 years at a constant temp of 70 degrees. They will store longer if kept in a cooler controlled environment.
Storage Life for Grains/Pasta’s & Beans
Pinto, Black Eyed Beans, Baby Lima, Large Lima, Lentils, Rice, Elbow Macaroni, Spaghetti Noodles, Egg Noodles, Red Hard Wheat, Wheat, Wheat Flour, Cracked Wheat Cereal, White Enriched Flour, Rolled Oats
Beans – As beans age they lose their oils, resist water absorption and won’t swell. Worst case, they must be ground to be used. Storing beans in nitrogen helps prolong the loss of these oils as does cool temperatures. Hermetically sealed with oxygen absorbers, plan on a storage life of 8 – 15 years at a constant room temp of 70 degrees.
Rice – Hermetically sealed with oxygen absorbers, plan on a storage life of 15 – 20 years at a constant room temp of 70 degrees.
Pasta – Pasta will store longer than flour if kept dry. Hermetically sealed with oxygen absorbers, plan on a storage life of 15 – 20 years.
Flours – After seeds are broken open their outer shell can no longer protect the seed contents and the seed nutrients, henceforth the seed starts to loose their nutrient value. Hermitically sealed with oxygen absorbers, plan on a storage life of 5 years at constant room temperature of 70 degrees.
Oats – Hermitically sealed with oxygen absorbers, plan on a shelf life of 8 years.