We are now back to food storage after our brief side adventure in water storage. We are now going to look at all the fun that is our long term food storage. Most of these items are not going to be ready made meals and will take some learning to get used to using them. Have no fear though, I'll be going over a lot of this information over quite a few weeks.
What is the difference between long term food storage and short term food storage?
This is food that will last for a long time if stored in the proper conditions. Unlike short term food storage, which is made up of foods you eat regularly and often has a short shelf life, long term food storage is often building blocks to food.
What are some long term food storage items and how long do they last?
Again remember this is under proper storage conditions (which will be next weeks post).
Wheat- 30+ years
White Rice- 30+ Years
Corn- 30+ Years
Sugar- 30+ Years
Pinto Beans- 30 years
Rolled Oats- 30 years
Pasta- 30 years
Potato Flakes- 30 Years
Apple Slices- 30 years
Non-fat Powdered Milk- 20 years
Dehydrated Carrots- 20 years
Salt, baking soda, and tablet Vitamin C- have not been studied, but are thought to store well for long term. Many other grains also last for 30+ years.
Cooking Oils can be stored 1-2 years.
So as you can see some foods last a really long time! These foods are also great building blocks to many other foods, so once you learn to work with them they won't be nearly as frightening. There will be much more to cover in the future, so I hope you'll stick around and learn even if you aren't interested in food storage!
