Basic food storage. What to buy and not to buy.

[Danil54grl]

I am definitely buying and storing more food. I don't have a lot of money to waste so I am looking for longer shelf life. I did a few research for canning food for longevity, which I will try perhaps later. Im a shitty cook so the idea still intimidates me. I know not to buy acidic food thus, they spoil faster.

These are on my list.

1. rice- bag, individual package
2. SPAM!!
3. Jerky
4. Ramen noodles
5. Oil. for cooking
6. Salt (iodize), some spices.
7. powdered milk or eggs. ***Still undecided about this***
8. Pasta, a few boxes or so
9. flour, sugar, baking powder.
10. energy bars (cliff, naked, nature valley)

Couldn't thing anything else. Please let me know if there are things I need to add or subtract. Anything is appreciated.

Also, not sure if it is worth signing up for Costco to buy in greater bulk.

My place has a small kitchen cabinets. not ideal for stocking up long term. But, I found this second hand shelf from a close out deal. Not the prettiest, but its durable and fits in my apartment. I think it's good place for storing hygiene products, water and my other camping stuff .
View attachment 10318

Thanks for all the help!!

The shelving unit you have pictured is similar to the one I use for my canned goods. When I put mine together I turned the shelving upside down to have a lip so things didn't call off so easily. I tried to upload a picture but my tablet won't let me.

Maybe this will take you to a page I posted a pic??
http://www.doomsdayprepperforums.com/index.php?threads/canning.440/page-2#post-72871

Ok it does work and if you scroll down I also posted a corner picture of the shelves in my stockroom.

 

[Arcticdude]

The wife just ordered a food dehydrator so we can start drying food from the garden, if I'm able to get anything planted. I think dried food will take up a lot less space and weight than canned goods. I think having a good variety of different foods is critical.

 

[Danil54grl]

The wife just ordered a food dehydrator so we can start drying food from the garden, if I'm able to get anything planted. I think dried food will take up a lot less space and weight than canned goods. I think having a good variety of different foods is critical.

Dehydrated is very lightweight in comparison and will take up less space. I do both, but for the most part canned is the way I go mainly since dehydrating takes awhile and I usually have a lot to process. I could actually just blanch and throw in freezer to dehydrate after a batch gets done if that is the main route I would like to go. I only have two 4 tray dehydrators that do not actually hold enough for me to process the bulk of my garden.

 

[Arcticdude]

Dehydrated is very lightweight in comparison and will take up less space. I do both, but for the most part canned is the way I go mainly since dehydrating takes awhile and I usually have a lot to process. I could actually just blanch and throw in freezer to dehydrate after a batch gets done if that is the main route I would like to go. I only have two 4 tray dehydrators that do not actually hold enough for me to process the bulk of my garden.

I think she ordered the 5 tray model. She wanted the larger one but since we're on solar power she figured the 440 watt model would be a better option. We freeze a lot of food now and she plans to do more canning, if she's able to come home this summer.

 

[Oddcaliber]

Freeze dried goods, are these MRE’s?

Not quite. MRE is Meal Ready to Eat. At least that's what we were told! LOL. Freeze dried IE Mountain House requires water to rehydrate. Add boiling water stir wait 10 minutes.

 

[Jayson]

Not quite. MRE is Meal Ready to Eat. At least that's what we were told! LOL. Freeze dried IE Mountain House requires water to rehydrate. Add boiling water stir wait 10 minutes.

Also called ‘Mush, Rarely Edible’ by we former service members.

 

[Proud Prepper]

Do you know how long I can store them even pass the Best Buy date?

Many years for most, the quality one's, usually name brands last longer, they use thicker and better quality cans. I have had cheap no name brands leak shortly after the best buy date. Keep them undented and clean, dry in a cool place.

 

[Brent S]

Freeze dried goods, are these MRE’s?

Similar to MRE’s but packaged more in size than individual meals. Freeze dried is the best way to preserve and store food but it’s also the emost expensive. I got it mostly as it’s got somewhere around a 25 year shelf life. It isn’t a great option for anyone just starting out on a budget though.

 

[BillMasen]

Also called ‘Mush, Rarely Edible’ by we former service members.

Meals Refused by Ethiopians = MRE

 

[Brent S]

I hope to give everyone an update after a year or so with my food prepping capabilities.

My advice is to get stocked up on as many canned goods as you can in the immediate future. None of us know how bad things are going to get from this mess. Just ensure you won’t be going to bed hungry anytime soon. You can always build up more over time with different types of things too.

 

[Brent S]

Meals Refused by Ethiopians = MRE

Hey, I ate the canned C rations. MRE’s are a delicacy compared to them.....

 

[Jayson]

Meals Refused by Ethiopians = MRE

Even the starving Ethiopians didn’t like MREs.

 

[Jayson]

Hey, I ate the canned C rations. MRE’s are a delicacy compared to them.....

MREs are decent if you add some spice, salt or tobassco sauce to them.

 

[Danil54grl]

Similar to MRE’s but packaged more in size than individual meals. Freeze dried is the best way to preserve and store food but it’s also the emost expensive. I got it mostly as it’s got somewhere around a 25 year shelf life. It isn’t a great option for anyone just starting out on a budget though.

I problem with freeze dried is it does tend to take up a lot of room, but yes it is a good way of preserving. I learned early on not to put freeze dried sliced yellow squash and stuff like that in mason jars. You just can't get many in a jar. I have since vacuum sealed in meal prep portions then put in a bucket.

 

[DirtDiva]

The wife just ordered a food dehydrator so we can start drying food from the garden, if I'm able to get anything planted. I think dried food will take up a lot less space and weight than canned goods. I think having a good variety of different foods is critical.

Arctic 40 years ago my husband skinned deer for the entire town we lived in for so much a deer and the hide. He then tanned and sold the hides and combined it with the deer cleaning money and bought a big Harvest Maid Dehydrator. All these years we have used that dehydrator and it is still running. We have dehydrated year round everything you can imagine from jerky to fruit leather. It was an excellent investment.

 

[GaRp58]

A dehydrator is a good idea, we just dried some mistletoe and birch leaves for making cough syrup and tea. I make my own jerky and we dry other things before we loose them. It is small but works good. Not enough room in the cellar for a larger one, (maybe we should eat more of the stuff we already have and make some space??)

 

[Brittany]

The shelving unit you have pictured is similar to the one I use for my canned goods. When I put mine together I turned the shelving upside down to have a lip so things didn't call off so easily. I tried to upload a picture but my tablet won't let me.

Maybe this will take you to a page I posted a pic??
http://www.doomsdayprepperforums.com/index.php?threads/canning.440/page-2#post-72871

Ok it does work and if you scroll down I also posted a corner picture of the shelves in my stockroom.

Yes, thanks for the pic. I was looking around and found these shelves to be most efficient than the ones in ikea or other store. Seems to be popular among preppers because it can hold the wight of the jars and other heavy can goods. Also I’m adding honey on my list. I’m glad you do canning. Because, I want to pick up this skill sometime in the future. if I didn’t succeed on that then at least I tried.

 

[Danil54grl]

Yes, thanks for the pic. I was looking around and found these shelves to be most efficient than the ones in ikea or other store. Seems to be popular among preppers because it can hold the wight of the jars and other heavy can goods. Also I’m adding honey on my list. I’m glad you do canning. Because, I want to pick up this skill sometime in the future. if I didn’t succeed on that then at least I tried.

Canning is not hard once you get down the steps. There are a few of us on here that do can and would be glad to help you out if you have questions.

 

[DirtDiva]

I think she ordered the 5 tray model. She wanted the larger one but since we're on solar power she figured the 440 watt model would be a better option. We freeze a lot of food now and she plans to do more canning, if she's able to come home this summer.

Arctic my husband built me a solar powered dehydrator last year from a pattern he got online that works wonderfully. Super simple design with easily available parts. Holds 4 times what my electric one does. Runs without electric and I don't know about the newer models but my older electric dehydrator is somewhat of an electric hog. My solar drier doesn't put heat in the house and was much cheaper to build than the initial cost of an electric one even 40 years ago. If my die hard older electric one ever dies I will not replace it.

 

[Brent S]

Arctic my husband built me a solar powered dehydrator last year from a pattern he got online that works wonderfully. Super simple design with easily available parts. Holds 4 times what my electric one does. Runs without electric and I don't know about the newer models but my older electric dehydrator is somewhat of an electric hog. My solar drier doesn't put heat in the house and was much cheaper to build than the initial cost of an electric one even 40 years ago. If my die hard older electric one ever dies I will not replace it.

I’ve seen several designs for then. If you can find a large piece of glass, like from a sliding door or something it would be really cheap to build. I’ve seen designs in Mother Earth News and grit magazines.