How old is too old?

Originally posted by NotThat

Originally posted by Ellie Sagan
reply to post by NotTooHappy

 

Oh man! Thanks for posting that link! There is so much information there, and the first thing I looked up taught me something new... I can't wait to look at more stuff on that site.

I just spent 30 minutes there! I found out that most rice lasts forever. Brown rice goes bad quickly. Barley only lasts a year. And dried fruit doesn't last as long as I thought. Great site!

You guys are welcome. I stumbled upon it and have found it to be a great resource. I try to stock up on staples so, this lets me know how far ahead I should buy.

reply to post by NotTooHappy


The website also tells you how long to keep open food like jelly, and cooked food like chicken. A very helpful site.

Someone sent me to YouTube on my water thread. When I was there I found many videos about old food. I learned that rice lasts 18 years or more but turns yellow.

Thanks for all your help!

reply to post by NotThat


I have been watching YouTube videos about long term storage. It seems that whole grains can be poured into foodgrade buckets with a gasket seal lid and last 20 years even without mylar bags and O2 obsorbers. If it gets worrmy just rinse off the grain and pick out the bugs (or freeze the grain first to kill the bugs).

reply to post by NotThat


Here in Utah the Mormons are crazy about food storage. They're supposed to have 2 years of food on hand for the end of the world or something. They sell those buckets, already full of grain, in the grocery stores here.

reply to post by NotThat


I have been watching some YouTube videos on long term food storage. You can eat rice that has become wormy. You need to wash it and remove the worms by picking them out, but you can still eat it. Freezing rice for 3 days will kill eggs so worms will never hatch.

Grains like winter wheat or rice can be stored without mylar bags or oxygen obsorbers if you place them in a container with a rubber gasket seal in the lid. The food will change color but you can eat it. It is better to spend the money on mylar bags and oxygen obsorbers, but not mandatory.

Sugar and salt lastforever.

Several members have mentioned old beans, and I have an experience.

We unpacked a box from storage last month and found a couple mason jars that we had saved seed stock from green and waxed bush beans stored 15 years ago.

They were put into the garden with other things we planted and they came up within about 7-8 days. The plants look vibrant and healthy, so I expect a good crop from them in the coming months.

Properly dried, stored in an airtight container, and in a dark place.
Old beans can be a fast growing crop that produce abundant food, plus their own seeds to store for the future.


Edit: Those beans we saved matured and dried on the bush before we bottled them.
They were shucked from the pod so the beans could be sun dried on a sunny Fall afternoon to be put into hot and dry mason jars, and then sealed up.

The sunflower seeds were rancid, same with the pumpkin seeds we had stored at the same time. You could see some mold spots on the ones that went bad.




[edit on 11/6/2010 by anxietydisorder]

Originally posted by NotTooHappy
Here's a site that should answer all of your questions... www.stilltasty.com.... They have the shelf life of pretty much everything.

Awesome site, Thanks!

Maybe I can win an argument with the Wife now about putting hot food in the fridge