Food Storage
From Antivist
There are many factors to take into consideration as you begin to ponder your own food pantry. Every home manager reading this will have to decide what works best in their family. There are no right or wrong answers, only choices that you've already made, or ones that you may be deciding to make.
* How much space do I have for my pantry? Is there space in my kitchen? Do I need to find another space, like under the bed or in a closet knowing that I need to store my pantry items in temperatures less than 80°F?
* What items do I currently have? Do I have an inventory control system? What items do I need to add to have an adequate everyday pantry? What about my short and long- term pantry needs? How long should I stock-up for the future?
* Are there food items that only have one use, or can they be used in more than one recipe? Convenience foods are good to have on hand. They have allowed us quick meals in our current lifestyle, but the skill of cooking seems to be a lost art. Take some time and learn how to cook some low-cost basics. Basic foods take less space than our modern day convenience packaging. You can have variety and the nutritional value of incorporating basic foods in your diet will be an added benefit.
* Do I have a variety of canned, and dehydrated foods in my pantry, knowing that dehydrated foods take up much less space? Do I know how to incorporate them into our eating lifestyle? Do I have foods that all of my family members like? Are they nutritious?
* How much of my grocery budget is available to build my pantry in the next few weeks and months.
* Of the items that I use frequently, is there a source where it is advantageous to purchase a larger size? Does the unit price reflect a savings? If I purchase bulk items, do I have containers for the foods to be stored in? Where can I buy these containers? Are they cost-effective? Will I use the larger quantity in a reasonable amount of time before it goes stale or rancid? Do I know how to properly store my food?
* Do I know that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) advises that we should include in our emergency pantries a three-day supply of foods that do not require any cooking? It should also include foods that do not increase thirst. During an emergency water may possibly be limited.
* Don't forget the special needs of the elderly, those with special diets and allergies, nursing mothers, and babies.
* The meals that you eat away from home need to be part of your food diary. It is vital that you include those meals when calculating how much and what types of food to include in your own pantry.
* Make sure you have a manual can opener and disposable eating utensils. And don't forget non-perishable foods for your pets.
Start Early
One thing that could help is to start buying your non-perishables now. Each time you grocery shop, buy a few items that you will need. I do this a few weeks before Thanksgiving, and it helps. J.C. Pick Containers Carefully
While you can get good 5 gallon containers from restaurants and such, PLEASE tell her NOT to use any except those specifically saying they are made of food grade plastic! The manufacturer is required by law to put the notice on the outside of the container, so look for it. Containers used for holding laundry detergent (and any other non-food material) are not the same as food grade, they contain chemicals which can and will bleed through into your food and contaminate the food. Also, it is impossible to completely clean detergent or whatever out of the containers, chemical residues will remain. I save every glass jar, 2 litre soda bottle, every reusable food container, even gallon-sized pretzel containers, and store foods in them. Its not worth jeopardizing your family's health just to save a dollar.
Also, while bay leaves can impede infestation of bulk flours, they aren't adequate to completely protect your investment. One good easy technique is to put your flour in the freezer for 24 hours, which kills the little nasties. Then put an oxygen absorber in with your flour or other bulk foods - these are available in craft departments at Wal-Mart, K-Mart or other major like store- and seal tightly. These techniques combined should help keep your flours fresh and bug-free. Angela 'Store' Money Instead
Since you are doing this *sometime within the next year*, I would suggest that you invest the money you are going to use to purchase these items now and buy them right after you move. This will give you more money to work with, eliminate the need to move all the food you have bought, and will allow for the food to remain fresher longer after your move. Scribe Try Extension Service
Have Faye contact the Extension Service in her province/county for information on storing vegetables in sand (and other ways as well). Ellen B Try Baker's Supply
If you will use it within 6 months, then store the flour in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight and away from heat sources. If longer, then in the freezer in zip lock type gallon bags. Yeast stores wonderfully in the freezer. Generally, if you're storing the stuff in the seal-tight plastic buckets, there shouldn't be a problem with bugs or anything unless the stuff is already in there.
If you haven't already, it might be a good idea to get in touch with either a bakery's supplier for purchases of flour at 50-100 lbs. at a time. Much cheaper than at the supermarket. Either that, or join a food co-op. The same thing goes for grains like rolled oats, rice, etc... for the storing and the purchasing of it. Joyce in MA Cold Air Helps
Flour, cornmeal and other grains will keep longest without getting bugs if put in the freezer for 24 hours. Legumes such as peas and beans keep for a long time in glass jars with tight lids. I would think plastic containers with tight lids would also work. Dry milk keeps well in the fridge. I use bay leaves with pasta when I store it over the summer in Fl. It doesn't seem to get buggy if kept in sealed jars. I have a large glass jar for just that purpose. Joan Store the Nutrient, Too!
For sugar and salt, all she needs to do is make sure that they remain airtight and they will not get bugs in them. They will store that way indefinitely.
For yeast, she needs to keep it frozen and it will last even longer than the expiration date on the package, and keeping it frozen will help to make it last longer once she opens it, otherwise the package should give a expiration date.
Rice should be stored airtight and will last for 2 years if it is white. Brown rice will go rancid and so should not be stored longer than 6 months.
Dried beans and peas can be stored airtight in a cool place. They are good indefinitely, but will get harder the longer they are stored and will have to be soaked longer.
For pickling and freezing guidelines, the best thing that I have found is called the Ball Blue book. It has guidelines for canning, freezing and pickling and I got mine for only $3.00 brand new.
One thing to remember for preserving food, there are many ideas out there, but you want to keep as many vitamins and minerals in the food and keep it as safe as you can. The food might look okay, but due to improper freezing or storage, have lost any nutritional content. You do not need to panic about storing food, but follow guidelines and directions so that the food you have is safe. The best thing to remember is to keep it cool and dark. When foods are stored at normal household temperatures, the nutritional content is gone in half the time as it would be if you store them at 50-60 degrees. If you are going to spend the money to buy the food, you may as well spend the time to take care of it properly.
One place that she could ask about food storage guidelines is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or the Mormons). We also have "canneries" where we can go to help preserve and buy that food very cheaply. These services are not just available to members of our church, but to everyone that wants to use them.
Another thing for your readers to consider, having a food storage is not just for losing a job or emergencies, but makes eating very inexpensive. We have a family of 5 and buy just the things that we can get at the grocery store and a few things at our church cannery and we eat for one to two hundred dollars a month. We do this by having a storage and buying things that are on sale and buying a bunch of them when they are on sale and then using those things until the next sale comes.
Another thing for your reader to consider, if she does not grow her own vegetables and things that she plans to freeze, or if she does not have someone just giving them to her, she probably can buy the products already produced cheaper than she can buy the produce and preserve it herself. Many farmer's markets and pick your own produce places are not that inexpensive once you add in the cost of the supplies to freeze or can the items. Sometimes it is worth it, but be careful and check. Kim S. in American Fork, Utah
Ziplock Bags Work
In order to store flour for any amount of time, I put it in 5-lb. ziplock freezer bags (also sugar). But flour should be put in the freezer for several days to destroy anything growing (absolute necessity if you want to store flour for a long time). After keeping it in the freezer, then store it anywhere dry. Susan
Large Pop Corn Tins Work Great
Several years ago I was going to can a lot of pears...our tree put on a bumper crop. So I bought a huge bag of sugar in anticipation. When I had so much sugar left over, I purchased a large round tin with a tight lid. It was about the size that you see in stores around Christmas time filled with popcorn. It worked perfectly. The sugar never got hard and it remained as fresh as the day I bought it.
It also helps to put a few bay leaves in with flour or sugar no matter how you store them. It helps to keep the bugs out. Linda
Reuse Large Ice Cream Buckets
What works very well, and I use, are the large ice cream buckets. The ones you can get from an ice cream store hold a lot and are not too large to move around when needed. Label each bucket so you know what's inside. Kathy
Trash Cans Work Very Nicely
My parents always bought several months' worth of flour throughout my childhood. Because our old farmhouse wasn't mouse-free, Dad used a clean trashcan with a tight-fitting lid for storage. Fresh supplies were purchased only when we were literally "scraping the bottom of the barrel", as it had just enough room for one 25-pound sack! As it had a number of dings and dents, I believe the can was made of metal, probably steel. It has since been replaced by a plastic Rubbermaid version that works just as well. Never fear, no mouse will chew through that thick rubber wall.
Tips For Storing Food
Try to keep your food storage in a cool, dry place. Frequent temperature changes can shorten the shelf-life of your products. Rotate your food frequently, using the oldest products first. Make sure that all food storage containers are food grade quality. It is very hard to determine product shelf-life. It depends on: temperature of storage, moisture in food when it's purchased, type of food storage method,etc. The ideal temperature for storing foods is around 70 degrees.
Storage Life of Foods(approximate)
Beans=8-10 years Dairy Products=15 years Grains=10 years Pasta=8-10 years Salt=10 years Seeds=5 years Sugar=10 years Rice=8-10 years Textured Vegetable Protein=20 years Yeast=5 years(if kept cool)
