sjkted
4th February 2012, 22:57
I figured I would update everyone on my food storage adventures. I've been working on food storage since 2007. Most of my teachers have been Mormon women who have pioneered storage methods and wrote about them on blogs/forums and made Youtube videos. Here's what I have experienced.
- I bought a whole bunch of 25-pound bags of beans and after running out of storage in my apartment at the time, put them under the bed. For about six months I forgot about them, but I started noticing small winged beasts in the bedroom and couldn't figure out where they were coming from. After some time, I took the bean bags out to find out they were totally infested with winged beasts in different stages of growth and they were getting bigger and then breaking through the plastic into the bedroom. The lesson learned was that I should have placed them in food-quality buckets with mylar bags and oxygen absorbers.
- I learned early on that food must be put in food-quality buckets, not the type that you buy at home improvement stores. Originally, I was buying these from online food prep stores at ~$10/each, but recently I found that most bakeries and deli stores get these and throw them away. Several phone calls could save a decent amount of cash, as they are often willing to give them away for free.
- Fats are very difficult to store long-term. Vegetable oils usually last about 6 months before going rancid. Many people have cooking oil in their kitchen that is already rancid. I bought a box of Bega Butter from Australia and left it in a trailer for five years. After pulling it out and trying a can, it tastes great. I actually like it better than the butter I regularly buy. The only downside is that they are expensive.
- Just recently, I tried some milk, cheese powder, and powdered eggs in the #6 cans that have been sitting for almost five years. The milk tastes funny if you just mix with water, but I found it isn't that bad if you put it in the refrigerator. I think drinking lukewarm milk makes it seem a little strange. The cheese powder reminds me of Kraft macaroni and cheese. I can't tolerate eating much of it, although I would probably eat it if I was desperate. I made an omelet with the egg powder and cheese powder and it was stranger than any fast food I have had. The eggs didn't taste too bad, but they had a grayish color and the cheese powder was pretty nasty. The egg and milk powder has turned out pretty well in baked recipes like cookies -- you can't taste the difference. My lesson learned is to try out all of the stored food before stocking it as it might not be very good.
- Eggs can actually be stored long-term (up to a year) in a cold location in a glass jar with sodium silicate. Storing eggs this way will produce eggs that look and taste like eggs, not some mystery concoction.
- All of the MREs I have bought have reminded me strangely of the foods hotels often provide for continental breakfasts. They aren't horrible, but leave you wondering exactly what it was you just ate. MREs are good to have sparingly and are quick and easy (i.e. just add hot water), but usually are more expensive than they are worth.
Anyone else have any food storage stories to share?
--sjkted
- I bought a whole bunch of 25-pound bags of beans and after running out of storage in my apartment at the time, put them under the bed. For about six months I forgot about them, but I started noticing small winged beasts in the bedroom and couldn't figure out where they were coming from. After some time, I took the bean bags out to find out they were totally infested with winged beasts in different stages of growth and they were getting bigger and then breaking through the plastic into the bedroom. The lesson learned was that I should have placed them in food-quality buckets with mylar bags and oxygen absorbers.
- I learned early on that food must be put in food-quality buckets, not the type that you buy at home improvement stores. Originally, I was buying these from online food prep stores at ~$10/each, but recently I found that most bakeries and deli stores get these and throw them away. Several phone calls could save a decent amount of cash, as they are often willing to give them away for free.
- Fats are very difficult to store long-term. Vegetable oils usually last about 6 months before going rancid. Many people have cooking oil in their kitchen that is already rancid. I bought a box of Bega Butter from Australia and left it in a trailer for five years. After pulling it out and trying a can, it tastes great. I actually like it better than the butter I regularly buy. The only downside is that they are expensive.
- Just recently, I tried some milk, cheese powder, and powdered eggs in the #6 cans that have been sitting for almost five years. The milk tastes funny if you just mix with water, but I found it isn't that bad if you put it in the refrigerator. I think drinking lukewarm milk makes it seem a little strange. The cheese powder reminds me of Kraft macaroni and cheese. I can't tolerate eating much of it, although I would probably eat it if I was desperate. I made an omelet with the egg powder and cheese powder and it was stranger than any fast food I have had. The eggs didn't taste too bad, but they had a grayish color and the cheese powder was pretty nasty. The egg and milk powder has turned out pretty well in baked recipes like cookies -- you can't taste the difference. My lesson learned is to try out all of the stored food before stocking it as it might not be very good.
- Eggs can actually be stored long-term (up to a year) in a cold location in a glass jar with sodium silicate. Storing eggs this way will produce eggs that look and taste like eggs, not some mystery concoction.
- All of the MREs I have bought have reminded me strangely of the foods hotels often provide for continental breakfasts. They aren't horrible, but leave you wondering exactly what it was you just ate. MREs are good to have sparingly and are quick and easy (i.e. just add hot water), but usually are more expensive than they are worth.
Anyone else have any food storage stories to share?
--sjkted