Sometimes these things become so engrained that you forget the "common sense" answers...help. I am buying those little bags of beans (variety) Goya, I think...and canned beans. Also, large bags of rice. I forget which bags you need to "repackage" for the long haul in order for it to last. Also, canned beans last for how long...anyone? Thanks

-- NSmith (nitnat3@aol.com), June 04, 1999

Answers

Dried foods (beans & rice) need to be placed in an airtight container- either metal or glass. If you have a means of removing any excess air, good, but they will last a good long time without same. Store in dry, cool, dark place.

Canned goods last at least 2 yrs....there is a web site that furnishes a list of canned items & how long they will last. I'll try to find it for you. You can also check with your County home extension agent or University of Iowa (I think)site.

Get you some chicken stock to cook with the beans. Goya beans???? Not for my family. Pinto's & Navy for me. Ha ha.

-- G.Bruner (gbruner608@aol.com), June 04, 1999.

I have been storing rice in used 2 litre pepsi bottles...hoping these keep, or juicy juice bottles after washing them out and letting them air dry completely I fill them up...My question is do I need to put anything in there? The rice seems to be doing rather well, in cool dark, dry area. Gravy, lotsa gravy the package kind is cheap and so is the jars. Test them first, turkey sucked so did chicken, we prefer beef, very flavorful over the rice.

-- consumer (private@aol.com), June 04, 1999.

consumer:

I've purchased both canned and packaged gravy mixes. Some of the canned varieties are NOT tasty; they are boring. The packaged gravy mixes don't seem to keep as long, and they must be reconstituted. The canned stuff is ready to slurp, and, at the same price, is worthwhile stockpiling if you plan on staying in one place. Yet the packaged gravies are easier to transport due to lighter weights (as in bugout bag inclusions). I suggest stockpiling both.

-- Randolph (dinosaur@williams-net.com), June 04, 1999.

NSmith, here are a couple of links that have alot of information about food storage. The second one gives info on can dates also. The archieves here under the food catagory contain alot of great threads on various whys to put food up safely and links to other sites also.

Consumer, We definitely prefer the beef flavor gravey packages also. Dollar General Store has them 3/1.00. The chili mix isn't to bad either. :-)

http://www.poplaracre.co m/FSIndex.html

http://www.efn.org/~kath yy/foodfaq.300

-- Lilly (homesteader145@yahoo.com), June 04, 1999.

Little hint: Even if you have acres of dead wood available for cutting and hauling, conserving fuel (and therefore having time for other activities, chores, reading, etc.) is always a good idea. A pressure cooker will cook items that need long cooking times quicker and with less fuel since the internal temperature can be raised above 212 F.

Also, bringing a pot up to boil and then removing it to an insulated box helps conserve fuel. The box can be something as simple as 12" of crumpled up newspaper. The food will continue to cook for quite sometime. On a smaller scale, items like oatmeal, wheat berries, etc. can be prepared overnight by adding the grain and boiling water to a wide-mouthed thermos bottle (metal style, not glass - no breakage problem) you then have a nice warm breakfast in the morning.

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@earthlink.net), June 05, 1999.

If I'm planning on buying rice, flour, beans to last for only one year ... is it necessary to do all this mylar, can, and oxygen absorber stuff??

Could I keep them in original packaging and put in a BIG plastic storage container to keep bugs out, and just store in a cool dry place?

-- Cheryl (Transplant@Oregon.com), June 05, 1999.

Cheryl -- This is what I'm doing:

Am gradually getting rice, oats, quinoa, and an assortment of dried beans from the bulk bin. I put them into a gallon size freezer zip lock bag and freeze them for 3-7 days. Then I transfer them into a container and put bay leaves in there (bay leaves ward off bugs). At some point in the near future, I will put them in 5 gallon buckets, inside a mylar bag with an oxygen absorber. I'm only buying food for a year too. I don't know if all this is really necessary, but I also don't want to risk too much. My question about the bucket thing is -- when I go to open the bucket to get something out, do I have to put a new oxygen absorber in?

I am also buying beans in plastic bags, boxed foods (like instant rice, oatmeal, various kinds of mixes). I'm keeping them in their original packaging, putting them in a gallon size ziplock, and then putting them in a big plastic storage container.

I don't know if this helps or not. Maybe other folks have some different ideas... E-mail me if you want to.

-- Libby Alexander (libbyalex@aol.com), June 05, 1999.

No, you don't have to worry about the packaging that much for just a year or two. Since you're in the west I'll say that plenty of folks have made it out here with the most primitive methods of food preparation. Just keep stuff as cool & dry as you can. My big concern here is dampness, & critters. Bugs are a bigger worry in the south. The natives here used bay leaves in their granaries, they've worked to keep weevils & what-not out of our personal dried foodstuffs for many a year. I've gotten metal trashcans, & raided the thrift stores for cookie tins. The time is getting kinda short to be too fussy. From experience I'll say the things you're able to put up most poorly will beat the heck out of emergency rations [in our case apple jacks & kitty litter--we have no cats!].

-- flora (***@__._), June 05, 1999.