short term food preps

[Guest]

I am going to put about 200-300 in our short term food storage - canned food mostly - what does everybody recommend for a good long term canned food storage - i am going to stock up on the spam and ham and other

[610Alpha]

Store what you eat and eat what you store.

Chicken, tuna, etc...

The basic cooking supplies and what you like to eat. This is a personal decision...what I like you may not. Buy a few cans and eat them...if you don't like the food you know not to buy it.

[jmsneorrcom]

Im looking for information on which canned foods have the longest shelve life

[Fanderal]

At our house we try to keep a years worth of food on the shelf. That's just our everyday type foods.

Caned
Green Beans
Sliced Carrots
Beets
Peas
Veggall
Spinach
Beans (pinto, navy, red beans ect)

In total we try to keep about 350 cans of "canned goods" on hand.

We buy when it's on sale, and by the case.

If your local store is having a canned goods sale, $300 will almost get you a years worth of canned veggies for two people.

for short term it's like elittle said: Store what you eat, eat what you store. Long term is a little different.


Fanderal

[Grinnan Barrett]

My personal belief is you need a mix of foods. Some long term freeze dried stuff. Some dehydrated, some canned ready to eat, some bulk rice, beans, grains, plus cooking staples like powdered butter, salt, sugar, other condiments, life boat type rations for your vehicle. I don't like MREs because they are so heat sensitive and expensive to boot. For short term stuff go with canned products in sizes to match your needs. Again, buy what you eat. I see people buying stuff they hate because it is on sale. For freeze dried like Mountain House look for package deals with discounts. MH is a good supplement to your program. It is just too expensive to be the bulk of your supplies. You want to mix things up so you don't go crazy. It can be like eating at you favorite cafe for every meal for a year. It will get old.

Watch the ads in the Sunday Paper and you sometimes find that Walgreen's will have the small canned Hams on sale for around $2 a can. Nice size to store and to pack with you if you have to go. Any food you buy test it out first before you go to deep into buys. We bought some canned chicken from Costco and gave it to or dog. taste was really bad.

If the LDS folks still share then work with them on grains and home canning. Your price range really hit home with us. that is where we usually do our shopping. Hang in there and good post. GB

[610Alpha]

From what I have seen on canned food they last from 1-2 years based on the Date stamp...

Didn't realize that was the info you were looking for...my bad!

We have a mix of regular sized cans and some #10 cans.

I think our Chicken and Tuna has about a 1+ year for shelf life...some foods may be good longer than the date.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Spam!! Last a few years

[Noble]

I am going to put about 200-300 in our short term food storage - canned food mostly - what does everybody recommend for a good long term canned food storage - i am going to stock up on the spam and ham and other

Definitly do store what you eat and eat what you store. I'm still trying to get through cans of stuff I bought years ago just because it was on sale, or sounded like a good idea at the time.

I think the dates on cans are mainly to 1) make lawyers happy; and 2) give the manufacturer/company an identifier. Certainly, after some years go by, the contents of the can will lose some vitamins and nutrients, but some canned chicken depleted of a few nutrients fills the tummy better than just rice, and certainly better than nothing at all.

I have heard it said that some items like tomatoes don't store well in the can. I made some spaghetti sauce from some cans of "use by 2008" tomatoes over the weekend and it was yummy good! ymmv

I built myself a can rotator, like the one below, and it has been super wonderful with first in first out.

[claymore]

Canned food looses its vitamin potency after awhile (I agree that store bought canned goods will last long past the best by date). I still use the date when buying; want the longest shelf life. Our basement is btwn 50 - 65 degrees depending on what time of year it is (stuff last longer cool). Tuna, kippers, and sardines have a long shelf life. Canned hams seem to last well (Christmas is good time to buy them) Some places (on line) sale canned pork, chicken, beef and hamburger, also bacon. Already cooked bacon in a box will last a year - year and a half,(lot cheaper then canned). Don't forget soups. Just store it in a cool place (no extremes). Peanut butter (buy it NOW) is going up 30 % by next year says local news.

[barfife]

Back in 1968 when Uncle Sam was offering senior trips to young men, on marches, we were getting fed salsbury steak in cans that showed dated from the mid 1940's! And it didn't kill us! Just my $.02.