Stockpiling food for over the long term is an essential aspect of preparing for any grid down disaster.
The best kinds of foods to store for a disaster are foods that are nutritious and that will last for many months or years in the pantry under good storage conditions.
There are certain foods that many people believe will fit the second part of this criteria, but that in reality are perishable very fast. These are the foods that you’ll want to avoid the mistake of stockpiling.
Here are eight ‘long shelf life’ foods that will actually go bad faster than you may think:
Brown Rice
Many people have the idea that, so long as it doesn’t get moist or invaded by bugs, rice will last indefinitely in the pantry.
However, this is only true for white rice. White rice will last for years if it is stored in an airtight container that protects it against moisture and infestation.
Brown rice, on the other hand, only lasts for three to four months under these conditions. It will last only a month or two longer if it is stored in a refrigerator.
Related: Bean and Rice Survival Soup: Easy and Adaptable Recipe
The reason for this is because brown rice contains much higher levels of oil content than white rice does, and this oil is at much higher risk of attracting bacteria and spoiling.
Olive Oil
Several people are under the impression that olive oil like wine is a food product that gets ‘better with age.’
Long story short, it doesn’t, and most olive oils will last for a year to a year and a half at the maximum. After it’s been opened, olive oil will start to lose its flavor fast as well.
Chicken
Most preppers understand the vital importance of stockpiling meat so they have a good source of protein for when the grid goes down, and chicken is usually a prime candidate for stocking up on.
That’s because chicken is usually less expensive than beef, highly nutritious, and can be included in a wide variety of meals and dishes.
That being said, you should be aware that chicken can be easily contaminated with bacteria such as Salmonella. This is why you should always freeze it within one day of purchasing.
When frozen, chicken should last for up to a year, but even then you’ll want to carefully inspect it afterwards.
Herbs and Spices
Most kitchens have entire cabinets full of dried herbs and spices. Stocking up on herbs and spices may seem wise to help give your post-apocalypse meals a bit of extra flavor.
The truth is that while most dried herbs and spices will not spoil, they will use their taste within a matter of months.
As a general rule, you’ll need to replace your dried herbs and spices approximately every year to ensure that the flavor is preserved.
Ground Meat
Ground meat, such as ground beef, is another type of meat that’s commonly stockpiled by preppers because of the fact that it’s usually less expensive than roasts, chops, or steaks.
Unfortunately, ground beef is more prone to spoiling than roasts, chops, and steaks, even when frozen. The meat’s quality starts to deteriorate after 3-4 months
This is because it’s much easier for bacteria to breed in the air pockets that are present throughout the ground beef.
If you want to keep ground meat from spoiling, you should start canning it using this guide.
This way it will last up to 10 years.
It’s also wise to use any ground beef you freeze within four months of freezing. While it can last safely longer than that, the quality and the taste of the meat will decrease considerably after that time.
Mayonnaise
Many people have a major misconception that mayonnaise is a long lasting food product that can stay good on your pantry’s shelf for years. The reason for this is because of the large quantities of vinegar that mayonnaise contains.
However, mayonnaise also contains high levels of egg, which makes it much more likely to spoil fast. This is why an opened jar of mayonnaise should always be used within two months of opening. Unopened, mayonnaise will last for around three months before spoiling.
Potatoes
Potatoes are not as long lasting of a food as you may think. While they can last safely for several months in a cool pantry, potatoes will lose their flavor within weeks and are best eaten within two weeks.
Once potatoes have been cooked, they will last inside a refrigerator for only three to four days.
Related: How To Can Potatoes for Long Term Preservation
To make potatoes last longer, keep your potatoes in a paper bag instead of a plastic bag. The paper will do a superior job of keeping light and oxygen out, and will be less likely to trap in moisture like plastic can.
Wine
Why not stockpile wine for the apocalypse? No, it’s not a necessity. Furthermore, even if you don’t drink, wine (and alcohol in general) can be a highly valuable bartering item following an economic collapse.
There’s an old adage that wine gets ‘better with age’…but that’s only true under certain circumstances. Only red wine can last for long time periods, while white wine will only last for one to two years at most. Furthermore, you need to keep red wine stored in cool and dark locations (hence why we have wine cellars).
Plan on storing your wine at forty to fifty degrees Fahrenheit at the maximum. If you store unopened red wine for two to three years at normal room temperatures, let’s just say you won’t want to taste it when you open the bottle.
If you were planning on including any of the above food items as part of your long term food storage, you may want to think twice about doing so.
So if the above foods are not the best options for storing over the long term, what should you stockpile instead?
Focus on canned meats, canned vegetables, canned beans, dried beans, oats, pasta and noodles, and white rice.
Additionally, focus on food preservation methods such as pressure canning and dehydration to help extend the shelf life of common food products as well.
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I agree with the article except for part about potatoes. I always plan on storing fresh ones for most of a winter. Maybe the author has more well tuned taste buds than me but I consider potatoes edible until their determination to sprout overwhelms me. I also keep some canned and freeze dried and some instant potatoes stored in 1/2 gal glass jars. I can only eat rice & beans for so long then I need to include things like potatoes, corn and other veggies.
Concur with DOMELIVING. I root cellar my tubers – whites – from Mid SEP after curing for 2 weeks until well into MAR-APR (Central NY) depending on my harvest size. My Yukon Jack tubers seem to sprout more slowly in root cellar storage layered between newspaper in half-bushel baskets, than the Reds I also used to plant. Now, I plant Yukon jack white tubers exclusively, 2 x 30′ rows in 2024 should yield me 150-180 lbs delicious tubers, more than that if I am meticulous.
I think the key here is change , enviornment
any food held at a constant above or below the threshold will stay stable and not deteriorate as fast . but they will always deteriourate
places in the world where they have found items like DNA , Blood, Foods from rice, grains and fruits all have certain factors in common
like root cellars , or deep mines, or inside the extreem dry deseart regeons
DRY , moiture free, clean , well sealed
but that being said : everything is designed by God to Fail due to Sinful mankind.
The soul that sins shall perish , all
also there is a way that seems right to mankind , but the end result is physical death , and then Eternal Death
we all were created in the image of God , corrupted thru sin of adam, they offered a way back to God thru Jesus Christ death on the cross as a blood atonement sacrafice for our sin , each man, woman s sin
I had canned , preserved rice, beans, wheat , corn in cans , never opened # 10 , 1 gal cans for 30+ years , then when sorting out things , goals, values, objectives of life we thru them all out , about a pallet full ,
1 thing the cans did not break seal , were rusty on the out sides , papers had decayed away , would not tell what was in some . but I think they were still consumable if needed
but when your values change , so do your storage habbits and items you keep
wise you all the best
Blow it out your kazoo pal, your worn out message is why people leave the organized church BS. Wearing your religious beliefs on your shirt sleeve is no way to attract like minded people.
Your religious message has not much to do with prepping.
Religion like the separation of church and State is there for a reason.
Maybe you would like America be run like the Iran Mullahs, religion and politics gets the world into many wars.
Just stop the religious Rhetoric, Effendi, you don’t speak for many of us traditionalist.
Are the negative thumbs down because of my post?
Don the Devil or Don the Lived?
Was it because of the negative use of Devil or Lived made people think in the negative terms of the word?
It is okay for Chris to bumble through religious dogma and others can not have opposing opinions?
We still have the First Amendment here too of opinions.
Don is right, BEST PREPPER, keep religion to a minimum here. Everyone has a personal opinion on religion. This is a prepper site not a religious dogma site.
Look at the hundreds of bible book translated versions in the world, no one really knows what is the original bible among religious bible scholars.
We have many versions or forms of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim offshoot religions and their bibles. They all do infighting next to fighting each others religious beliefs for centuries.
Some of the Christian traditions are part of pagan celebrations adopted by the Catholic Roman Church of mixed history. The Christmas tree for one example.
The Vatican and their offshoot branches did the Spanish Inquisition and helped the world war two Nazi’s escape Europe to South America, German towns. The FBI did investigated reports on the Nazi’s there in South America, back in the 1940 era.
Study your world history before calling people pagans, best prepper on earth.
Hi Mr. Obvious. The bibles are according to a person which is supposed to interpret an era of history. They all do! Revelations or not, and some. I’m not religious, but you have to tell yourself that there was some master force/power, whatever you want to name call it that made it where you can see, hear and think and reason. Religion is a doctrine in whichever faith. All that said, we are prepper survivalists and when it will come down to it, folks will do all in their power to outlast and survive.
Regular trolls and religious trolls should keep their opinions to themselves. The religion discussion on this comment section are people forcing their beliefs on us. I don’t like people like those annoying Watch Tower door knockers leaving their religious paper views of religious distortion.
How many Ask The Prepper like to be bombarded on religious opinions?
I come here for prepping survival information. I keep my religion opinions to my private conversations with friends.
I can not help myself to tell all you preppers your not all going to heaven.
Myself will be the first in the line to the pearly gates of heaven. Oh St. Peter let me in before these ingrates from hell pull me down to the infernal fires do, help.
I have sinned drinking wine, do not remember what happened with girl friend, I am in court today to explain why we did ….
First in line huh? Keep your religion to yourself. Why are you concerned with everyone else’s spirituality? I came here today for prepping tips – not a sermon.
Get off your soap box preacher!
*you’re*
You shall forever labor in the Seventh Circle of Remedial English.
Why are many on here so triggered by a few stating their spiritual beliefs? if you don’t like it move on…simple. Over reaction speaks plenty…let it go.
Christopher are you a Heaven’s Gate member by chance?
Hey Don. Should add ” advocate, ” LOL. I’m not religious, but I call it fate and in that fate there’s “Murphy’s Law”.
Imported olive oils are usually on the way to turning rancid by the time it hits the store shelves in the USA. Once you have truly fresh olive oil, you’ll never forget the taste. I got truly spoiled after being stationed in Italy.
I have read about the olive oil industry is misleading information on where and what people get of authentic olive oil. Some olive oil is not total olive oil, there are adulterated ingredients added.
Have found the Bragg olive oil brand has the best tasting flavor of true olive oil.
There are some local grown olive oil growers in the States that are authentic, no added ingredients.
Yes the Bragg olive oil is great for salads and cooking. Finding genuine olive oil that is not stale, rancid can be a long journey for it.
Italy has a few nefarious olive oil exporters to the USA. There are genuine suppliers, the price varies a lot with shipping costs.
Just me, but i have no problem at all using refrigerated Mayo from Aldi (Burmans) a year PAST the outdate. But that was stored in the basement fridge.
I’ve used some Mayo I didn’t have room for in the fridge that was out on a basement shelf, and that too was fine and tasty months past out date. Maybe they use a little more vinegar than some brands???
Believe that is true, have opened up a jar of commercial pickles seven years old still good, the taste slightly less in flavor.
I agree. The dates manufacturers put on things are “best by”, or “sell by” (because they don’t want customers to think the product is bad, because the flavor is less than fresh, as with the spices mentioned above), not a magical date upon which everything turns into a spoiled pumpkin. if it looks bad and/or smells bad it IS bad, regardless of whether the “date” has expired or not; and conversely, if it still looks, smells and tastes perfectly good, then it is, even if the magical date has expired. It’s called using common sense, and at least a few brain cells of past experience. I realize some things like botulism are themselves odorless, but a) the bulging can should tip you off, and b) it’s almost guaranteed that by the time botulism is growing, so will a bunch of other, smellier bacteria – the food will LOOK spoiled, even if by some chance your sense of smell isn’t working.
Having said that, I would be much more cautious about canned/bottled things with low acid content, like meat or green beans, than something with more acid, like tomatoes. The latter will usually start to taste like the metal can, long before they get to the point of actually spoiling. And like I said, watch out for any sign of the can bulging or the ends being movable (able to push it up and down with your fingers) – in that case, throw it out without opening it.
I’ve had some mayo that was perfectly good well after the “sell by” or “use by” date, and other mayo that was already looking bad before the stamped date. I’m sure the temperature it was stored at, if it got shipped for miles in the heat, etc., had the most to do with it. And just in general, most of the time I buy whatever mayo is on sale; or if I find an especially tasty brand I may keep buying that one. I’ve had a lot of good luck with Sauer brand; but that may be a southern thing, I don’t remember seeing it much when I was a kid, farther north.
I just want to thank you all who have given me real information and helped with learning about the ins and outs of prepping. I’m out here in the wilderness (literally) and finding my way.
The spirit of kindness is something we can all share, regardless of anything.
The world has become so divisive and I’m tired of so much anger towards neighbors.
We all may need all the friends we can get someday, you know? Peace y’all.
The world has always been divisive for centuries. We are more sensitive because we have a left leaning news media cycle 24/7 nonstop internet.
People born before the 911 attack know life was less terrible.
Those who grew up in the Sixty’s and Seventies lived in some fun times.
There is a previous Ask the Prepper article of what we did as kids back then you might be put in jail for today.
Social media has jaded a lot of people that today we are in a crisis. Many people have not been taught about history that there were much more horrific events than what we have today.
Hi Kristine, that is a wonderful sentiment you expressed. I am in in south central KY, where are you ?
Dry herbs and spices (particularly in their whole form) will keep very well for about 3 years if you vacuum-seal them in glass canning jars and store the jars in a cool, dark, dry place.
Wow, I would think if they were vacuum sealed and in a cool, dark place, most spices would keep a lot LONGER than 3 years! I know we are still using spices that have been on the spice rack for years: a little less potent of course, but still ok to use.
Probably the two things that I really notice most the difference between fresh and “aged”, are crushed chili pepper (fresh is much hotter!), and baking powder (your cakes, etc. won’t rise nearly as well with “old” baking powder.) My mom and grandmother kept theirs in the cabinet for years and years, I never knew the difference until I got older and started baking on my own – I saw a noticeable difference, with fresh baking powder! So I’m pretty sure some of the chemical content starts breaking down with exposure to air and moisture.
Same for yeast, though obviously for different reasons, being a live culture instead of a chemical compound: the culture becomes less viable (fewer of the little beasties are still alive and kicking) the older it gets. Similar for your heirloom seeds: storing them in the freezer will prolong their “life”, and at the same time a few of them may still sprout even if they’ve been in your back drawer for years; but generally, the newer/fresher they are, the better results you will have.
Exactly what I was going to post.
Spices do NOT go bad within a few months. And they do not lose flavor that quickly either. Absolutely absurd.
I cook and bake with spices that are sometimes several years old, often past the “sell by” date, and the food I’m making tastes the same as it always has – delicious. If you had my molasses cookies, you wouldn’t be complaining about the flavor, no matter how old the cloves and nutmeg are….
I’ve used spices and herbs that are MANY years old, so throwing them out after several months seems a ridiculous option. Only occasionally do I have to make the adjustment of using more of the product because it’s lost some taste.
Most of this could have been summarized as: foods with high fat or oil content have shorter shelf lives than those that don’t.
TLDR;
I wholeheartedly disagree with most of those items even being on the list. Chicken and ground beef? Any fresh meat isn’t gonna do long term unless it’s preserved. You can can meats, dry them or freeze dry them. Because of the fat content, hamburger doesn’t dry or freeze-dry well. Herbs and spices flavor diminish over time, but not as fast as the retailers want you to think, and certainly NOT in a matter of months. Mayo doesn’t have much vinegar at all, which is just a sketchy thing to say. Granted it isn’t going to last decades, but like peanut butter it lasts a long time past it’s sell by date AS LONG AS IT IS NOT OPEN.
I boil the meat to extract most of the fat before freeze drying it. It’s worked well for me.
Here is a method I have used for preserving ground beef. It works well, requires no refrigeration, and has long self life, actually years.
Brown the burger and make sure it is well crumbled. After cooking and still hot pour hot water on it to remove the fat/oil. Then dehydrate it until throughly dry. Then vacuum seal in jars or bags. Put an oxygen absorber and silica packet before you seal it. The meat will keep for years. To use it, soak in fresh water until soft, use as little water as possible. Once softened add a teaspoon of lard and heat to melt the lard. Stir to throughly mix the lard into the meat.
I have done this and it works very well.
Thank you Zandor. I will modify your method for freeze-drying.
Hi folks. My opinion. There’s canning and there’s freeze dried foods for long storage. Heck, even army MRE’s contain liquids and there’re good for 5 yrs +. I do have the great opportunity of owning a Harvest Right, 3+ yrs. I recently opened some Christmas ham from 2020. It was like I had just cut it for that meal. Thanks for today’s technology, some shelf products can and likely to be good past the ” BEST BY DATE ”
Prepping has no religion nor politics. Some believe and some don’t. Some want everything to work in a honky-dory way, regardless of who’s in administrative power. We all want to blame someone. But prepping is about you and how you want to make your life more equitable in an unexpected catastrophe. Be it a storm, flood, power outage or any fate forsaken reason. It’s about survival.
Keep getting into it, prepping that is. Stay vigilant and informed.