When people think about foods that don’t expire they usually imagine traditional home pantries lined with canned, dried, or salted foods. However, not all of these long-lasting food items have an unlimited shelf life.
For example, some canned foods last 5-10 years while others might last for 30 years or more.
While there are a lot of great companies who specialize in creating MREs that can last upwards of 30 years or longer, many of us – either by necessity or by choice – work with what we have and make our own emergency food stockpiles instead.
Keeping this in mind, a lot of the foods in your pantry or bugout bag will need to be eaten and replaced every 2-5 years or longer to maintain peak freshness, nutrition, and safe consumption – depending on your supply.
For this reason, it’s wise to learn which foods you need to rotate and eat and which foods have a more or less infinite shelf life.
Knowing which nutritious foods can be kept indefinitely under the right conditions will help you keep your emergency food stockpile better organized and therefore help you to be better prepared when SHTF.
These 8 nutritious foods that don’t expire should:
- Maintain freshness and peak nutrition for an indefinite amount of time under the right conditions.
- Be very long-lasting or “forever” lasting ( 20+ years)
- Be “low maintenance” or “no maintenance” (ex. will keep at room temperature or when stored in a cool, dry area for several years uninterrupted)
- Have a good enough balance of vitamins, minerals, carbs, fats, and proteins.
- Require minimal use of other resources to consume (water, flame, butter, milk, etc.)
1. Ghee
Ghee has become a bit of a health-food buzzword in the last few years, but it’s been around for centuries. “Ghee” is the Hindi word for “fat” and it’s basically just another word for clarified butter.
Clarified butter is the remaining butterfat that’s leftover after the milk solids are removed – this keeps it from going rancid. Some say ghee has a regional claim that only clarified butter from a specific region can be called proper “ghee” – but ghee made with any “real” butter from healthy cow’s milk is still ghee.
Related: How To Make Clarified Butter With 12-Month Shelf Life
You can buy this healthy long-lasting fat from health food stores or you can simply make your own.
How To Make Your Own Ghee
To make your own ghee, start by clarifying –or melting– a stick or two of butter in a saucepan on low heat until it starts to foam and darkens slightly in color.
Allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes until the fat separates and sinks to the bottom. During this stage, it’s important that you do your best to not let your butter burn or get too dark, which can happen quickly!
You can prevent this by lifting up your pan away from the heat or flame if necessary.
Making ghee is certainly a rewarding chore but a lot of first-time ghee makers find that the saying “it’s more of an art than a science” applies here – so don’t give up if your butter burns the first time around.
The next step is to strain the butterfat from the liquid and allow it to cool in a small glass jar; you can do this twice if you want extra clarified ghee. Your ghee should be a transparent golden color giving reason to the nickname “liquid gold”.
Ghee is an excellent cooking fat and a potent daily source of vitamins A, D, E, and K. As long as your ghee does not come into contact with too much heat or moisture, you can store it in a cool, dark, and dry place indefinitely without refrigeration.
It can be left on the counter for some time and treated similarly to other cooking oils without going rancid. However, it is important to keep it covered, uncontaminated, and away from heat and moisture since it can still oxidize if not correctly stored.
Additionally, you can safely pressure can butter or ghee for long-term storage if you want to make it in bulk for your prepper pantry.
2. Ramen Noodle Packages
While ramen noodles aren’t necessarily the most nutritious food on this list, there are plenty of things you can add to make it a meal – just ask any former college student to confirm this.
With a base of briny bouillon and thin wheat noodles, there are endless ingredients you can add to dress this stuff up.
For example, add a pack of freeze-dried veggies and a half-cup of canned chicken and you’ve got something a lot more nutrient-dense than just noodles.
Now, if you’ve got some canned tomatoes and parmesan on hand – another low-maintenance and relatively shelf-stable food – then you’re really cooking!
Related: The 30 Cents Survival Food That You Should Hoard
Ramen noodles are very versatile. You can even save the flavor packets in a bag with an oxygen absorber for an improvised soup base in a pinch. You can also crush the noodle block to bulk up meat, soups, or other recipes.
Ramen noodles are a bit cliché when it comes to survival food lists. Still, they have their rightful spot in many emergency food stockpiles due to their versatility and their fat and carb content.
3. Bouillon Cubes
Broth cubes, stock cubes, bouillon cubes, soup base packets, goldy blocks – whatever you like to call them – no list would be complete without them.
They’re made from dried meat, spices, and salt – and they have a good amount of calories, fat, protein, carbs, and sodium.
Drop a couple of these in a pot of boiling water and you’ve got a perfectly good soup base or sipping broth. You can either stock up on the stock cubes they carry at your grocery store or you can make your own soup broth packets at home.
Related: How To Make Bouillon Cubes At Home
Although they’re considered non-perishable, environmental factors like air, sun exposure, and moisture can lessen the shelf life. Store-bought bouillon cubes typically have a “best by” date of around 2 years.
However, If kept at room temperature in a cool, dry, and dark place – preferably with oxygen absorbers – they have the potential to last indefinitely.
The biggest complaint folks have when eating properly stored but “expired” bouillon cubes is a drop in flavor quality and a possible loss of nutrients.
Making your own bouillon cubes can take some time and patience, but doing so will yield plenty of stock base to keep you cooking for years to come.
4. Canned Meat and Other Non-acidic Canned Foods
Canned foods may seem like a no-brainer when it comes to choosing long-lasting or non-perishable food for your stockpile, but some canned foods last a lot longer than others.
Canned meat with salt, like Spam, is the longest-lasting canned food item.
However, according to the CDC, canned foods made with low-acidic ingredients can carry a higher risk of botulism if damaged or stored carelessly.
Related: What Is the Best Canned Meat?
Likewise, high-acid foods can eat away at the inside of the can over time, so acidic canned foods like tomatoes should always be eaten before the recommended or best by date.
With this in mind, you’ll want to be sure all of your cans are stored in a cool, dry location away from sunlight with plenty of oxygen and humidity absorbers. This is especially important if you plan to eat the contents of your cans many years later.
Still, properly canning foods has been a trusted method of preserving food for generations and is perfectly safe when done properly.
When in doubt, use common sense: if it smells “off”, has visible mold, or looks like a science project gone wrong – don’t eat it.
Additionally, pressure canning your own food at home is a popular and rewarding skill for preppers to learn. When you can your own food, you can be sure about not only the quality and cleanliness of contents, but also the handling, preservation, and storage of your emergency food supply.
5. Dried Split Peas
Pulse crops like beans may be an obvious choice for a forever survival food, but what about dried peas?
Dried pulse vegetables like beans, peas, and lentils all have an “indefinite” shelf life if stored in air-tight packaging.
Dried peas will last 30 years or more under the right conditions.
To prevent a decline of quality or taste, you can vacuum seal your split peas with moisture absorbers and keep them stored in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
Dried split peas have an advantage over dried beans because they do not get as hardened when stored for a very long time. Split peas cook more quickly and can even save you water since you don’t need to soak them in the same way as you do with dried beans or whole dried peas.
Split peas are a great source of vitamins and minerals like folate, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium – to name a few.
Plus, you’ve got to admit: a split pea soup cooked up in a DIY-bouillon soup-base with chunks of Spam fried in homemade ghee is a hearty and wholesome meal that will feel like a real treat, especially during hard times.
6. Steel-cut Oats/White Rice
When you’re in an SHTF scenario, having a good supply of grains is critical.
After all, grains have played an important role in the everyday lives of many of our most ancient ancestors. Even to this day, cereal grains like wheat, corn, barley, rye, millet, oats, and rice are the biggest source of food in the world.
There are so many things you can make with grains!
Related: Bean and Rice Survival Soup – Easy and Adaptable Recipe
When stored properly, most whole grains will have a shelf life of 10 or so years. However, some grains last much longer than others.
Raw white rice can last 25-30 years or more when stored properly in a cool, dry place with oxygen absorbers. Whole or steel-cut oats are another great choice.
It’s important to note that whole, uncut grains will last much longer than flour or otherwise pulverized grains. Oats will last 25-30 years with proper storage in food-grade buckets or mylar bags with oxygen absorbers.
7. Honey
Honey is a wonderful gift from nature and it can be kept indefinitely thanks to its low moisture content. It is high in glucose, vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals and has many medical and culinary uses. It may change in color and texture over time but many people joke about how good, raw honey has the potential to last longer than humans!
This means the honey will still be around long after all the sugar has been used up or bartered off in a post SHTF world.
Plus, with honey bee populations and hive size averages declining annually, it’s not too far off to think that one day this stuff may be worth its weight in gold.
Related: 23 Survival Uses for Honey that You Didn’t Know About
Whether its for a drizzle of honey in tea to sooth a sore throat or added to breads and cakes to satisfy a sweet tooth, honey will be a special treat and a practical tool to have on hand when SHTF.
8. Powdered Milk and/or Peanut Butter
Powdered foods like milk and peanut butter powder have a very long shelf life. You can even get egg and cheese powder these days, although they don’t last quite as long.
Peanut butter powder provides high levels of fiber and protein and milk powder has a high carbohydrate, protein, and fat content.
Milk and peanut butter powder are great to keep in your emergency food supply since they have multiple uses for cooking and respectable nutrition content.
Non-fat or skim dried or powdered milk has the potential to last over 30 years if stored away from direct sunlight and moisture. Either of these powdered foods stores well and will be a welcomed addition to your emergency food stockpile in an emergency situation.
Although many other food items have the potential to last indefinitely, these are eight of the more practical and versatile long-lasting food items I keep in my own emergency food stockpile.
What other nutritious foods that don’t expire do you think belong on this list?
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Ramen does go bad even in good storage 2 years seems the limit as the dry noodles discolor as the oils in them go rancid. This assumes no holes in the cheap factory packaging and properly stored.
I’ve cooked older Ramen that I had to toss as taste was very off. The almost solid salt flavor packets seem bulletproof like bullion but various companies make various levels of fish oil and such in them so even that may vary.
The enemies of food storage, moisture, heat, bugs and rodents must be controlled to maximize your storage foods edible time.
Rotate your food, Eat what you store, Store what you eat. Under the stress of an emergency is NOT the time to force yourself to eat something you’re not used to.
Really sucks to do a weeklong ONLY Survival Food eating test and discover how much you loathe Wise Foods salty gummy nature. Hard on the bowels too.
Same with Stored Rice and Beans good food but unless your actually cook with them you don’t know what extras are best for a happy family. Spices, Tomato products, Peppers, Garlic adding a bit of SPAM or such to vary the flavors really helps.
I have to sigh when I hear folks bought themselves a “Years’ worth” of SURVIVAL FOOD that fits in a large box. Got it here under the bed. 20 YEARS Storage and all that but when I ask did you taste test it and who do you complain to after 20 years, I get a blank probably angry look. Like ANY Industry there are folks even well-meaning folks selling kits that just are not so good. Fragile tears like tissue paper “Emergency Blankets”, Magnesium Firestarter’s that are not really pure magnesium and a too short poor grade flint, The Survival Seeds in a Can, REALLY? Buy it and forget it? There are over 9 grow zones in America, seeds that do well in Florida’s zone 9 fail in NH’s zones 4-6.
I’m feeling a little harsh because a potential WW3 is near. Get serious about your preps, its not the time to play Pseudo-Rabbi about your Faith. Spiritual preps are as important as physical stuff like food.
As William Wallice said “All men die, not all men truly live. Live the life your children would be proud of.
Here is one thing that will never have a shelf life or a best by date or ever go rancid or expire.
His name is, JESUS CHRIST….
Perfect in ever way, for ever and ever. AMEN…
John 3:16
Amen!!!! ❤❤
Happy Resurrection Day 2022!!
Best advice I’ve heard. I keep hearing about survival food, but it seems to make more sense to buy food that you normally eat, but in larger quantities, then rotate the food as you use it. We eat a lot of soup, chili, pasta, beans and rice, so my goal is to have at least a three month supply in reserve, at least to start. We will (hopefully) be able to supplement with food we grow.
When your doing your regular grocery shopping, it isn’t impactful on your budget to pick-up an extra couple of cans of food, then squirrel them away. Doing that every shopping day, you’ll soon have a fairly decent supply of food stored and won’t have had to spend a ton of money up front. Just promise yourself that you won’t depleat that reserve!
With this crisis going and a distance to get food.. I will likely dip into my supplies. I am retired and limited. I have added faithfully for 2 years and almost where I need to be. Hope things get better. I have rotated. Thanks for the nice article and helpful knowledge.
Important to use glass containers, rather than plastic.
Additionally, on a separate note – I avoid having my food touch aluminum directly. If I wrap it in aluminum, I enclose it in parchment paper first, as a buffer. Also I never cook in aluminum.
We get enough aluminum poisoning in the chem trails …and other assorted polluted forms.
rm p: Same here. niio
Manufacturers put aluminum in our food read the labels to keep products from sticking together like salt flour cornmeal spices
You are so right about the rancid ramen noodles. UGH! Especially do NOT use the flavor packet if over two years old.
I know everyone has different views about prepping. More attention to producing one’s own subsistence products to survive calamity and to thrive afterwards is needed rather than stockpiling more quantities that bankrupt and spoil. So many preppers know how to stockpile food, but not much about raising food and even less about the priority of macronutrients.
I wonder in Ukraine how many preppers there were leading up to this calamity. I wonder how many are sheltered securely with their stockpiles now. I wonder how many are living in the countryside, subsistently, less touched by this than their fellows. I wonder how many got out of the cities with bugout bags. It all makes me wonder. I’m pretty sure, however, this will come to an end in time and people will return. How prepared will they be to rebuild, reestablish and welcome the sunshine, anew? Bless the sheep. Curse the shepherds.
John, You bring up good points. I doubt many of the Ukrainians folks are preppers but despite that, you won’t see them on the news reports because thronging masses of displaced people gets viewing clicks on the upward count. And true preppers won’t make them selves eviden,t as is encouraged. I feel for those who (incorrectly) thought that when they saw mass immigration into European countries with the easy acceptance of the new welfare benefits offered to noncitizens several years ago could ever happen to theirs and made no effort to educate themselves with an exit plan. But, when you are holding a crying kid, walking down the street to a bomb shelter and then I see you a few days later saying you are scared and have no food, no medicine, no water, and are cold, I wonder if you really thought your new existence would be over in two or three days. Are folks that oblivious to the real world possibilities happening outside of their cell phone videos?
Most people in general are not preppers…. in fact few people really prepare for the long term… and its nobody’s fault because not everyone can live that life or afford it.
Carla: Yes, they are. The Bible is the world’s first and still is the foremost book on human psychology. It states “As in the Days of Noah.” Noah spent over a century preaching repentance and that a world-wide disaster was coming. What did the people do? niio
Raven: Exactly. yet, most try. It may not be enough, but they’re striving for independence.
The evil in Noah’s day was due to the fallen angles the watchers… or son of man. Breeding with the women on earth. They created the Hybrids known as Nyplines (giants and no longer human) They grew in size and did evil and where killing each other and everyone… .
you have to understand why it was so evil…
The book of Enoch also helps explain some of the context of that time a well.
raven
very good book. Enoch…
tells a lot about what and why God had to destroy life on earth and where we are today…
when you truly understand it…
I think I understand you raven, a little bit better, because I think maybe, You know, what is to come and HOW…. more then I sucpected.
You just come out with it in a different way. same but deffrent….
good to know…
Raven: Yes. But, sin, even murder was common among people. Just as today, no one wanted to hear what God had to say. If you read the curses it’s like reading today’s headlines. According to legends, it’s the same now as then, of not worse.
John: prepping depends on what a person knows, what you were taught and have learned since. that’s why we’re here, to learn and discuss.
Those Ukrainian nations I knew growing up were adamant about prepping. Most suffered thru Stalin’s famine and lost family. their children were raised on horror stories about it. the current generation I have no clue, but they do tend to be hard-headed and thrifty. niio
Ukraine are excellent preppers. Only some modern couples may not prepared and city dwellers.. One generation from having. The people in the country have much more stored. Raw Buckwheat more primitively, but grains, canning veggies and meat. They have been forced through the ebbs and flows of history. Their eyes always open for opportunities. I would say just the city dwellers, but they can gather greatly.
Skip: It’s early in the season, but word is, farm markets were open and selling everything they had. niio
And how do you propose to repel all those hungry soldiers from the 65 km convoy that just happen to be stalled outside your Prepper homestead on the way to the capital?
Of course there are Preppers there (probably not called that there) just like in every rural country area that is frozen for 5 months of the year and no store just down the road to run to every day. They may not be the yuppy city refugees we see on the news which by the way are mostly young mothers with children or really old women, probably from a destroyed apartment block. (With today’s tech they can’t tell the difference between an apartment block and the military airbase??)
Whether they come back after will depend on who wins. I wouldn’t fancy raising children under puttykin rule.
Ginny: Clinton knew he was bombing hospitals and aspirin factories and did it, anyway. Socialists and other dictators make war on civilians to break the will of the people. Ukraine has traveled this road for centuries. The government this time is handing out guns and ammo to anyone over the age of 12. Most people, those who can, have root cellars, and most have shelves loaded with home-canned goods, peas, and soon. In one way or the other, Russia has been attacking them constantly since the USSR broke up. while this is serious, it’s not the threat liberals are panicking over. Watch what governments are doing under cover of this. niio
Russian Artillery is better then the United states….. but then again the US military is a joke these days .
It could be anything from the “Ukraine Miliitas fighting from the apartments to lets give them total war” Putin is the only leader in this war who’s playing with a full deck of cards.
Raven, there you go, again. Stop taking the word of liberals as reality. Yes, our military is not in good shape, but all that is, is a side issue to take your mind away from things vital here and now. Liberals say these things to keep you from anger about the border, internal conflicts and so on. I’m not worried over this war. I’m somewhat concerned about the state our military is in, but things have been a whole lot worse. War Between the States, half the nation broke off and took most of the amendments with them. The South had allies like Britain and France, the world’s two superpowers backing them. France owned Spain and all that wealth. That the US survived was itself a miracle. WWI, dems we were chopping at the military. WWII, we were so depleted thanks to the dnc, we would have fallen had not Mexico jumped in and told Hitler and Franco of Spain where to head in. Keep an eye on God, always, and one on what tricks the cheap shot greedy dems are doing.
i don’t really listen to the Liberals on our Military strength . I just view it from knowing the current people in and from my prior service. Its biblical that the United States isn’t a power house in the end times.. .
Its over for this country, as we become the country of pagans and baal worship.
Relax Michael! Things are improving. I know this because in the last few days comments from Raven Tactical prepper expert seem to be almost sane.
No kidding.There hasn’t been a single rant of a delusional lunatic here or on MSB.
Hopefully he will stay on his meds.
If it don’t stink, stir it
Costco sells peaches in jars. Enjoy them, then clean and reuse the jars and lids for grains and beans. Pour the contents in the jars while they are quite warm and the lids will seal. Keeps freshness for a long time.
Recommend making sure the packed fruit is not from China. Sometimes they use “PRC” instead of “China” as a source identifier. (Their water is not purified..)
Especially if you throw in an O2 absorber
Many brands of pasta sauce come in good jars foe preserving food from decomp. I don’t think the ring inside the lid is adequate for canning, but in my view, glass jars are superior for long term storage of food items Just my unscientific opinion based on no valid testing. Your mileage may vary.
In any event, containers with lids will have value after an end of the world event. It will be a long time until the Ball glass jar assembly line starts up again.
Just received some of Beowolf ammo in. . 500 grains bullets…. . its over kill for a deer but might good for Bear, russian or not.
I have a friend that is collecting many things: ammo, gold, weapons. I told him I was collecting canning jars and lids and he laughed at me.
LCC: You mean before jar manufacturing comes home to America and begins again. We stopped buying canning jars years ago because they’re cheap junk made in China. niio
Seems like, and im just stabbing in the dark here, but after those jars and lids are sterilized LCC, if ANYTHING they should be great for pasta, or rice at a minimum with plenty of de-oxygenators, especially if kept out of light.
They are good for ammo as well.
Even if you dont have the caliber, you have ammo for barter.
I heard that when reusing glass jars (such as pasta sauce jars) you might be able to get an airtight seal again by using paraffin wax, such as Gulf Wax, by melting and pouring a thin layer around the inside rim of the lids where they will contact the jar, then snug them on when the wax is firm but still warm and soft enough to form a seal around the top of the jar (timing!), has anyone tried this, and succeeded? I know wax was poured on top of jams and jellies in canning jars to seal them from contact with air, and it worked well, but only because the jam/jelly solidified enough to make a solid surface the wax did not penetrate or soak into.
dz: Check canning sites. You can buy new lids and rubber rings that fit the jars. The major BS is, the jars are designed to use once and throw away. That is stupid. My parents bought jars of food by the brand that offered the best reusable jars. We still can with an old mustard jar bought back in the 60s. Did you make a solar drier, yet? I finally bought self-tapping screws and gotta git ‘er done. We had a sheet of metal for it, 2x6s, metal fly screen and 1/4 inch welded wire for several years. we still need a dozen oven racks. they get doubled crosswise to put food on. niio
I make my ghee in a double boiler so there’s no danger of burning the butter while it melts. I keep it over the double boiler for 50 minutes after it’s all melted and then pour it through a fine mesh screen which separates the milk solids from the liquid. Quick and easy!
Dave: Do you think a cone coffee filter would work as well?
I bought canned butter which is made overseas. The canned butter from the Netherlands was cheaper than the butter from New Zealand. I couldnt detect any significant difference between the Dutch butter and Costco’s except for a significant difference in price.
Bullion cubes can and do go bad in a few months once they’re opened unless you repack them with oxygen absorbers. Found that out the hard way ?
BTW, surprised hardtack wasn’t mentioned… usually it pops up during any lts food storage conversation.
Hardtack? Best oxygen absorber.. Thanks all
Miss Kitty, we use Knorr brand powdered bullion, beef and chicken flavors, and keep it in the refrigerator after opening, usually for months or even years after the “best if used by’ date and have never had any go rancid. I do not know if it would go rancid if kept in the pantry at room temperature, but in the refrigerator this product lasts for years without going bad, and still tastes great. Over time it will harden into a more solid “chunk” but can be broken up and/or “scraped” into measurable consistencies of smaller pieces or back into powder, similar to sugars.
DZ:
Other years I’ve used Wylers’ cubes, kept at room temperature. Switched to Knorr powdered boullion this year and already like it better. Never thought of putting it in the fridge – thanks for the tip!?
only a couple of the items in this article such as honey, grains, and legumes, as well as many not listed such as salt, vinegar, and sugars, will last indefinitely if properly packaged for long term storage. I am not familiar with Ghee but do have two unopened jars for “just in case”. All other items such as the bullion, dried milk, dried peanut butter, canned meats, and so on will all eventually spoil, even if packaged for long term storage.
dz: When my mother canned during WWII, she used wax on top of the jars to seal them. At this late date, I don’t have a clue what foods she was dealing in the jars but like so many folk, we had a Victory Garden and I would imagine she sealed produce from the garden. However, I would not rely on an almost 80 y.o. Recollection other than wax was used.
However, in ‘62 or ‘63, the house we were renting had an apricot tree. It must have been a good year for apricots because there must have been close to a thousand apricots on the tree. We ate apricots for three meals a day and finally when we quite had our fill of fresh apricots, I decided I would make jam and can it. I did and following my memory of how my mother sealed the jars which was somewhat fresher 60 years ago, I sealed the jars with wax under the lids. I took jars of apricot jelly in to work and handed out jars to everyone that wanted some, neighbors, strangers, anyone I could convince to take a jar of apricot jelly. That was my last attempt at canning.
So immoral of the story is 70+ years ago during WWII wax was used to seal some canned goods. 60 some years ago I personally used wax under the jar lids to seal apricot jam or jelly. In both instances there were no complaints of untoward sequellia from eating the food thus preserved. I suspect any that was eaten was consumed within a year, so I don’t know if wax is adequate for short term preservation or sufficient for long term.
I would suspect that a web search would answer the question and I may do that if I find zi have time on my hands with nothing better to do just to satisfy my curiosity.
Yes, wax was used to seal *some* high acid, high sugar foods such as jam and jellies, however, it’s tricky at best. After boiling the jars for what seemed like forever, my grandmother used wax to seal the jars of jam and jelly made from their peaches then kept the jars in the dark, cool basement. Even kept in the dark and cool, sometimes mold would grow along the edges where the liquid had seeped up the edge of the glass and the whole jar would have to be thrown out. She never, EVER used wax to seal anything else, even something made with tomatoes, even though they are typically high acid (depends on the variety). It was thought that the double-whammy of the high acid and high sugar of the jam & jelly would preserve it. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn’t. Life is full of choices…. and for me and mine, we are saving the regular Ball canning lids and jars. BTW, don’t put empty jars on your shelves…. store water in them.
If making Ghee, save the milk. It comes in handy when canning things like 3 bean salad. I do not like to add butter when canning it, but it needs the flavor. If you like old-fashioned churn butter and don’t like to pay 10 bucks a pound for it, unsalted butter, softened, 1-2 tablespoons of raw yogurt whipped in it, refrigerate a few days, then freeze or make ghee.
I am, I hope, feeling better. The barometer dropped to 27.02 inches and nary a headache. I’ve been using warm coconut oil in the sinuses to kill a fungal infection. niio
Have you tried collidial silver?
My wife has my nebulize it when I get a cold, or respiratory issues.
Quicker healing.
Exodus: I thought about it, yes, but will try it. Much thanks! this sinus infection is caused by allergies, so in order to stop it, the allergies need to be stopped. niio
For a get home bag, I suggest SOS lifeboat bars. I believe their rated life is five years. I would have to go look at mine to be certain. They are calorie dense and while not gourmet dining, they have a mild lemony taste. I know that they come in 2400 calories packs and 3600 calories packs. I get the 3600 calorie packs because if I am walking long distances carrying a pack or pulling a luggage cart, I am going to need the extra calories and the 36 compared to the 24 is either the same size and weight or very close.
They are palatable many years past their stated life, especially if wrapped in a thick layer of newspaper to insulate them. As readers know, in the last six months I had to remove all my emergency get home items from my van that I sold. I found numerous items significantly past their best by date. Yesterday I had a Clif Bar from that stash. Its best by date was Feb 2017 so 5 years past its best by date. It was drier than a fresh bar but still palatable. It was best eaten with some kind of beverage including water. I think it might be broken up and added to boullion to make a kind of soup.
Clif Bars are a little light on calories at 250 for this particular bar but within 100 calories of a much more expensive “survival good” packet. This particular bar has 10 grams of protein. Most “survival” meals are notoriously low on protein. 10 grams supplies 20% of your daily needs. It also has 29% of your daily needs of fiber at 5 grams.
I am not schilling for Clif bars, just trying to point out that for emergency food it really is imperative to read and understand the label. Too many “survival foods” are very heavy on carbs and have little or no protein or fiber. Heavy physical labor such as hiking with a pack require larger amounts of protein than normal and we all know how important fiber is.
Anyway. Clif bars and SOS lifeboat bars are good long term food items especially in a get home bag where stopping for a meal may not be feasible or desirable.
I pretty much agree with the author, I store every thing mentioned (and more) except ramen noodles. I have my grains, beans, rice, salt, sugar, and honey in 1/2 gal glass jars and consider them to be forever stuff, everything else will be rotated at some point. Cycles will be different, powdered milk 3yr or so, Spam may go 15 yr. Tomato sauce never seems to go past 18 months just because we use that much. I keep ghee and lard canned and in the freezer with the understanding it will be good for a long time even at room temperature. I got more serious about prepping about seven years ago and these articles and the comments always provide good insights.
domeliving: Good moniker.
If you have freezers, what happens is the power goes out? Most of the space in them is meat, but a lot of veggies we don’t can (low acid) or care for dried. But, there’s a very large solar drier in the make. But, this is Arizona and dying food is as natural as the sun that fries out brain. Solar drying works well all over.
U of Ohio did a few experiments and found that even during high humidity events, forced, unheated air will dry grain and so on well, with no loss.
One thing I was warned about, do not overdo the heater a daughter and a younger sister live on the Susquehanna River, about 35 miles apart and it rarely gets below 50% even when the river freezes over, but as long as the sun is hitting the heater, steel pipes painted black, the food dries. We need to buy a thermometer because too much of a good thing will scorch the food. niio
Its why i installed solar power for a reason run the well pump and some lights along with the big chest freezer.
Raven: How about backup? If you read countryside small stock journal, you probably already heard of the bicycle generator.
Ramen Noodles contain MSG and TBHQ
Instant ramen noodles contain ingredients called flavor enhancers and preservatives, which can be harmful to your health.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) – Many people may be more sensitive to MSG and don’t even know it. Doctor’s write this reaction off as some else like “you have high blood pressure” like they did me. Consumption of this preservative has been linked to symptoms like headaches, swelling of the tounge, nausea, difficulty breathing, high blood pressure, weakness, muscle tightness and flushing of the skin (11, 12).
Tertiary butylhydroquinone — more commonly known as TBHQ — is a common ingredient in instant ramen noodles. While TBHQ is considered safe in very small doses, animal studies have shown that chronic exposure to TBHQ may lead to neurological damage, increase the risk of lymphoma and cause liver enlargement (9). Plus, some people exposed to TBHQ have experienced vision disturbances, and test-tube studies have shown that this preservative can damage DNA (10).
Fact, studies have uncovered several health risks associated with the instant noodles.
1. Ramen increases risk for metabolic syndrome in women.
Women who eat instant noodles two or more times a week are 68% more likely to develop a higher risk of metabolic syndrome, no matter how healthy they eat or how physically active they are. Doctors think that ramen’s processed ingredients, high sodium levels and considerable amount of saturated fats contribute to high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, and an increased risk of stroke, diabetes and heart disease.
2. Ramen can lead to weight gain.
One package of ramen noodles contains 14 grams of saturated fat — that’s 40% of your daily intake. Additionally, they are low in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. These instant noodles may fill your stomach, but they pack a whopping amount of calories and offer little nutritional value.
3. Ramen can damage your liver.
Highly processed foods contain preservatives, artificial sweeteners and flavorings, and additives that stress your liver because they are so hard to break down. If your liver is overwhelmed it stores excess fat in its own cells. Over time, fat builds up and can inflame or damage this vital organ. Irregular liver function also causes water retention and swelling.
4. Ramen can increase your risk of heart failure.
Sodium causes high blood pressure, which may lead to heart failure or stroke. Because ramen noodles contain 1,820 milligrams of sodium, almost two-thirds the daily FDA-recommended consumption, they can significantly increase your combined salt intake for the day without you even realizing. The more you eat, the higher your risk.
5. Ramen stresses your digestive tract.
Even after two hours, your stomach cannot break down highly processed noodles, interrupting normal digestion. Ramen is preserved with Tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), a hard to digest petroleum-based product also found in lacquers and pesticide products. The extended period of time it takes your system to process instant noodles also increases how long your body may be exposed to this chemical and hinders its ability to absorb nutrients from other foods. Eventually, your body will flush it through the digestive system, but if you experience nausea and vomiting, tinnitus, or delirium, it could be attributed to an unsafe exposure to TBHQ.
So keep on eating C***! Your doctor has a pill to fix that waiting on you….NOT!
How many people have considered what they will do if their home and the majority of their supplies are destroyed in a fire/wildfire, flood, tornado, major storm, or hostile actions sometime after a SHTF scenario? You may be left with only whatever you have managed to salvage and forage, and the knowledge and skills you have learned in preparation, so please think about and plan in advance what you might have to do if you literally lose everything.
Not an option: Falling down and screaming like a little girl. Nor is the Tobacco Road syndrome. Things will get rough, and for many, very rough. As Franklin said, we either hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately. That is the major idea, to save the nation and do like we swore to, to defend the Constitution. niio
Most foods don’t “expire”; they have a “best if used by” date. Not a single food listed here meets the criteria of not expiring if that means a time when they become inedible. The author is wrong on all counts.
Some things she mentions have relatively short shelf-lives – such as Ghee or any fat, powdered milk, etc. Others have long shelf-lives, assuming that bugs and other things don’t get in them – such as white rice. Many of the others, such as oatmeal, are in between. Not a single thing she mentioned is unlimited shelf life.
maybe now the Ukraine people will understand the importance of being armed ! And make it a right . And don’t let the government change the rules once the Russians are gone . If the people had been armed they wouldn’t have even tried it !
Gone lol they will own Ukraine
raven, you may be right. I hope not, tho. Only a small percent of the population was nazi. I think France has more nazis than the Ukraine. Of course, look who won the French election, a nazi.
Ukraine voted in a nazi president prior to the cia puppet they have now
dpm: let’s hope so. People like the Swiss should be emulated. At one time, we were a lot like them, but it cost a family too much to arm itself. The Swiss play it smart. Preteens are trained in arms as part of the school curriculum. Late teens, as long as you’re mentally competent, you’re in a military unit. Basic training starts in grade school, and it should here, as well. One thing every tinpot dictator is terrified of is an armed, trained population. niio