A Surprising Story of 100-Year-Old Meat

Still not sure you want to store canned foods for years on your shelves for emergency preparedness? Would you guess that a can of meat could last more than 100 years? Perhaps this story will convince you of the long shelf life of canned foods. Canned foods were first introduced at the turn of the 19th century. It was a revolutionary concept–to be able to store perishable foods in containers without refrigeration. One of the things that really encouraged their use was the practicality of canned foods in ships for long voyages. In the 1820’s Sir William Edward Parry took … Continue reading →

Canned Food Storage Safety

Some canned foods can last almost indefinitely if they are stored in the right conditions and are not dented or bulging. Make sure to exercise discretion when using old canned foods. And keep these safety tips in mind when storing canned foods for long periods of time: * Always remember to label your cans as you buy them. I would recommend simply writing the month and year they were purchased on the top of the can with permanent marker. For most items, you should be quite safe to eat these items within two years of this date. After two years, … Continue reading →

How Long will Your Canned Foods Last?

How do you determine how long a can of food will last? Actually, it’s kind of hard to guess, but here are a few guidelines when trying to determine the shelf life of your canned foods: Home-canned foods Most sources say that home-canned foods will store safely for at least one year. With other food items, the level of acid in the food is the critical element for determining how long it may store. Low-acid foods last longer on your shelves than foods with higher amounts of acid. Some sources say all commercially canned food should last at least two … Continue reading →

What Do the Dates on Your Canned Foods Mean?

Are you unsure about how long a can of tuna will last? What do the stamps printed on the cans mean? Can the stamped dates tell you how long an item will store? Those codes sure can be confusing! Here are some things to keep in mind when storing canned foods: First, you may be able to get some information from the product codes printed on the cans, but not much. Cans that list a “use by” date or a “best if eaten by” mean more than random numbers or dates without labels. Other codes or dates printed on cans … Continue reading →

Using Your Freezer to Store Foods

Maybe you are interested in the idea of storing food for emergencies, but you have a hard time with the limitations of storing only nonperishable food items. Perhaps it is time to consider adding another facet to your food storage plan: utilizing foods stored in the freezer. Storing foods in the freezer opens up the idea of storing a vaster array of foods, including meats and pre-made, home-cooked meals. Maybe the idea of storing foods in the freezer makes you nervous. You may consider what might happen in case of a long power outage, where your freezer would eventually get … Continue reading →

Five Reasons to Store Food

Here in the Preparedness blog I will be writing numerous articles on how to store food. But some of you may ask yourselves, “What is the point?” Even if you know on the surface that storing food is a good idea, can you imagine reasons that you might actually need to use your food storage? Are there other reasons other than extreme emergencies where it might be helpful to have stored food? In order to be best prepared to use your food storage when you need it, it is necessary to think about what types of emergencies you are planning … Continue reading →

Food Storage: Milk

One important item to store is milk. It is important to plan for short-term emergencies and long term use of food storage when you are considering how much milk you are planning to store. If you have a child between ages one and two you will want store milk that is three percent (whole milk), because it aids in brain development. This is especially true if you are looking at long term use of the milk. If it were to just get you by in a pinch, then I wouldn’t worry about it as much. You do have several options … Continue reading →

Food Storage: Plan According to the Seasons

You may have noticed that you eat different meals with different seasons. In the United States, we are entering the comfort foods season. This means a lot of heavy home cooked food, like soups, stews, and potatoes. When you are planning your food storage you should take into consideration the different seasons and the types of foods you would like to prepare. You should then stock up and rotate using these foods at the appropriate time. In the summer people tend to eat lighter fresher foods. You may rely heavily on farmer’s markets, and fresh produce from the grocery store. … Continue reading →

Food Storage: Storing Fruits and Vegetables

It is important to remember fruits and vegetables should be included in your year’s supply of food. There are several different ways that you can store fruits and vegetables and you should store your fruits and vegetables in a combination of the listed methods. 1) Storing canned fruits and vegetables is most likely the commonest way to store fruits and vegetables. Canned foods have a relatively long shelf life. They are easy to purchase and to store. Many times canned goods go on sale in January and February every year. Canned foods are also easy to prepare. 2) Storing freeze-dried … Continue reading →

Purchasing an Additional Freezer

You may consider purchasing an extra freezer once you begin to store food. If you have an extra freezer you can store more frozen foods, especially meat, then without one. It also allows you stock up on items when they are on sale. The type of freezer that you buy depends on the reasons you are buying a freezer. The first type of freezer is a chest freezer. These freezers usually sit about waist high. They are more energy efficient, because the door opens from the top, which allows less cold air to escape. You can store larger items in … Continue reading →