The Best Long-Term Food Storage Options
The best foods to keep in long-term storage in an emergency include canned fruits and vegetables, dark chocolate, and instant mashed potatoes.
Long-term food storage is hot news these days. Whether it’s the threat of natural disasters from climate change, and earthquakes, or even the threat of World War III, it seems we are all focused on how to prep and prepare in order to survive. Also, when you add in the fact that more folks are focused on saving money on groceries these days, there has never been a better time to learn and understand long-term food storage.
True preppers have long-term food storage down to a science. In fact, preppers can use calculators and other tools to figure out how much food they’ll need for every person in their family for so many years. However, everyone should pay attention to how long certain foods actually last. (Do those pop-tarts really last forever?)
According to EZ-Prepping, there are specific food-prepping containers for you to use when you use long-term storage techniques for things like beans, pasta, cornmeal, and white rice. In addition, there are many brands their containers available on Amazon. It’s great as long as you know what you’re looking for. But once you get it down, you’ll be able to keep doing it over and over. And, let’s hope you don’t have a need to break into your stash. Remember, you can always keep your food for dinner, too.
There are definite ways to make long-term storage a fun hobby. It’s a hobby that can help you and your family survive in not just extreme situations but also save money in the short term. You can learn to prep seamlessly and efficiently.
According to Taste of Home, there are 32 long-term storage foods that will last for a long time. Great for prepping, great for stocking your pantry. According to the article, all items mentioned are ingredients that would be kind of a bummer if you were cooking, had a plan, and then saw there were no more of a certain ingredient you need.
Here are 5 of the top 32 long-term storage foods that you should always have on hand and will stay fresh for a long time if you store them correctly and in an airtight package. (With or without a natural disaster.)
- Bouillon: Use it to add to soups as well as to create spicy or tangy sauces. Store in a dark pantry. Stores for two years.
- Canned fruits, Vegetables, and Beans: Be sure to not use cans that are bulging or dented. Keep them in a cupboard. Stores for up to six years.
- Corn Starch: File this under “would suck to run out during a recipe.” Keep in its original container and keep it dry. Stores for forever.
- Dark Chocolate: Great for topping off a lovely meal. Keep in its original packaging or wrap it tightly in a cool pantry. Dark chocolate lasts the longest of all types of chocolates. Stores for two years.
- Instant Mashed Potatoes: These taters can be elevated with a little thought and know-how. Keep them stored in your pantry and keep them dry. Lasts one to two years.
Some of the recent food trends, such as elevated snack bars and dried fruit, will hold up nicely as long-term storage foods as long as you keep them airtight. Many snacks this year will be CBD infused. So, be sure to keep them far away from children or anyone else who would not want to ingest CBD. These snacks will last long because CBD does expire in about two years.
