Cold weather food storage

[rokitman]

This has probably been covered before but, my Bol and future retirement area is subject to months of freezing temperatures and I dont know the proper way of storing some items such as MRE's and canned goods which are subject to freeze damage. I'm not sure if I will be able to maintain a constant environment for my goods, as they will not all be stored together. And are freeze-dried foods affected by freezing temperatures? Some claim they are and some dont! Any suggestions?

[MikeK]

Can you dig a basement, or even a partial basement? Or perhaps some form of a root cellar? With the soil helping moderate temperatures, you can keep foods above freezing with a little forethought. MREs can freeze safely, as long as you don't rough handle them while they're frozen. But canned goods won't tolerate it at all.

Dehydrated and freeze dried foods aren't effected by freezing since there's no water in them to freeze. Cold just makes them last longer. If I had to worry about freezing, I think I'd switch over 100% to dehydrated foods and avoid canned goods altogether. But that's very limiting if you need to count on home canning to preserve the foods you harvest.

[razadp]

yup - dig a hole below the frost line, double layer door it with insulation.

of course that means you have to check the structural properties of the dirt in your area, and consider reinforcing the walls and ceilings, concrete, rebar , etc.

dry goods are more trouble free.

once you are living there it will be easier. our storage in central B.C. was just a room in the basement exposed to the outer concrete walls, a small vent to the shadows under the patio, and 6 inches insulation seperating it from the living areas. if below -40 then prop the door open a crack. we had plenty of jars of fruits and veggies stored in there.

[Teslin]

If you can't dig a hole to place the goods that might have a problem with freezing, into ... you might consider constructing an insulated place to hold them indoors. First you can wrap the goods in newspaper layers, and then build a 'straw bale' house to put them in. Lay a few bales on the floor, build up sides, place goods inside and cap it off with a piece of plywood with bales on top. Should stay warm enough to beat the freeze issue.

[rokitman]

Digging a hole sounds like the most feasable once I get established, but I like the straw bale idea too. Thanks folks!

[gkmiami]

Originally Posted by MikeK

But canned goods won't tolerate it at all.

Mike,

Not quite true. I decided to check up on this as it's of importance to me too. My storage area is subject to temperatures this last winter (colder than normal) down to about 15 degrees F. That was 30 degrees warmer than the coldest low of the winter. After the one severe cold snap the lows in the storage area stayed in the low 20's.
I found some information here: http://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/mod01/01600595.html

WHEN CANNED FOODS FREEZE...

Is it safe to use canned foods (either home canned or
commercially canned) which have frozen? If freezing does
not break the seal (or seam, in the case of tin cans), the
food will remain usable. However, frozen canned foods may
be less palatable than properly stored canned foods.
Freezing may curdle starchy products. Curdled products
usually become normal after thawing and heating. Thaw
frozen canned foods slowly.

If canned foods must be stored in an unheated place,
wrap the jars or cans in paper or cover them with a blanket.

This seems to be the general consensus from the other sites I found. I also ran across the point someone made that since canned food is usually packed with either salt or sugar the actual freezing point would be lowered. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't be concerned about it but that there may not be any issues to deal with even if the cans do freeze. It would all depend on how cold and just what the freezing point of the cans' contents actually is.

gk

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by gkmiami

Mike,

Not quite true. I decided to check up on this as it's of importance to me too. My storage area is subject to temperatures this last winter (colder than normal) down to about 15 degrees F. That was 30 degrees warmer than the coldest low of the winter. After the one severe cold snap the lows in the storage area stayed in the low 20's.
I found some information here: http://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/mod01/01600595.html

WHEN CANNED FOODS FREEZE...

Is it safe to use canned foods (either home canned or
commercially canned) which have frozen? If freezing does
not break the seal (or seam, in the case of tin cans), the
food will remain usable. However, frozen canned foods may
be less palatable than properly stored canned foods.
Freezing may curdle starchy products. Curdled products
usually become normal after thawing and heating. Thaw
frozen canned foods slowly.

If canned foods must be stored in an unheated place,
wrap the jars or cans in paper or cover them with a blanket.

This seems to be the general consensus from the other sites I found. I also ran across the point someone made that since canned food is usually packed with either salt or sugar the actual freezing point would be lowered. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't be concerned about it but that there may not be any issues to deal with even if the cans do freeze. It would all depend on how cold and just what the freezing point of the cans' contents actually is.

gk

My big worry about canned goods freezing is that the bulging of the can might compromise the seal. Sometimes it's not always evident if it does. Botulism is a serious threat in a crisis without medical care.

Good info to have though. Thanks for posting it.