Storing oil or shortening powder

[meemo]

Im curious aboout the shelf life for olive oil or vegetable oil*(whatever lasts longer). Or should I be looking for shortening powder to put in mylar. I figure you cant cook alotta things without oil or butter or sumthin.

[Herbalpagan]

supposedly, unopened olive oil in cans will last for 20 years. Vegetable oil and shortening, unopened will supposedly last for up to 5 years. I believe I was told that the shortening powder will last 10 years or so.
Those are the time lines I'm going by. One thing I am going to be doing is getting an oil press so that eventually I can grow things like sunflowers for the oil from the seeds and nuts for the oil.

[MikeK]

Shortening powder seems to have a decent life when stored away from O2. The food storage companies all sell it. Most vegetable oils are only good for a year or so. But you can extend that by storing it in the freezer.

I think the secret with oil is store it cold and rotate the heck out of it. If you end up tossing some of it out, well, consider it cheap insurance to make sure you have enough fats stored.

Coconut oil has a longer shelf life than most. Several years. Crisco stores pretty well too, but yuck! I've used 5 year old Crisco that tasted fresh, but that stuff is really bad for you.

Back in the early days of the internet, before websites and such, there was talk on the newsgroup misc.survivalism about preserving oil with vitamin E or antioxidants such as BHT. I know when Alan Hagan made the food storage FAQ, he included dosages and mixing instructions, but no notes on how long the shelf life was extended. Perhaps because his oil hadn't gone rancid yet. I don't know.

I've often wondered about hot canning oil. I notice that canned foods packed in oil, such as tuna or sardines seem to last just fine without the oil going rancid. Perhaps the heat drives any O2 out of solution, and the limited headspace gas in the cans reduce the oil's exposure to O2. I sure wish I could find some hard data on these things.

[Lemon]

Originally Posted by Herbalpagan

supposedly, unopened olive oil in cans will last for 20 years. Vegetable oil and shortening, unopened will supposedly last for up to 5 years. I believe I was told that the shortening powder will last 10 years or so.
Those are the time lines I'm going by. One thing I am going to be doing is getting an oil press so that eventually I can grow things like sunflowers for the oil from the seeds and nuts for the oil.

Thank you for this post, and please don't take offense when I ask for a source on 20 year shelf life for olive oil storage.

I currently have powered butter & oil stored, If olive oil is a good 20 year prep I'm going shopping soon.

Thanks

[outnabout]

Just a note on olive oil. Was picking up some stuff at local bakery supply. They told my wife and I that they quit selling olive oil due to the fact that it was not pure, that it was being mixed with other oils and fillers. They recently found a supplier from Greece that ships directly to them. It's costly, but excellent. Just thought you olive oil "purist" may like to know.

[stephpd]

Hopefully the tests being done at BYU will be out some time this year. They just posted their request to the LDS Monday.They're looking for stored oil. I'm hoping all different sorts get sent in and some old stuff too. It seems something most folks would like definitive answers on.

I'm hoping they get more then just corn oil. Maybe some olive oil (and EVOO), canola, coconut, etc.

[Lemon]

My 10 minute google on Olive oil storage life:
(note - it can be frozen for differant results)


Pure(refined) = 3 years
Extra virgin / virgin = 2 years
Light / extra light = 3 to 6 months depending on sediment count
(these are usually the "store brands that are combination of olive oils referred to as "blended".

Figure your shelf life from the best by date. Unopened or opened makes very lttle difference, although unopened it will not have been exposed to the humidity in the air.

The main causes of food spoilage are exposure to temperature extremes, moisture,excessive sun or light, and insect pests.

As in all cases, if it doesn't smell or taste right - discard it.

http://stealthsurvival.blogspot.com/...king-oils.html


************
&
"Olive oil will keep well if stored in a sealed container in a cool, dark cupboard for about one year. If unopened, the oil may keep for as long as two years or more. To our knowledge, there is no government source for the shelf life of cold pressed oils. Check any oil carefully for rancidity before using."

http://purefectfoods.com/news.aspx <------ good resource for storage food shelf life

[Buckstar]

Shortening powder sounds a lot like dehydrated water to me. I bought a can of it though and read the label. It says that if you want it to vaguely resemble shortening you'll have to add oil. Go figure since shortening is hydrogenated oil and oil doesn't powder well. Also, 'powdered peanut butter' is just peanut flour. You have to add oil to that too.

I'm leaving it at that and bought a bunch of actual shortening and gallons of oil. I didn't realize how badly I needed it until I went to the food calculator from Emergency Essentials http://foodstorageanalyzer.com. See, all the buckets of beans and wheat and rice and more beans are missing 2 things, fat and salt. Since this calculator calculates based on total calories and shows the nutrient ratios in comparison to a healthy diet it was saying I only had a pitiful amount of food stored and only like 1% of my daily fat was taken care of. When I added some hypothetical fat my food/days went up easily. I'm also not an enemy of fat. Fat makes my hunger turn off where I might otherwise eat a box of something and consume many more calories. Fat is also good for when you have to accept lower house temperatures to conserve fuel as your body needs its long burning fattiness to create body heat.

So long story short is that I intend the last morsel of food that I scrape from my stash will be deep fried and I won't have enough oil/shortening until then. Also, when my fridge was broken for a few months and I hadn't bothered to get a new one I had my butter sitting on the table. Not only do flies not go near it but being at room temperature makes it so easy to spread and it didn't change in flavor one bit. If butter can sit in open air for months without ill effects (unless it's hot out) then I don't think that fats are so prone to rancidity as people would suggest.

One last note on nutrition. I just checked a #10 can of spinach. The whole can contains 340 calories. A 48oz bottle of oil has 11,520 calories. I could probably get 5-10 bottles of oil for the price of that can of spinach. (WOW!) I'm glad I have a variety of fruits and veggies stored for variety and nutrition but fats will give me a lot of energy and turn off my hunger.

On a side note I just looked up rancidification on Wikipedia. Apparently fat can only go rancid 3 different ways. Those are by reactions with oxygen, water, or microbes. Problem solved.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by Lemon

My 10 minute google on Olive oil storage life:
(note - it can be frozen for differant results)


Pure(refined) = 3 years
Extra virgin / virgin = 2 years
Light / extra light = 3 to 6 months depending on sediment count
(these are usually the "store brands that are combination of olive oils referred to as "blended".

Figure your shelf life from the best by date. Unopened or opened makes very lttle difference, although unopened it will not have been exposed to the humidity in the air.

The main causes of food spoilage are exposure to temperature extremes, moisture,excessive sun or light, and insect pests.

That's just about what I've found to be the storage limits with my own oils. Once opened, my olive oil lasts for less than a year. Of course, I'm in a warm climate which accelerates rancidity.

The enemy of oils isn't humidity, it's O2. It causes oxidative rancidity. Light is also an enemy, so oils in a bottle need to be wrapped, boxed, or stored in a dark area.

[AV8R]

Originally Posted by MikeK

Shortening powder seems to have a decent life when stored away from O2. The food storage companies all sell it. Most vegetable oils are only good for a year or so. But you can extend that by storing it in the freezer.

I think the secret with oil is store it cold and rotate the heck out of it. If you end up tossing some of it out, well, consider it cheap insurance to make sure you have enough fats stored.

Coconut oil has a longer shelf life than most. Several years. Crisco stores pretty well too, but yuck! I've used 5 year old Crisco that tasted fresh, but that stuff is really bad for you.

Back in the early days of the internet, before websites and such, there was talk on the newsgroup misc.survivalism about preserving oil with vitamin E or antioxidants such as BHT. I know when Alan Hagan made the food storage FAQ, he included dosages and mixing instructions, but no notes on how long the shelf life was extended. Perhaps because his oil hadn't gone rancid yet. I don't know.

I've often wondered about hot canning oil. I notice that canned foods packed in oil, such as tuna or sardines seem to last just fine without the oil going rancid. Perhaps the heat drives any O2 out of solution, and the limited headspace gas in the cans reduce the oil's exposure to O2. I sure wish I could find some hard data on these things.

Mike,
How do you tell if the oil has gone bad?
Does it smell bad, change color or settle into layers?

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by AV8R

Mike,
How do you tell if the oil has gone bad?
Does it smell bad, change color or settle into layers?

It smells rancid. The down side is that apparently not everyone can detect rancidity. I was blessed (cursed?) with the ability to detect even the slightest levels of rancidity in oil. When it's rancid enough, the oil will have a stale, bitter taste to it. But even a little rancidity is a bad thing and to be avoided if possible.

[darlenea]

I have read on some of the Mormon sites that Crisco can last 10 years if unopened if stored in a cool dark place. Anyone have any more info on this? - Yes I know Crisco is not the best for you. But i am storing food to live and having a oil source that is stored long term. If I throw some away and buy new in 10 years that is okay. It is insurance - I spend money on insurance I rarely use all the time. We do not use much oil now and go through less than a bottle a year - I need to store more than that so can not easily rotate. We will need the calories from the fat if we start living on our other stored foods and our large garden.

[Summer]

Originally Posted by MikeK

It smells rancid. The down side is that apparently not everyone can detect rancidity. I was blessed (cursed?) with the ability to detect even the slightest levels of rancidity in oil. When it's rancid enough, the oil will have a stale, bitter taste to it. But even a little rancidity is a bad thing and to be avoided if possible.

Here, Here! I know most people think peanut butter lasts forever, but once I started paying attention, I noticed I could smell when the oils in it have gone rancid. I'm very careful about it now and don't keep extra in stock.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by darlenea

I have read on some of the Mormon sites that Crisco can last 10 years if unopened if stored in a cool dark place. Anyone have any more info on this? - Yes I know Crisco is not the best for you. But i am storing food to live and having a oil source that is stored long term. If I through some away and buy new in 10 years that is okay. It is insurance - I spend money on insurance I rarely use all the time. We do not use much oil now and go through less than a bottle a year - I need to store more than that so can not easily rotate. We will need the calories from the fat if we start living on our other stored foods and our large garden.

It's definately not healthy but it does store very well long term. I recently opened some that I put into storage in 1997. This is a hot climate, but I couldn't detect any rancidity from smell alone. I tasted a tiny bit and it tasted ok too. I tossed it out and replaced it though. But it made 13 years in a warm climate.

I'm seriously looking into coconut oil. Not only is it one of the healthiest oils, but it has a long shelf life. Between that and olive oil, I think I'll probably phase Crisco out of my storage.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by Summer

Here, Here! I know most people think peanut butter lasts forever, but once I started paying attention, I noticed I could smell when the oils in it have gone rancid. I'm very careful about it now and don't keep extra in stock.

The natural peanut butters don't last all that long, but the commercial brands last a lot longer. They take out the peanut oil and replace it with hydrogenated vegetable oil (Crisco). I don't know how long any of them actually last though. I store peanut powder instead of peanut butter.

[stephpd]

So, besides smell is it really bad for you to consume it?
Some things I can detect by smell, others not so much.
I know meats are one item that I do notice if they get smelly.They also get slimy, which bothers me more. (but some folks like meat that way)

Fish are something that really get smelly. When I was in the far east the open air fish markets (no ice) turned my stomach to the point that I can't stand it anymore. I know fish is supposed to be good for me but even the slightest hint of smell brings back bad memories. I can't get it in my mouth if I can't get it past my nose.

[darlenea]

How long does Coconut oil last? In previous research I remember reading that some kinds really taste like coconuts (which I wouldn't like to use in some recipes). How do you know which is good and which kind of processing lasted the longest. I know our local Wal-Mart carries coconut oil.

I'm seriously looking into coconut oil. Not only is it one of the healthiest oils, but it has a long shelf life. Between that and olive oil, I think I'll probably phase Crisco out of my storage.[/QUOTE]

[Herbalpagan]

I said in an earlier post that olive oil properly stored has a shelf life, supposedly, of 20 yrs. I was asked to show where I had seen that, and I looked and looked and found several people who said it had no expiration date, but the bulk of the info said 2 yrs after the expiration date, but to go on taste and smell. They said while it won't hurt you, it won't taste good if it is too old. I apologize for the misleading info on that post. I may come accross where i read it, but since popular opinion, of the hardiest preppers, says 2 plus yrs...well, again I apologize and I guess I'd better start rotating some of the oil I have stored! lol (live and learn)

[Mike]

i've been buying crisco because its cheap and stores a long time. i get it at costco, i'm not sure if there is a cheaper place to buy it though.

[Time Will Tell, huh]

This got me thinking. I use a lot of PAM, the spray stuff in a can. Great to keep things from sticking. I did a search and it goes from 12 to 24 mos. I'll be stocking up a bit. Here's a link.

http://www.pam4you.com/pages/questions/index.jsp

D