[Preacher Man]

So my wife has been washing out all our plastic food containers (plastic containers for spaghetti sauce, bulk ranch containers from Sams, plastic cookie jars from the kids) and I'm trying to think of stuff I can store in there that will last decades but doesn't need O2 absorbers (cause those containers would end up leaking).

Right now I'm thinking salt of course...it will last forever if kept dry with no need of an O2 absorber.

What about sugar? Flour?

Anything else that I can store in there without needing O2 absorbers for long term (decades) storage?

 

[NoTea4U]

Salt cured foods are a good bet. I've stored fish and venison jerky within salt packs for several years. Dries to a crisp and has to be boiled before eating. It's ideal for making soups and chili. I've also put veggie chips in with salt. After 4 years, I'd used 'em up. Stayed good. Not sure if they'd last decades, we didn't wait that long.

I packed beans and rice away back in 1998. The first packs had no 02 packs and no vacuum (ooh better not go there! ). Beans did okay and the rice did great! It was white suchi rice. On the bean end, small dark red beans did very well; black beans did well; garbanzo beans were pretty good but took a lot of cooking; pintos were okay if cooked without salt (we have a thread on that if you're interested); the kidney beans were not so good. Take care with the fava beans if you consider some, a lot of people are intolerant, myself included.

I'm wheat intolerant, but did have wheat berries stored from before I knew. They had no O2 packs and made good bread, until I could no longer eat bread. Not a related issue btw... celiac. My kids finished off the grain between 10 and 12 years later. Good to the last grain.

Flour is a no go. You have to store it in the natural form. They're now saying you can store durum based noodles for as long as wheat berries, but don't know if you could store them in a simple capped jar.

 

[HB of CJ]

The Usual Suspects

Red #2 winter wheat berries, soy beans, any kind and type of hard beans, white rice, instant oatmeal, dried whole green peas, pop corn, corn meal, milk powder, cooking oil, spices, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, yeast starters, salt, pepper, etc.

Glass better than plastic because most thin wall plastics will seep odors and stuff. But then again, glass can break and must be keep out of sunlight, as also most plastics. Starch additives in plastic bio degrades.

We just used dry nitrogen supplied in large welding tanks. Smaller containers are easier to move around/relocate. You will need a good 12VDC grinder. Be sure to get organic seed quality stuff you can eat...or plant. Keep it all cool and dry. HB of CJ (old coot)

 

[MikeK]

Red #2 winter wheat berries, soy beans, any kind and type of hard beans, white rice, instant oatmeal, dried whole green peas, pop corn, corn meal, milk powder, cooking oil, spices, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, yeast starters, salt, pepper, etc.

Very few items on your list will last for decades without a way of keeping O2 away from it. And nitrogen flushing is not anywhere near as effective as O2 absorbers. At least not without expensive vacuum flushing technology. Go take a look at the lab test results of Wise Foods to get an idea of just how ineffective it can actually be. This is why all the legitimate food storage companies dumped that technology long ago, as soon as something better (O2 absorbers) came along.

 

[Illini Warrior]

salt and sugar/honey .... that's it ..... to get results you need to pay the price .....

 

[SROW]

what about peanut butter? It lasts for some time regularly in the pantry while open... anyone have any idea how long it might last? 5yrs?

 

[NoTea4U]

Been thinking about this since my last post. I don't think you have a lot of options when it comes to food which actually provides nutritional value. Sugar and salt are good examples; they have purpose but are almost nutritionally devoid. Beans will be good but not for the duration you're targeting. White rice could last, but it's nutrition is mostly removed in the processing.

Have you considered using the plastic jars in other ways? They could be used to protect cloth, hardware like screws, a lot of stuff including things which can become food such as fishhooks, snares, and slingshot bands. You could also use the jars for things you want to be found by pests, such as mouse bait.

How important is it that the jars hold food specifically?

 

[goose3]

Objects with oil in them--like cooking oil or peanut butter--are not long-term storage foods. Figure two years.

Pasta will store a long time. So will sugar and salt, virtually indefinitely. Honey has an indefinite shelf life. So does SPAM.

 

[Preacher Man]

Peanut Butter will hold up about ten years.

And I'm just looking for ideas...so far as far as 'food' goes it sounds like salt and sugar is it...which is about what I think thinking. I believe both would be very valuable for barter in a post SHTF world. I'm good stocking that stuff in those plastic jars.

Anyone else have any suggestions on what could be stored in those sorts of plastic jars for long term storage?

 

[pattypan]

how much do you want to eat plastic ? not being sarcastic, but food packaging companies are not your friends....

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/02/134196209/study-most-plastics-leach-hormone-like-chemicals
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/plastic-not-fantastic-with-bisphenol-a/