[meemo]

Ok. Im startin it(unless someone else already did). Feel free to add on. Im doind this for my own good as well as yours so ten years from now I can check my longterm and adjust accordingly.All items are packed in mylar with o2 absorbers and in food grade buckets with sealed lids. BEANS--30yrs. RED WHEAT BERRIES-30 yrs OATS-25yrs PASTA-20yrs SUGAR/SALT-indefinate COCOA- 20yrs CRISCO-5yrs HONEY-indefinate TEA-indefinate POTATOES(powdered)-20yrs PEPPER(whole corns)-20yrs Please add on and correct me if Im wrong. Also curious about baking powder,yeast,baking soda,cinnamon,dehydrated onions and garlic,lentils

 

[dealfinder500]

Very good post. It will be helpful to get a long list finalized. I've seen other sites with info but for the most part they just give the Best Buy date.

 

[rugster]

I've heard conflicting things with COCOA that it's 10 yrs and eve 5 ?

Rice other than brown is gold 30+ years

 

[MikeK]

Baking powder has a very short storage life. But you can make your own easily enough from ingredients that store a lot longer. You can make single acting baking powder from 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar and 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional). The corn starch keeps the powder dry so it'll have some shelf life. If you're going to use it immediately, you can omit it.

I believe you can make it double acting by increasing the amount of baking soda. The baking soda that the acid wasn't able to react with, would release CO2 during baking. Seems I've seen a ratio for that, but I don't remember what it was offhand. Either doubling or tripling the baking soda, I believe.

 

[meemo]

Cant believe I forgor rice!! Definately 30 yrs but not brown rice. Wheres Stephpd... hes usually good on this subject

 

[stephpd]

It's not like I know from experience, other here have been doing this a long time. I just started putting up dry goods this last year. I've been canning for about 8 years but I was always under the assumption that those items were only good for a year, before coming here. I'm basing what I know on what's published by places like BYU.

BYU has baking powder good for 10 years. MikeK might have a shorter life with it living in Texas. But he's right that it's easy to make. (it's a chemical reaction between a acid and a base, so warm temperatures do have a negative effect on it.) Both baking soda and cream of tartar have long shelf lives individually, like 20 years.(or more)

Yeast stores better in cold temperatures so it's like 1 year on the shelf, 5 years or better in the fridge and up to 20 if frozen. (I think, maybe less) I knew you could refrigerate it but recently learned that freezing works even better.

For dehydrated items it like 2-3 years in a vacuum bag.

Cinnamon really depends on it's form. I think the sticks last the longest. As with all spices keeping them out of air and light extends their life. Potency always drops off over time so just add more to taste. Making up small Mylar bags and small O2 absorber should work.

Everything else looks OK except for Cocoa and Crisco. For cocoa I'd guess beans over ground, just like most things would last longer. Not sure of Crisco it might last longer then 5 years.(unopened)

 

[MikeK]

BYU has baking powder good for 10 years. MikeK might have a shorter life with it living in Texas. But he's right that it's easy to make. (it's a chemical reaction between a acid and a base, so warm temperatures do have a negative effect on it.) Both baking soda and cream of tartar have long shelf lives individually, like 20 years.(or more)

I've had it last 2 years or longer on the shelf. But it's not recommended to keep it long term. There are a lot of things that can make it offgas it's CO2. I know for a fact that heat can, because I had some baking mix in a #10 can bulge because of the baking powder offgassing in the heat. Humidity can ruin it too, and that's probably where the limited shelf life comes from for most people. It's dry here.

 

[meemo]

Anyone know about LENTILS?? Or anything else stored for long term that I missed?? Trying to get as best of a variety as possible. What about QUINOX??

 

[stephpd]

Lentils are like most other beans (legumes).

Quinoa should store like wheat.

30 years for each, stored properly.

 

[stephpd]

I've had it last 2 years or longer on the shelf. But it's not recommended to keep it long term. There are a lot of things that can make it offgas it's CO2. I know for a fact that heat can, because I had some baking mix in a #10 can bulge because of the baking powder offgassing in the heat. Humidity can ruin it too, and that's probably where the limited shelf life comes from for most people. It's dry here.

Like I've said, I have no practical knowledge, just what's published.


http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/IR&CISOPTR=77&CISOBOX=1&REC=2
http://ift.confex.com/ift/2004/techprogram/paper_25989.htm

CONCLUSIONS
"The functionality of double-acting baking powder stored up to 29 years in non-abusive conditions in residential storage does not significantly decrease as measured by total CO2evolved, average biscuit volumes, biscuit crumb color, and consumer evaluations."

 

[Airilith]

Thanks so much for starting this thread Meemo!!!

What about flour? I know it's only good for a year, but stored in mylar with O2 absorbers I would think it would last much longer.

And for those of you that have other shelf lives to add please do! Us newbies will truly appreciate it :

 

[goose3]

Thanks so much for starting this thread Meemo!!!

What about flour? I know it's only good for a year, but stored in mylar with O2 absorbers I would think it would last much longer.

And for those of you that have other shelf lives to add please do! Us newbies will truly appreciate it :

Flour stored in mylar w/ O2 absorbers under benign conditions should last 10-20 years.

 

[Floating_Eagle]

How about my favorite, pasta?
Not the whole wheat or egg noodle type, but basic Durham wheat pasta.

Properly stored, it's shelf life is probably longer than mine....

 

[MrZombieHunter]

This site has a lot of info on food dates and how well it will taste after the best by date.

http://www.stilltasty.com/

 

[MikeK]

Like I've said, I have no practical knowledge, just what's published.

I'm glad to see the studies on it. It's got to be one of the more sensitive items to heat and humidity, so I'm assuming they had better storage conditions. As more long term studies come out, it's interesting seeing that many things have far longer useful storage lives than were originally estimated.

What about flour? I know it's only good for a year, but stored in mylar with O2 absorbers I would think it would last much longer.

Flour stored with an O2 absorber will last quite a few years. The down side is that the vitamins they add to it degrade over time. Whole wheat is still the best way to store it. It stores longer and is more nutritious. Like a lot of folks, I store a lot of whole wheat, but I also store some white flour too for convenience.

How about my favorite, pasta?
Not the whole wheat or egg noodle type, but basic Durham wheat pasta.

Properly stored, it's shelf life is probably longer than mine....

Yep. Pasta stored properly will last decades. It ranks up there with beans and grains as a great storage food. It's also makes for easy meals with little prep work. The downside is that over time it loses the vitamins that they enrich it with, just like flour does.

This is another place where storing whole wheat is handy. You can make fresh pasta easily enough. Not only is it more nutritious, but it also takes very little fuel to cook it.

This site has a lot of info on food dates and how well it will taste after the best by date.

http://www.stilltasty.com/

I like that site and have used it as reference material for a while now. But some of their estimates are quite conservative when it comes to things like canned goods. But of course they may be using a different criteria than I am.

 

[stephpd]

Here's a short list from the LDS;
http://providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7798-1-4224-1,00.html

Wheat 30+
White rice 30+
Corn 30+
Sugar 30+
Pinto beans 30
Rolled oats 30
Pasta 30
Potato flakes 30
Apple slices 30
Non-fat powdered milk 20
Dehydrated carrots 20

Got to give credit to the Latter Day Saints. They have done most of the studies on this compared to all other places. The work done at BYU and USU by them is where I get most of my info. Provident Living being the church end of it and publishing and distributing this to members. (But can be used by those of us that aren't members)

They're doing a study now on oils so I'm really interested in what they find. I'm just hoping that they find a longer shelf life then what we've all been let to believe. As many of their other studies have shown on most other items.

http://ndfs.byu.edu/Research/LongTermFoodStorageResearch/ResearchOnFoodStorage.aspx
http://lib.byu.edu/sites/scholarsar...tics-and-food-science/long-term-food-storage/
http://extension.usu.edu/foodstorage/

Most everything we list as shelf life can be found in the scientific studies done by them and at least one of these three links.

 

[MikeK]

Keep us posted on the oils please. That's something I've tried to keep up with since I first got into this years back. Alan Hagan, author of the misc.survivalism food storage FAQ got as far as getting the ratios and techniques down for preserving oils with vitamin E or BHT, but never could come up with storage life statistics on it.

It looks like coconut oil might be a good one to store. I know I don't have much luck with other oils in this warm climate. Well, other than Crisco, but yuck!

 

[meemo]

Please stop showing the stilltasty link...they suck and go by best if by dates

 

[MikeK]

Please stop showing the stilltasty link...they suck and go by best if by dates

It's the "best by" dates that are worthless.