You could focus on survival gear, weapons, and self-defense, but however much you prepare, without long-term survival food, you won’t last very long when SHTF, stuff hits the fan.
Dehydrated Stored Food Can Last Up to 30 Years
Adequately prepared and stored food can outlive you and your family provided you dehydrate the food by removing all of the moisture from :
- Fruit
- Vegetables
- Meat
Additionally, air must be kept out of the container, and the temperature correctly maintained.
You can essentially ignore the best used by dates when you switch your food supply to dehydrated foods.
It doesn’t matter if you are storing up for this pandemic or any other emergencies or just stocking everyday foods that won’t spoil. Some of the non-perishable foods listed in this article may outlive you.
How to Achieve Timeless Survival Food
To achieve timeless foods, you will need to store them properly. The best environment for stored foods is one which is:
- Cool and avoids extreme temperatures throughout the year
- Dark, free from direct sunlight
- Most importantly, dry and free of humidity or moisture
All your consumables should be placed in air-tight containers or vacuum packed to eliminate moisture from the packaging to boost the shelf life.
Signs that Your Survival Food Isn’t Edible
Even if a few of your non-perishable foods change slightly in texture and flavor, they are still edible and safe for human consumption. Of course, use logic and common sense to determine if your food is still edible.
If you open one of your survival food containers and discover that
- it has an off smell to it,
- it is too soft or
- you notice mold developing on it,
then it is no longer suitable to eat and should be discarded.
Survival food items need to be part of your stored food supply.
Some foods that are routinely eaten provide nutrients and energy, and you can preserve them indefinitely if they are kept dry and moisture-free; the following items should be part of your stored foods.
- Coffee, Tea
- Condiments: honey, maple syrup, molasses, sugar, salt, herbs, spices
- Dried peas and beans: lentils, split peas
- Drinks
- Fruits, such as dried cranberries
- Grains: rice, flour, crackers, pasta, noodles
- Powdered milk (lasting only 10 years to 20 years)
Here are some things to keep in mind about your stored staple foods, starting with dried beans and honey.
Use your dried beans and split peas within a reasonable period. The time needed to cook them tends to increase with age. Doing this is critical in a survival situation; you can’t afford to waste your fuel by cooking beans for over 12 hours. It would help if you ground the beans or peas, then cook them; they will cook quicker, using less fuel.
In the case of honey, after a while, it will start to crystallize. If that happens, place your jar of honey in a hot water bath to revive it.
Seasonings are Forever
As part of stocking up on your staple foods, do not forget about the seasoning. No one, no matter the circumstances, should have to eat bland, unseasoned food. Incorporating seasoning as part of your food storage prepping can avoid insipid food.
Seasonings, stored properly, can last forever. The only disadvantage of seasonings is that the flavors become less potent over time, so you will need to use more of the product.
The seasonings that will last the longest are:
- Dried herbs: basil, oregano, sage
- Flavor extracts: almond, lemon, vanilla
- Hot sauce:
- Pepper: Use a mill to grind the peppercorns
- Salt: use kosher or sea salt
- Spice: Cinnamon, Cloves
- Sugar:
- Vinegar
- Worcestershire Sauce
Drinks that Won’t Go Flat
While you are storing away water, the staple food items, the seasoning, don’t forget the alcohol. In addition to chilling, you can also use alcohol for flavoring, medicinally, or as a disinfectant to keep surfaces free from bacteria.
Distilled liquors that have been purified by heating and condensation, with over 10 percent alcohol, are pretty much non-perishable.
These distilled spirits include:
- Gin
- Rum
- Tequila
- Vodka
Avoid storing fermented drinks like beer and beverages with milk or eggs in their composition; say good-bye to Bailey’s Irish Cream. These drinks are not the forever kind.
Conclusion
Suppose you want your survival food to be there for you in good and bad times, even after you are gone, then there are three things you must do. Select staples items: drinks, condiments, dehydrated foodstuff, vacuum pack them, and store them in an air-tight environment.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope this article was helpful. Read additional articles, get a bin, and start storing some staple survival food now.
More to Explore
