Types Of Food Storage

Working towards getting a good food storage can be overwhelming for a lot of people when trying to make ends meet, but it is crucial to have during those hard times and you would be grateful to have it if those times come. We can live only so long with out food and water, so as far as emergency preparedness is concerned food storage should be the top of your list in attaining.  A ideal way of getting food storage is to slowly buy it if you not able to afford to buy it all at once or buy seeds and grow your own food for storage.  Budget your money at each paycheck that you can buy a case here or a bag of it there so.  You will be amazed how it will add up in time.

It's a good idea to have a variety of different types of food storage during those times of emergencies or disasters. Most of us get tired of the same food every day during good times, why would it be any different in hard times, only maybe for the fact that you are grateful to have some food than no food.

Packing and storing your food storage is also very important and should be done with in mind the type of climate you live in whether it is humid or dry.  Humid areas, can foods will rust and spoil easy and would be wise to wax your cans or preserve them some way.  Also light or no light exposure effects different foods in storage and should in most cases be kept out of light. Also your grain, if left in storage bags that aren't sealed properly can easily get humid and spoil or contaminated with insects or rodents.  Buying plastic five gallon buckets that are food  grade containers is a great way to go in preserving your grains and legumes.  Inserting oxygen absorbers and desiccant silica gels which are moister free gel packs will also help keep your food storage preserved longer. 

Here is a list of types of food storage ideas to consider:

Grains:

Wheat Amaranth Barley Buckwheat Corn Millet

Oats Quinoa Rice Rye Sorghum Triticale

Legumes:

Black Beans Black-Eyed Peas Chickpea Kidney Beans Lentils

Lima Beans Peanuts Pinto Beans Soybeans

 

Dry Milk:

• Nonfat Dry Milk    (To forms of dry nonfat milk:  regular and instant)

• Flavored Nonfat Dry Milk

• Dry Whole Milk

• Dry Buttermilk

Liquid Milk:

• Canned Milks
• Evaporated
• Sweetened Condensed

Types of Sugars:

• Granulated Sugar  (Highly refined sugar cane and sugar beets.)
• Powdered, Confectioners or Icing
• Brown Sugar, Light/Dark  (Refined sugars with molasses added.)
• Raw, Natural or Turnibado Sugar (True raw sugar brands found out side of the U. S.: muscavado, jaggery, demerara. and others.  Most of U. S. "raw" sugar is still some what refined.)

Types of Honey:

• Whole-Comb (Unprocessed honey in the comb still.)
• Raw (Unfiltered honey from the comb.)
• Filtered (Filtered honey from the comb.)
• Liquid (Honey that has been filtered and heated to high temperatures to kill any microorganisms.)
• Crystallized or Spun (Honey that all moisture has been removed making it a creamy spread. Most processed off all honeys.

Types of Cane Syrups:

• Molasses (By-product of sugar refining.)
• Cane Syrup (Cain juice boiled down to a syrup.)
• Sorghum Syrup (Like cane syrup but its from sorghum syrup.)
• Treacle (Similar to blackstrap molasses.)
• Golden Syrup (More like table syrup.)
• Table Syrup (Your everyday syrups sold in the supermakets with corn syrup as the usually main ingredient but sometimes the mixers of cane syrups.)

Corn Syrup:

• Light corn syrup form.  (Doesn't preserve very long in storage.)
• Dark corn syrup form   (Also doesn't preserve very long in storage.)

Maple Syrup:

• Maple syrup  (Produced by boiling down maple sap until it reaches a syrup consistency.)

Other Sweeteners:

• Fructose  (Primary sugar in fruit and honey.)
• Maltose  (Sugars in malted grains.)
• Pimentose   (Sugar from olives.)
• Sucrose  (Highly refined sugar from sugar cane and sugar beets.)

Oils & Fats:

• Most oils & fats don't store very long and should be kept out of light and warm areas if they are stored. An unopened can or bottle of oil can last up to a year if kept out of this environment.  It's best to rotate your oils and fats regularly and buy them in small containers so that once they're opened they can be used quickly.  Oils can go rancid quite quickly once left opened for not too long of a period and become poisonous at that point.

Cooking Staples:

• Baking Powder  (Keep dry and moister free. Usually won't store more than a year and keep its potency.)
• Baking Soda   (It will store indefinitely if stored in a moisture-proof container and not left in original box.  Otherwise it will store for only eighteen months.)
• Herbs and Spices  (Spices & herbs are usually sensitive to heat, air and light. If buying in bulk, transfer to smaller containers.  Glass is usually the best to use.)
• Salt:  table salt, canning salt, kosher salt, sea salt  (Salt storage life is indefinite if kept in a air-tight container.  Keep it from being contaminated otherwise it will absorb the orders around it.  Make sure you get the food grade salt.)
• Vinegar:  white distilled vinegar, apple cider vinegar, balsamic   (White distilled vinegar can be stored indefinite if seal in a plastic or glass bottle with a plastic cap.  Apple cider vinegar will also.)
• Yeast  (Being its a living organism will usually only store as long as it says on the package expiration date. Sour dough starter is another bread riser.)

. Canned Goods (Metal Cans and Glass Jars):

• Canned Goods (They can be kept for a couple of years depending on the climate you are in and types of food canned.  Keep moister free if possible.  In many humid places people will wax their cans and other methods to preserve them from rust.)
• Bottle Jars  (Make sure if you home canning that your seals are sealed.  If any molds appear, don't consume the food.  They will last a couple of years also if stored out of light in cool places.  Its always good to trade off your food supplies and use it as you go.)

Very detailed information on food storage preserving can be found at:                                     

 http://www.survival-center.com/foodfaq/