Long Term Food Storage

Successful long term food storage requires packaging that is air tight. One method for acheiving this is the use of plastic buckets with gasket lids. You can obtain these at reasonable prices from Walton Feed. Buckets work very well because they can be stacked, and foods can be stored in amounts that aren’t too heavy to move. Also, buckets offer excellent protection against moisture. There are a variety of container sizes (i.e. 4.25 gal, 5 gal., and 6 gal.). Don’t bother using oxygen absorbers unless you are using buckets with gasket lids to assure a good seal.

“America’s Cities” is a new documentary featuring interviews with leading experts which point to a crisis coming to major metropolitan centers in America. The film provides yet more confirmation that long term food storage is a good idea for anyone who wants to be prepared for what is coming. Even though the film is still in production, you can CLICK HERE to watch a movie trailer at the official film website: www.thecitymovie.com.

Shelf life can be increased by removal of oxygen from storage containers. In a previous post, we looked at the use of the food sealer vacuum to accomplish this, but it may not always be practical or feasible to do this. Five or Six gallon sealable buckets are a relatively inexpensive way to store foods, and oxygen absorber use is an effective way to deal with the problem of oxygen inside the buckets. Make sure you use sturdy sealable buckets as oxygen absorbers will create a vacuum inside the container. There are several sources online, including Walton’s Feed.

Nature has already packaged grains for storage, and if kept cool and dry, they will last for a long time. While grains like wheat can be sprouted or cooked without grinding them, with a little forethought, we can be prepared to mill our own flour by having a non-electric grain mill. While there are several models out there, the best for milling flour that we’ve found is the Country Living Grain mill. Made with solid I-beam construction from cast aircraft aluminum, double industrial sealed bearings, stainless steel shaft, and carbon steel grinding plates, this mill is backed by a lifetime warranty. Before shipping, each mill is tested to ensure proper functioning.

You can also purchase accessories, including the power bar, which extends the crank handle giving 40% more efficiency.

Many consider food drying to be the oldest method of long term food storage. It can be done very simply and offers the benefit of of taking up less space than canned or frozen foods. While you can simply dry foods in the sun (if the humidity is suitable), in this post we’ll consider the use of a food dryer. While there are various types of food dryers available, we recommend the type that has a temperature control. Although the air temperature can be relavitely high at the beginning of the deydration process without overheating the food (due to the evaporation in the food which keeps it’s temperature low), it is helpful to be able to adjust the temperature to keep from scorching the food later in the process. The other main consideration in selecting a food dryer is air flow, which directly relates to the evenness of drying. We use a circular shaped dryer with a main airflow channel through the middle.

Foods should be dried quickly, but not so fast that the outer layer becomes hard inhibiting evaporation of the moisture inside. Also, drying should be uninterrupted so that mold and other microorganisms don’t have opporrunity to grow.

Dried food can be effectively packaged in plastic using a vacuum sealer.

This post picks up from my last one in which I referred to the use of a Food Sealer Vacuum for long term food storage. We use a Food Saver sealer. It does work well, but special care is needed for foods that are hard or have sharp edges. Also, as mentioned in the previous post, the unit can be used to vacuum seal plastic canisters, or even better – glass jars, which won’t contribute to chemical contamination which is becoming more of a concern with regard to plastic packaging.

CLICK HERE for more information on the Food Saver vacuum sealer.

An excellent method of food storage involves the use of food sealer vacuum technology. This involves some special equipment which creates the vacuum and seals the packaging. The better systems allow you to choose between soft plastic (like plastic bags), or harder clear plastic canisters with vacuum seal lids. In the latter case, the equipment uses a tube which connects to the lid to draw air from the canister. These systems do require a small amount of electricity to package the materials. One of the primary advantages of this approach is that no heating is required for packaging. This is an excellent method for storing dehydrated foods. In the next post, we’ll try and include a photo of the system we use.