10 Best Ways to Store Food Long Term
One of the most important preps to have besides water is food.
These are my Top 10 ways to store food. I have back ups for my back ups.
Some of these are easier than others, some are longer term than others. The key is to not have all of your eggs in one basket so to speak.
photo credit: quinn.anya via photopin cc
5 Gallon Bucket
I have found these at Winco or the bakery department super cheap. I store bulk sugar and flour in them.
You don’t have to use a Gamma seal lid, but they do make for easier access
#10 Cans
The size you find often at Costco. Once you open them though you need to eat the contents. If it is a grid down situation you will need to have a way to keep the food cold or consume it.
You can use #10 cans for bulk food at your local LDS Cannery.
Canning
I enjoy both types of canning.
Water Bath
Water bath canning is for jams and fruit. It is not for canning meat or veggies.
Pressure Canning
Pressure canning is loud. My kids really hate it when I pull the canner out. That said I love that I can process chicken or hamburger and not have to worry about power outages.
If you can afford it go with the All American brand. Super sturdy and no gaskets to worry about replacing.
Dehydrating
Love dehydrating. Fruit for snacks or vegetables for soups. Dehydrate now, in season, to have in winter when fresh isn’t possible.
We have had the round style before and really prefer the Excalibur, which has the fan at the back. No rotating trays.
Mylar Bags
Mylar bags with O2 packets are great for long term storage. We have flour, sugar, and rice stored this way.
You then place them in the 5 gallon buckets for double, longer term protection.
Pop Bottle with O2 packet
Just like it says. Save your pop bottles. Any size. I store my rice and beans in them.
Pre-purchased freeze dried
Pre purchased runs the gamut of taste and cost. I have read that Mountain House is the best, it’s also the most expensive. It will be our last resort for food.
Root Cellar
An old fashioned root cellar to store your harvest in. We have a basement that is 3 feet under ground so it stays cool all year. Ultimately on outdoor cellar is our goal.
Vacuum Sealed
Love our vacuum sealer. Great to store dry food. Ours has an attachment for the lid on a canning jar. We store our bulk spices this way.
What is your favorite go to way to store food long term?
I really want a pressure cooker and a dehydr. thanks for the list!
Great ideas, here. I completely agree to not put all your eggs in one basket. I think it’s important not only to handle a variety of situations, BUT it can be a morale booster to have the variety. Especially if the emergency goes longer term.
I have so little extra time, it always feels overwhelming to think about the self-packing options. If you’ve got more money than time, bulk pre-packaged is the best way to get started. And I’m not really in to canned food, except sardines and SPAM…yumm.
Wes T.
Indiana
SuccessfulSurvival.net
I agree. As a stay at home mom I feel like this is my job. I totally have the time to package everything. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for the great info. Here are some other idea’s,
In addition to your local bakery ask restaurants you frequent such as deli’s, dinners or hamburger places. My favorite is my local Chinese food place I get 2-4 soy sauce buckets a month from them.
In addition to pop bottles look at 3 liter water bottles. I rotate the water through and use them like you do for rice and dry things.
We do have a small Chinese place. Great tip!
How do you seal the mylar bags?
You can search Youtube for dozen’s of instructional video’s on this. My preferred method is to:
I use 1 and 3 gallon bags not 5 so that once opened I don’t need to reseal
Seal 90% of the bag with a low to mid heat iron
You run the iron along the top against something solid I use a metal carpentry level
Then I use my foodsaver to suck out all the air
Fold over the last open part and quickly seal
Hope this helps
Write in a sharpie marker the date and the product.
You are a plethora of info! thank you!
Hair straightener or iron without the steam
What about the empty kitty litter tubs. If they are scrubbed and disinfected?
Can you use those for items in mylar bags? Would you recommend it?
I’d have to research that. If the bucket says food grade it might work.
Great list! I was just canning chicken yesterday. My only concern is the statement about water bath canning being for veggies. Unless they’re pickled, most vegetables are too low in acidity and are unsafe for water baths. Botulism is scary stuff that you can’t smell or see, and not worth risking over canned beans or carrots.
Thank you for catching that. I know that I don’t know why on earth I said veggies. 🙁 It’s fixed.
Thanks for this post! It’s a great one, and I’m sharing it with my friends. 🙂