Top Ten Foods with a Long Shelf Life

Which foods have the longest shelf life? Here is a list of the top
ten grocery foods with the longest shelf-life:

#1: Shelf-stable food: White rice.

White rice is at the top of the list of shelf-stable foods because it
is cheap and easy to get, it's filling and because it can help you
overcome stomach upset. Best of all, you can make a complete
protein when you combine rice with beans. (Beans are #2 on the
list of foods with the best shelf life.)

White varieties of rice easily last 30 years or more; however, like

other dried products, rice require proper packaging to keep out
the vermin (mylar bags encased in food grade buckets with
oxygen absorbers). Any kind of white rice is good to stockpile. Try
basmati rice, Italian arborio rice, or short grain Asian rice. A
brand with a variety is RiceSelect.

 NOTE: Do not store brown rice for the long term as it does
not have a long shelf life because of its oil content.

#2: Shelf-stable food: Dried Beans.

Combined with rice, beans provide the perfect source of protein,
which is why they are so popular with preppers (and why they
make it to #2 on the list of foods with the best shelf life).

There's a wide array of beans to stock:

1. Aduki beans
2. Black beans
3. Black eyed peas
4. Butter beans
5. Caneloni beans
6. Edamame (soy beans) buy only organic or you will risk
having GMO beans.
7. Fava beans
8. Garbanzo beans - great for making hummus an ancient
prepper food.
9. Green beans
10. Kidney beans - ideal for chili
 11. Lima beans
12. Lentils
13. Navy beans - the navy beans bucket, right has a 30 year
shelf life
14. Pinto beans - staple for chili
15. Red beans
16. White beans

While many preppers stock beans, they often don't know that

beans may be ground into flour for baking breads, biscuits and
cookies, making them ideally versatile and useful to preppers.

#3: Shelf-stable food: Dried corn and popcorn.

Consider stocking popcorn kernels and dried corn in the prepper's
pantry.

 Popcorn. Popcorn is not genetically modified. As one farmer

writes, "As this post is written (August 2014) there is no
GMO popcorn on store shelves nor is there any available for
farmers to grow." There you have it: popcorn is non-GMO!
Popcorn is an incredibly durable and long lasting food (and
among the foods with the best shelf life)! Now, we're talking
popcorn kernels, because if you buy popcorn for the
microwave you may find the other ingredients have GMO. Did
you know you can turn popcorn into cornmeal?

 Dried corn. Did you know corn is a vegetable when it's

fresh, but when dried it's considered a grain? Technically
popcorn is a grain too! Popcorn is extremely versatile as you
can pop it or grind it into cornmeal. Cornmeal just can last
as long as dried corn, as cornmeal is more susceptible to
vermin. Dried corn will also help you sustain livestock. You
can also bait deer with dried field corn in a world without
rule of law.

#4: Shelf-stable food: Dried and freeze-dried meats.

Meat is the best protein source for preppers, and while it's
available in cans, you will get a much longer shelf life from freeze
dried meats. Legacy Foods freeze dried chicken dices, right come
in a Mylar bag. Pack this into your bugout bag for maximum
protein in the smallest possible space.

Beef jerky was an American pioneer staple. Don't overlook cured

meats like Salami, which can have a long shelf life as well.

#5: Shelf-stable food: Legumes (lentils and peas).

Lentils  have sustained man since biblical times and have an
almost indefinite shelf life! The longest lasting lentils are whole,
not cracked. Because of their size they are quicker to cook than
pinto beans. They are an excellent source of fiber! Dried Peas,
another popular legume, is often overlooked by preppers, dried
peas have an incredibly long shelf life like other legumes. Split
peas have a 4-5 year shelf life on their own and you can increase
the shelf life to 25-years or more by packaging in mylar with
oxygen absorbers.

#6: Shelf-stable food: Oats.

Oats continue to go under appreciated in the world of prepping,
but peppers will find many reasons to hoard oats once they get
started preparing them. Oat groats are the whole grain. They
take longer to cook, but they can last upwards of 30 years in your
food storage. What's more, Oats are highly nutritious and
versatile. During the Great Depression, homemakers used oats to
extend meats and casseroles.

#7: Shelf-stable food: Pasta.

Italians have long stored dried pasta to get them through lean
times, but did you know pasta has a legacy dating back hundreds
of years to the Chinese and possibly beyond to Jerusalem? Rice
flour was made into dumplings in China, but this kind of pasta is
perishable, unlike Italian semolina pasta.

Durum wheat semolina isn’t overly absorbent, which is probably

why it's such a durable food (and credit given to the Italians)!
Indeed, durum wheat pasta has a long shelf-life; however, the
egg noodle variety is much lower at 5-8 years under proper
conditions (dry canned with oxygen absorbers). While other
pastas have a much longer life, extending 25-30 years under
proper conditions.
Now's the time to stockpile pasta in the prepper's pantry!

#8: Shelf stable food: Dried fruits, such as raisins,

apricots, apples.
Dried fruits are always good to stockpile for variety.  Raisins are
an ancient prepper food and an excellent source of energy. They
are an ideal prepper food because they "don’t spoil, bruise, or
need refrigeration," according to SunMaid, America's favorite
brand of raisins. The pioneers dried apples.

#9: Shelf Stable food: Cane sugar.

Sugar is both a condiment and a food. Sugar lasts indefinitely if
stored properly, and has a variety of uses in prepping. Isn't that
sweet?

#10: Shelf-stable food: Wheat berries.

Another food with an extremely long shelf life is wheat berries.
Wheat is a prepper staple because of its long shelf life. Once,
you've ground your hard red wheat into flour, the shelf life
decreases. With hard red wheat, you can make breads, cakes,
pasta and so much more.

Want to know more shelf stable foods?

Here's the complete list of 37 foods to stockpile before crisis.

Foods with a long shelf life

On the topic of shelf life of the foods in your pantry, there's much
to know. Generally, here are some things to look for. Foods with
the best shelf life include:

 Canned foods. Canned foods generally will have a one to

three year shelf life, depending on where in the cycle you
purchased the product. These are the manufacturer's
suggested dates based on maintaining the integrity of the
food. Beyond the date printed, food may be mushy or
otherwise loose texture. Though the canned foods may still
be edible, the manufacturer does not guarantee quality.
Food will really only go bad when the can has been dented,
punctured, corroded, or exposed to extreme  heat or cold. In
such cases, botulism may set in.
 MRES: When many preppers think of shelf stable, non
perishable foods, Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) often come to
mind. MREs were developed for military convenience. They
include everything a solider needs to eat (no chef required).

 Freeze dried foods. There are many brands of freeze

dried foods, including:

o Auguson Farms

o Legacy Foods

o Honeyville Farms

o Mountain House - scientifically proven to last 25 years

o Saratoga Farms

 Dehydrated foods. Dehydrated food in grocery stores often

are found in and around the bulk food bins, but it's much
easier to purchase dehydrated foods online from such
companies as Harmony House. Ordering shelf-stable food
that can store for 25-30 years is an admirable goal,
accomplished best when stored in #10 cans and
commercially prepared food buckets packed in mylar bags
with oxygen absorbers. If your aim is long term food storage
(25 years shelf life), then look for freeze dried foods in
nitrogen packed #10 cans. These specially formulated cans
are packed in small portions to maintain freshness and keep
variety in your food storage.
  Shelf-stable, dried foods. You can also dry-pack can to
increase the shelf life of your favorite foods.

Shelf-stable condiments to stockpile

Here's a list of shelf-stable condiments and spices to stock in
your prepper's pantry:

1. Cane sugar. The United States has a limited production of

cane sugar. It's grown only in Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, and
Texas.
2. Honey. Prized since Egyptian times, honey is food and
medicine!
3. Salt. Surprisingly, salt is not a spice. (See more about salt
below).
4. Tea. Dried tea leaves have sustained man through the
centuries. (The process of boiling water to make tea was a
key to making water safe to drink.)
5. Freeze dried coffee. Many prepper sites list coffee as shelf
stable, but it isn't necessarily so, because the oils of coffee
reduce shelf life. Green coffee beans are available for
extremely long term when they are in #10 cans and you can
roast them, the way pioneers did. Read coffee for survival.
6. Cacao. Cacao was food of the ancient Mayans for many
reasons! A long shelf life among them.
7. Maple Syrup. Natural goodness for your pancakes, maple
syrup won't spoil! Skip Mrs. Buttersworth, it's not real maple
syrup.
8. Bourbon Vanilla Extract. Bourbon vanilla extract makes it to
the list of the 37 foods to hoard in crisis. The alcohol
content keeps your extract freshforever!
9. Vinegar. Discover the many reasons preppers stock vinegar.
vinegar.
10. Baking soda and baking powder.
11. Coconut oil. Most oils become quickly rancid: the exception
is coconut oil. With a two-year shelf life, and the surprising
health benefits of coconut oil is a prepper favorite!
12. Soy Sauce. This popular Asian condiment is fermented for
long shelf-life. Enjoy!
How to Plan Your Food Storage
Here are some considerations and tips for long term food storage.

Plan on variety, but don't get too creative.

Combating menu fatigue will be an issue, but there are a variety
of brands of shelf stable foods packed in #10 cans or
commercially packed food grade canisters to give you the variety
you need. Among our favorites include:

 Augason Farms. Ideal for potatoes and milk, Augason

Farms is one of our favorite freeze dried food manufacturers.
Try their bucket of potatoes and pancakes!

 Mountain House. Popular with backpackers and the best

bugout food you can get: Mountain House freeze dried foods
also come in #10 cans so you can store them in your pantry.
The #10 cans from Mountain House are scientifically
guaranteed to last 25 years but the company guarantees
they will still taste good in 30 years! Top on the list of ready
to eat shelf stable foods is Mountain House beef stroganoff
Other popular choices include eggs with bacon, and pasta
prima vera.

 Buy foods with high caloric content. Stressful times will

require more sustenance. Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) for U.S.
Army personnel have around 1200 calories per meal and with
high protein content to sustain physical stamina. You should
think the same of foods you buy.

 Think about serving sizes. You'll get a general idea about

how much food to pack, but when it comes to serving sizes,
one cup of beef stroganoff won't be enough food for a hungry
 man who's spent a hardworking afternoon fighting zombies.
The "servings" are a food rationing measurement. In times of
stress, you'll need more food. Likewise, think about volume
and weights of foods. If the product packs water, it could be
deceiving about how much food product you're getting.
Freeze dried foods pack more easily into limited space and is
equivalent to more food.

 Don't just buy grains and leave them in bags.

Storing grain is often a goal of Preppers as bags of rice, for

example, are fairly inexpensive and can provide sustenance.
Improper storage will surely get an infestation of pests. The
grain must be sealed away from pests (preferably stored in
food grade buckets, sealed into mylar bags with oxygen
absorbers, and vacuum sealed with gamma lids). This will
help prevent moisture and oxidation. The easiest solution is
to purchase commercially packed grains to ensure the
product will be fresh and available for use when you need it
most. For example, rice stored in #10 cans, left has a 25-
year shelf life. See our section on long term grain storage.
And don't even think of stocking up on wheat if you don't
have a clue on how to bake from scratch

How to analayze non-perishable foods

New preppers are often overwhelmed at analyzing the shelf life of
foods for their long term food storage needs.  The following
provides more help on the shelf life of foods in your pantry,
including:

1. decoding food dates

2. knowing the difference between freeze dried and dehydrated

foods

3. understanding the role of salt in shelf-stable foods, and

more.

#1: Decoding food dates (Julian dates).

In the United States, there's no universally accepted system of
food dating: only infant formula requires product dating by federal
law! While it's optional, manufacturers want product dating to
make their product taste more appealing to consumers. Also
because when a product expires, they have an opportunity to sell
more. Of course sometimes manufacturers want to "hide" their
dating. For the most part, decoding food product dates is
relatively easy:

o "use by" dates are for quality (not for safety reasons);

o "best by" dates are also for quality
o expiration dates are for

 Julian dates are closed coded dates. This dating scheme

used to help employees manage the freshness guarantee of
products. That's the toughest date to decipher, but you can
do it! They look like packing numbers. According to the USDA
they are "specifically, a means of identification of product
slaughtered, prepared, processed, or packaged on a certain
date in the case of a recall."

For more help, the University of Nebraska Cooperative

Extension can help you with decoding food product dates.

#2: Knowing the difference between freeze dried and

dehydrated foods.
Do you know the difference between freeze dried foods and
dehydrated foods? Knowing the difference will affect the price of
your foods, the flavor and the length of shelf life. Here is a primer
to help:

 Freeze dried foods are flash frozen in a process where the

water content of the ice is removed through a process of
sublimation. Essentially the ice changes from a solid to a
gas . The benefits of freeze dried foods are that they
rehydrate quickly and they have a longer shelf life than
dehydrated foods. Because they rehydrate well, freeze dried
 foods retain their flavor, texture and nutritional value better
than dehydrated foods.

 Dehydrated foods have had the water content removed

naturally or by heat. While the process is beneficial for
storage of grains, legumes, vegetables and fruit, the
hydration process is not as forgiving as freeze dried foods.
Essentially, the food texture doesn't quite return to the
original state after returning the water content.

Preppers keep a watchful eye on prices in exercising their

knowledge between freeze dried and dehydrated foods.

Using salt to make shelf stable foods

Salt is essential for life. Salt has been an essential preservation
tool for thousands of years. As a binding agent, salt removes
water and inhibits the growth of microorganisms from foods. Salt
aids in drawing water out of the food and dehydrating it. Salt
makes it to #28 on our list of 37 Essential Foods to store and
with good reason:

 Salt is life: Salt contains chloride and sodium ions, and all

living things need these components in small quantities.

 Salt can kill bacteria!

Iodized salt provides the added health benefits of eliminating

goiter (enlarged thyroid gland), preventing hypothyroidism
(neurological, gastrointestinal, and skin abnormalities), and for
pregnant women iodine is important during fetal and child
development in preventing brain damage (mental retardation).

The craft of salting, smoking, and curing is an art and a skill

many Advanced Preppers have already mastered. If you're looking
to use salt to cure meats, then you should look for meat curing
salt products, for example, Morton® Tender Quick® Mix.

A person with a normal and healthy diet that includes seafood,

dairy products from animals grazing on iodine rich soils, and
vegetables grown in iodine rich soils, doesn't require iodized salt.
However, in a planning for a catastrophic event where foods
sources are compromised, Iodized salt becomes highly a
important nutrient.

 How to store salt for 25 years or more: Salt will last

indefinitely as long as you keep salt away from moisture. To
store salt for the long term, you can keep it in sealed mylar
bags, which you then place into five or six gallon buckets.

Want to know more about the shelf life of foods?

There's much to know about food shelf life! We defer to
shelflifeadvice.com a Web site which offers a handy reference
guide to help you determine the shelf life of refrigerated,
unopened or opened foods.

Call to get information on the shelf life of food by calling the

manufacturer directly; however, do so well in advance as part of
planning for a disaster or catastrophe.

Foods famous for a long shelf life, include:

 Twinkies. Twinkies are famous for having a long shelf life,

but likely this is because these fluffy cake morsels of sponge
cake don't have any dairy in them. (Dairy products generally
don't have a long shelf life, unless in freeze dried powdered
form.) It's true that Twinkies spoil more slowly than other
bakery items, but they only last around 25-45 days and not
25 years. Source: Science of Twinkies by NPR.

 SPAM. Spam was invented for long shelf life and

convenience.
  Hard tack. A combination of flour, water and salt, hard tack
is a survival food of our ancestors that's baked twice to
remove water content. It has a history of military use and
long voyages at sea. Argh, yes, the pirates ate them.
Unfortunately, worms also would nibble their way through
the extremely hard substance. Sailors had to tap their
crackers to rid the hard tack from the worms before eating.
Today you can buy pilot crackers and not need to worry.

 Pemmican. Native Americans have been eating pemmican

for centuries.

 Beef jerky. Make beef jerky at home.

Now that you know a little more about foods with a long shelf
life, it's time to consider the next article: Weird stuff with
expiration dates. Even Crisco has an expiration date!

Happy endings...
Get started with your emergency food storage plan right away!
Just store more of  your favorite foods. Later you can take some
time think a little more closely about expiration dates, and foods
that will last a long time in your refrigerator so that you can add
more variety to your food storage.

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 Learn how and why you will want to make ricewater.

 Augason farms

 Ancient prepper foods with a long shelf life.

 Foods preppers stockpile for survival.
  Best survival foods to stock in the refrigerator.

 Best grocery store foods you can stockpile for years.

 Spices to help long lasting foods in the prepper's pantry

taste better.
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