9 Types Of Foods You Don’t Want To Stockpile

[lonewolf]

buy local honey not the stuff in the supermarkets.

 

[William Egan]

We store rice, sugar, salt, corn meal, beans all in vac sealed glass quart jars.
I wonder if vac sealing jars with cooked bacon wood store well?

I may try some.

Jim

With the dry stuff you need to heat it to kill the bugs who's eggs are probably in your beans and rice from the store, vac pacing is good but wont kill the eggs. Any meat I would pressure cook cording to the Ball Blue Book to avoid botchulizm, how-ever that is spelled, that is bad stuff.

 

[William Egan]

buy local honey not the stuff in the supermarkets.

A lot of it is not even real honey, just flavored corn syrup, Like I told hiwall, put about a teaspoon in a flat bottom dish, cover in cool water and swirl it around, if it forms a honeycomb image it is real honey. Its like it has a memory or something. God always gives us a way to determine the truth.

 

[LadyLocust]

A lot of it is not even real honey, just flavored corn syrup, Like I told hiwall, put about a teaspoon in a flat bottom dish, cover in cool water and swirl it around, if it forms a honeycomb image it is real honey. Its like it has a memory or something. God always gives us a way to determine the truth.

I had never heard of that method- fascinating. I get mine locally but it's always good to know.

 

[hiwall]

you need to heat it to kill the bugs who's eggs are probably in your beans and rice from the store

Freezing will also kill some.

 

[William Egan]

Freezing will also kill some.

Yes freezing does kill the bugs and is a pretty good solution but if you are off grid or don't have a vacuum sealer or worse yet if the grid goes down it may not be practical. I think you have to freeze it for at least two weeks for it to kill anything and if your freezer is like mine its jam packed, I need to do some serious cleaning out.
I think the best solution for long term food storage if one could afford it would be a freeze dryer, I want one pretty bad but they really cost a lot and probably use a lot of electric. I will be off grid when we get our homestead done, but if I get one I will make sure I have enough solar to run one. If you freeze dried and then vacuum sealed in a jar or Mylar bag it would last 20 to 30 years or more and could be pre-cooked, not just rice or beans but almost anything, no bugs, no mold, no stale taste and most of the nutrients preserved. Then just add hot water and your ready to eat,
Sorry for the long post, have a good day and God bless.

 

[William Egan]

I had never heard of that method- fascinating. I get mine locally but it's always good to know.

Yes me too, but makes me want to go out and buy some crappy stuff just to do a comparison, I just learned this myself a few day ago, I may do a video and put it on my youtube channel. Have you tried it yet?

 

[lonewolf]

Yes freezing does kill the bugs and is a pretty good solution but if you are off grid or don't have a vacuum sealer or worse yet if the grid goes down it may not be practical. I think you have to freeze it for at least two weeks for it to kill anything and if your freezer is like mine its jam packed, I need to do some serious cleaning out.
I think the best solution for long term food storage if one could afford it would be a freeze dryer, I want one pretty bad but they really cost a lot and probably use a lot of electric. I will be off grid when we get our homestead done, but if I get one I will make sure I have enough solar to run one. If you freeze dried and then vacuum sealed in a jar or Mylar bag it would last 20 to 30 years or more and could be pre-cooked, not just rice or beans but almost anything, no bugs, no mold, no stale taste and most of the nutrients preserved. Then just add hot water and your ready to eat,
Sorry for the long post, have a good day and God bless.

freezing dosent kill the bugs it just puts them to sleep.

 

[LadyLocust]

@William Egan I've not tried it. All I have is good honey so don't want to waste it

 

[William Egan]

@William Egan I've not tried it. All I have is good honey so don't want to waste it

Oh I don't like to waste it either, I use it to make tea or something.

 

[joel]

Freezing your bag of rice as soon as you bring it home from the store and leaving it in the freezer for at least 4 days will kill the adult bugs and possibly their eggs. We keep our bags of rice in the freezer at all times and only take it out when it is time to cook it. Say for instance you freeze your bag of rice for 4 days and then you take it out and leave it out. Any eggs that were not killed from freezing could still hatch and infest your rice. I'm not one to take a chance like that. I personally feel more comfortable just leaving the rice frozen. This does not affect the taste or consistency of your rice nor does it affect how it cooks. I take out the amount of rice I need directly from the freezer, clean it and cook it immediately.

Now you are probably thinking

Okay this method may kill the weevils and their offspring but they are still in the rice...

Very good observation! After cleaning my rice 3 times I then use a sieve to make sure I don't leave anything unwanted in the rice. I have to be honest I'd rather sieve out a dead weevil rather than a live one. I don't know maybe because it's not as creepy when its immobile.

I hope this information was helpful to someone that may have not known about this freezing method. The same is with grains, cereal and flour. We keep our flour refrigerated at all times. If your family doesn't eat cereal within a couple of months you might want to do a thorough check to make sure there are no infestations. Usually after 3 months you might notice your Raisin Bran a little more crunchy than expected. It's just one of those things in life...bugs exist, they like food too and we still have to eat. So instead of throwing out good food, you can try and keep infestations from happening in the first place.

What is your method for preserving and keeping your rice bug free?

Photo by @crosheille
https://steemit.com/health/@crosheille/freezing-rice-to-kill-weevils-and-their-eggs

 

[joel]

Does Freezing Food Really Kill Bugs?
Written by: Tricia Drevets How-To 0 Print This Article



Image source: canadacouponing.com

Picture this unhappy scenario. You open up your carefully prepared and stored food at a time of need only to find it infested with bugs.

Nearly all dried foods – including grains, cereals, beans, nuts, powdered milk, dried fruits, cured meats and spices — are susceptible to an insect infestation. How can you prevent this problem from happening to your important long-term food investment? Some people freeze foods before storing them. But does that really work? The answer: yes!

Freezing does work, with some caveats.

Your first step is to realize that storage containers can make all the difference in eliminating insect infestations.

Flimsy paper or cardboard packaging is no match for hungry bugs, so it is important that you store your food in strong, airtight containers. Insects can also eat their way through foil, plastic bags and plastic lids.

For example, a study by The Benson Institute showed that insects found their way into #10 cans containing insect-free wheat by way of their plastic lids. Using several packaging barriers to protect your stored food is a good idea.

How long do you need to freeze your dry goods for bug control — and at what temperature? Geri Guidetti, founder of the Ark Institute and a leading authority on survival gardening, suggests that you freeze food for a minimum of three days.

Another Benson Institute study suggests that the temperature at the center of the food container must reach -9 degrees F (-23 C) for two to four hours for best results.

In his book “When Disaster Strikes,” Matthew Stein writes, “You can freeze containers of food to destroy living insects, but this will not usually kill their eggs. Refreeze the container after 30 days to destroy bugs that have hatched. Freeze in an upright or chest freezer for 72 hours at 0 degrees F or lower.”

Some researchers say freezing will not kill all insects. If you try the freezing method to prevent an infestation, it is a good idea to inspect your food for bugs on a regular basis. Early detection of a bug problem can prevent all your of food supply from sustaining insect damage.

Here are other options for ridding your dry food of bugs:
https://www.offthegridnews.com/how-to-2/does-freezing-food-really-kill-bugs/
IMHO, Air tight, oxygen free is best, but keeping rice in the freezer, until you boil/cook it will work too.

 

[Caribou]

I don't know that all grain is infested with bug eggs but I'd count on it. We've all eaten bug eggs on a regular basis so it is no big deal. The trick is to prevent the bugs from eating our food. We do that by preventing the eggs from hatching. Freezing is an option.

The eggs will not hatch if the O2 content is below 3%. Vacuum sealing or O2 absorbers might reduce the oxygen to these numbers.

My favourite is CO2. If CO2 is above 3% the eggs will not hatch. Plastic is permeable. That means that O2 will go through it, and other gasses as well. Mylar is not permeable but it is easily damaged. The best I've found is to place a mylar bag inside a 5 gallon bucket. Then I place 3" or 4" of product in the bag. Next I put a bit of dry ice on the product. This is to protect the mylar from the intense cold of the dry ice. Fill the bag with product and seal the bag leaving a small hole for the expanding gas to escape. After the dry ice has sublimated completely push out any excess gas and seal the bag.

CO2 is heavier than air. As the dry ice(CO2) sublimates it will lift the air and push it out of the hole you left thereby leaving a high CO2 and low O2 content inside your bag. You now have a product that will keep for decades.

 

[Meerkat]

https://www.dandelionchocolate.com/...nce-for-keeping-chocolate-bars-at-their-best/


Long-term storage for up to five years:

● For cellaring chocolate and holding on to vintage bars, I recommend using a wine fridge set to 50°F. Note that a regular kitchen refrigerator may have strong food odors and it is often too cold for the task (below 40°F). Greg, our Chocolate Sourcerer, and Todd, our CEO and co-founder, set their chocolate refrigerators to 50°F. If chocolate gets too cold or undergoes a temperature shock, condensation can form and potentially cause sugar bloom. Sugar bloom changes the texture and appearance of the bar. It occurs when the sugar in the bar absorbs water and, when the water evaporates, it recrystallizes on the surface of the bar. It’s still safe to eat, but the chocolate’s appearance and texture make it better for baking.

● Never freeze chocolate for all of the same reasons as above.

● All of our chocolate bars have a “best if used by” date of one year from production. This is the time period during which we’re confident that the flavor notes you’ll taste in our bars will be as close as possible to when the bar was first tempered. That said, the flavors in our bars evolve over time, and some chocolate even improves with age.

● After a year or two in storage, it’s possible for chocolate to start looking dull and a bit grey on the surface and acquire a brittle, chalky texture. Over time, cocoa butter transforms into an even more stable polymorph known as Form VI or VI. As long as you’re storing the chocolate in controlled conditions, it should be safe to eat for several years.

● Chocolate like ours with just cacao beans and sugar tends to be shelf stable. You don’t need to worry about two-ingredient chocolate going bad. In milk chocolate or bars that have nuts, those other ingredients can become rancid over an extended period of time.

Joel we've never bought a bar chocolate. We always store it in cocoa powder cans. We also only use the powder for baking or cooking.

 

[joel]

I like the Mylar bags in 5 gallon bucks.
I can get heavy duty food grade 5 gallon buckets for free.
It is a shame you don’t live closer, I could get you fifty or so, for free.

Coco powder should last longer & sugar too.