Storing Food Continued

I received a question from my last post about using oxygen absorbers instead of dry ice in plastic buckets. Plastic buckets have the potential for oxygen leakage. When dry ice sublimates it releases carbon dioxide and it is the carbon dioxide that kills the weevil, not the lack of oxygen. I hope that clears up any confusion.

I want to address the storage of other foods. Many food storage items can be stored in their original packaging. These include: baking powder and soda, oil, spices, honey, and sugar. The main thing to be aware of when storing these items is keeping them free from moisture and rodents. For this reason we choose to store our sugar in a bucket. If you choose to dry-pack can sugar it is not necessary to use an oxygen absorber.

One of the food items I did not list on the spreadsheet is dehydrated fruits and vegetables. I left them off because they are not one of the life-sustaining basics. However, they do add a nice variety if one is relying on their food storage to eat. I would recommend purchasing these foods in #10 can or packing it yourself. It is important that they be very dry. Foods with a high moisture or oil content cannot be dry-packed.

Other items to avoid storing because of a limited shelf life include: barley, cereal, cornmeal, whole wheat flour, granola, nuts, brown rice, and yeast. These items usually have a shelf life of about six months, but they can be extended by storing them in the freezer. In the case of cornmeal and flour we store popcorn and wheat and then mill it ourselves. Finally, I have heard that if your brown rice goes rancid it can be rinsed in water until the rancid oil is washed off.