Q. How much should I store in long-term storage?
A. 300 pounds of grains, 60 pounds of legumes, 20 pounds of fats, 60 pounds of sugars, 75 pounds of non-fat dry milk, and 5 pounds of salt. For other options see “Basic Food Storage” and “Determining Food Storage Using Prepackaged Home Storage Center Products”.
Q. What is included in the 300-400 lbs. of grains recommended?
A. Any whole grain or refined grain product. Whole grains provide fiber, vitamins, and trace minerals, including iron, which are not always found in processed or refined grains. When grains are a major part of the diet, eating whole, instead of refined grains, will make a difference nutritionally. Whole grains can also be sprouted. Therefore, at least sixty-five percent of the grains should be whole grains. The remaining thirty-five percent can be processed or refined grains and grain products, but any whole grain that is altered has a shorter shelf life.
Q. What are the different kinds of wheat? What kind should I store?
A. There are three kinds of wheat – hard, soft, and durum wheat. The hard and soft wheats are either winter or spring wheat. That indicates when they are planted. You can also get either white or red wheat. The red has a stronger flavor and a darker color. The white is milder and lighter which gives a product more like white bread. Hard wheat is best for bread making because of the protein content. Soft wheat is for baked goods that don’t require the gluten formation that bread does. It can be used for cookies, pancakes, cakes, etc. Durum wheat is very hard and is used to make pasta. Flours produced from each kind of wheat are used for different purposes. All-purpose flour is a combination of hard and soft wheats so that it can be used for all purposes. Bread flour is primarily hard wheat and pastry, or cake flour, will be primarily soft wheat. Store the kind, or kinds, of wheat and flours that you will use.
Q. How do I know my wheat is still good?
A. There are two ways: 1) Sprout 100 kernels of wheat. If 50 or more sprout, the wheat is still good. 2) Grind the wheat into flour and make bread. If the bread rises and bakes well, the wheat is still good, meaning it still has good protein content.
If neither test works, do not throw the wheat away. It can still be cooked whole and used in soups, casseroles, salads, bread, and desserts; or used to feed someone’s chickens.
Q. Can brown rice be stored long term?
A. No, but the shelf life can be extended by refrigeration, freezing, or dry heat processing. Dry heat processing heats canning jars hot enough to seal a canning lid on when they are removed from the oven. If the lids are sealed, the jars will be airtight.
Q. What is the difference between quick oats, regular rolled oats, oat groats, and steel-cut oats?
A. Oat groats are whole oats. Steel cut oats are cut up oat groats. Regular rolled oats are oat groats that have been steamed and rolled flat. Quick oats are cut oat groats that have been steamed and rolled flat. They are smaller, thinner, and cook faster than regular rolled oats. Quick oats cook in 1 minute. Regular rolled oats cook in 5 minutes.
Q. What can I do with hard beans?
A. Crack them as you would crack corn or grain. This can be done in a hand grinder or by placing the beans in a heavy paper sack and pounding them with the side of a hammer. After cracking, soak and cook them. Hard beans can also be ground into flour and used as a thickener, cooked to make refried beans, or put in creamed soups. Home pressure canning will also soften hard beans.
Q. Is it better to store sugar or honey?
A. Neither is better than the other. If you use both, store both.
Q. Is it better to store shortening or oil?
A. Shortening only because it has a longer shelf life. Oil can be stored if it is rotated within a few years and stored in a relatively cool, dark storage area.
Q. What kind of salt should I store?
A. At least half of the salt stored should be iodized. If you home can, store canning/pickling salt, also.
Q. How should I store salt?
A. Salt should be stored in the heavy cardboard cylinder boxes it comes in at the grocery store. Bulk salt should be stored in non-metallic containers with non-metallic lids. PETE bottles with leak-proof lids are an excellent choice. Pour it into clean dry PETE bottles, wipe the bottle rim, and screw on the lid.
Q. What is the difference between instant and non-instant powdered milk?
A. There are 3 kinds of non-fat dry milk (NDM) – regular or non-instant, crystallized instant, and instant. They are all the same nutritionally but the processing method for each is different. Regular and crystallized instant look very much alike.
Regular NDM is sold at the Home Storage Centers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, online, at dairy co-ops, at bulk food stores, and at some health food stores. It is usually the least expensive of the three kinds of dry milk and has the least volume per dry weight. It is the most difficult to mix by hand but can be mixed easily with a blender. It requires 2/3 to 3/4 cup to make 1 quart.
Crystallized instant NDM is sold by food storage companies, some grocery stores, and some powdered milk suppliers such as Maple Island. It has 10% more volume than regular NDM. It requires 3/4 cup to 1 cup to make 1 quart.
Instant NDM is sold in grocery stores. It has larger granules and has about twice the volume of regular NDM. It requires 1-1/3 cups to make a quart. Instant NDM is the least esthetically pleasing of the three kinds of dry milk but taste is dependent on brand.
Q. How can I determine a three-month supply?
A. By using a menu system (See “Using a Rotating Menu Plan“) or by following a general recommended list of foods. (See “One-Month Supply of Shelf-Stable Grocery Store Purchased Foods” and “Three-Month Supply Worksheet“)
Q. What is the difference between dehydrated and freeze-dried foods?
A. Dehydrated foods are foods that have had water removed from them. They shrink in the process. Freeze-dried foods have been flash-frozen before the water is removed. They retain most of their original volume. As a result, there are many foods that are preferred in a freeze-dried form such as berries and citrus fruits. They are also considerably lighter in weight when compared to the same volume of dehydrated food. Generally, dehydrated foods are less expensive than freeze dried. However, freeze-dried foods, when hydrated, will look, and may taste more like, the fresh food. (See “Dehydrated and Freeze-Dried Foods”)
Q. How much water should I store and how should it be stored?
A. Store a minimum of 14 gallons per person, which is a 2-week supply.
Store water in thoroughly washed and sanitized containers, preferably of heavy plastic (not lightweight plastic that milk comes in) with tight fitting caps. They should be stored away from sunlight. Large containers should not be set directly on cement but should be raised slightly to allow air circulation underneath. (See “Water”)
Q. What is dry-pack canning?
A. Dry-pack canning is a method for storing dry foods in an oxygen-free environment. Bulk storage foods, such as wheat or beans, are placed in metal #10 cans, mylar pouches, canning jars, or PETE bottles, along with an oxygen absorbing packet, then sealed without further processing. (See “Long-Term Storage Methods for Dry Foods”)
Q. What can be dry packed?
A. White rice, wheat and other whole grains, oatmeal, dry beans, powdered milk, white flour, pasta without egg, freeze-dried foods, dehydrated foods that are crisp enough to snap, potato flakes, TVP, cheese powder, gelatin, unsweetened ready-to-eat cereals, and low-fat or fat-free pretzels.
Q. What should not be dry packed?
A. Foods that are oily, have high moisture content, or contain leavening agents e. g. whole wheat flour, brown rice, brown sugar, pancake mix, granola, nuts, and biscuit mixes. Granulated sugar or salt should not be dry packed because an oxygen-free environment is not necessary for storage.
Q. If I cannot buy oxygen absorbers, how else can I store food for long-term storage?
A. Store in food grade HDPE plastic buckets using a dry ice treatment. Dry ice is added to buckets and then allowed to sublimate (turn to gas), pushing the air out of the bucket and killing any insects. When the process is finished, lids are attached. (See “Dry Ice Treatment in Plastic Buckets”)