Benefits Of Dried Food Storage
Usually rice, eggs, wheat, dried fruits, dried fish, pasta, oats, barley, corn, tea, powdered milk, dried vegetables and cocoa beans falls into the category of dried food items which can be stored for long periods of time. The amount of food you will have to store depends on how long you think you will need them for and how many people you need to feed with that food. Some people prepare for a few days or weeks while some prepare for several months. That is a decision that only you can make.
It is possible to keep your dry food fresh and eat them instantly whenever needed in several ways. After you've collected sufficient amount of food you should routinely check them for any kind of bugs and insects. You want to make sure whatever containers you store the food stuffs in is secure and air tight if possible. But even the most secure containers can sometimes fail so it is good practice to check on a regular basis.
Sometimes food items like rice, wheat, oats etc. contains bugs and bug eggs. Usually the unbleached foods tend to have more insects than bleached foods. Bleaching food items kills the bugs and their eggs. To kill the insects that may be in your dry foods you could keep them in the refrigerator for some days. The cold of the refrigerator kills the bugs and bugs can't live without oxygen. Absorbing the oxygen from the storing place is also a good idea for stocking food for a long time. You can put food items like rice, wheat, oats, flours, hot chocolates, tea, dried fish and other food stuffs inside a jar or PET bottle and leave enough space for oxygen absorbing tablets. The oxygen absorbers will absorb and remove the oxygen from inside and stop the growth of the bugs and insects thus prolonging the life of the food items. In this way foods can be stored for about a year. When bottling drying foods keep in mind to label the bottles so that you know what's inside the bottle later.
Finding the correct place to store the dried foods is another challenge. The ideal place for storing food should have adequate ventilation, be dry and away from moisture, but also be cool. A cool and dry storage place is the ideal situation but not always easy to find. Most of the time, the location of choice turns out to be the basement as the place for storing foods. Make sure that everything is stored at some level above the floor. You never want to put food supplies directly on the floor. Always have at least a couple inches of air gap between the floor and your food. If your basement normally gets flooded after raining, then the height should be such that the flood doesn't reach the food items. But of course, if you routinely have that water and moisture in your basement like that it may not be a good place to put your food unless you can dry the area rather quickly. Other places like top of the closet, under the bed, and storage rooms can be used to locate your foods. You should try to maintain a certain temperature to get the best result. Different foods require different temperature and by maintaining that temperature you can actually store dried foods for years.
All the dried food items can't be stored at the same way. Different items involve different techniques to store. Wheat can be stored in bags like rice or salt. Salt will last a long time on its own as most people know. Usually whole wheat lasts longer than milled flour. Be very careful for bugs in milled flour. Nothing is worse than thinking you have a good supply of food items if something happens to only find out when you need then that they are infested with bugs and worthless to you. Remember to add some oxygen absorbers in the bag and keep it all in a dry and cool place.
Products like cocoa powder, wheat cream, powdered milk, vitamins and tea can be kept in their original packets. Packing everything in an air-sealed bag to make it last longer works very well. You can purchase inexpensive equipment that will remove all the air from the package. Don't forget to label the bag with date and a description of what's inside. Be careful with powdered eggs. They can last for a long time but can also become rotten if not stored in proper manner.
Having adequate amount of stored food is like having food insurance. You can feel safe and always be ready to face any kind of disaster.
