Best Long Term Food Storage Equipment

Originally posted 2019-04-05 03:27:01.

Hello everyone!  When it comes to doing more long term prepping, you will eventually get to the point that you might want to have some foods with a long shelf life stored up.  Most commonly people will tend towards foods like rice, dry beans and whole wheat, all of which can be kept for decades if properly stored.  While I recommend if you are going to store food for long term, you’ll need some sort of rotation system in place – however that’s not the point of today’s article.

With the correct Long Term Food Storage Equipment, you’ll be able to keep your foods away from the big enemies of stored food – light, temperature fluctuation, moisture, and pests.    Some simple tools will allow you to stock up on food that will literally last for dozens of years in storage, if need be.

Long Term Food Storage Equipment – Mylar Bags

Now, what is mylar you may ask?  Great question – according to this source:

Mylar, also known as BoPET (Biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate) is a polyester film made from stretched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and is used for its high tensile strength, chemical and dimensional stability, transparency, reflectivity, gas and aroma barrier properties, and electrical insulation.

Now ,where does Mylar come into the picture when it comes to long term food storage?  Simple – rather than leaving the food product (let’s use rice in this example) in its regular bag from the manufacturer, a Mylar food storage bag will allow you to seal in the food in an enclosed environment.  This is done in conjunction with adding an oxygen absorbing pouch along with the contents.  This small bag sucks out all of the bag, leaving the food in an o2 free environment, which vastly enhances its shelf life.

Since there is no zipping mechanism with Mylar bags, the way I seal them is simple.  I fill the bags up about 3/4 full, pop the oxygen absorber in, and then use a hot clothes iron to seal the bag fully (put something that won’t burn underneath the iron, such as a piece of wood or a hardcover book.  Once the bag is properly sealed, the o2 absorber will do its magic over a couple of hours and you’ll end up with essentially a brick of food.  I’ve found a 1 gallon bag can hold somewhere between 5-7 lbs of rice.  Generally these will come with the oxygen absorbers included.

Long Term Food Storage Equipment – Buckets

Now that you have some nifty food stored up in your bags, the next step is to prevent them from being attacked by the sun, moisture and possible pests.  That’s where food grade buckets come in real handy.  While you could probably get away with cheaper 5 gallon buckets like those produced by Home Depot, purchasing food grade buckets will ensure that no chemicals leak into the food.  Food grade buckets are strong and have good sealing tops, which will keep critters from getting at your food.  Of course, you’ll want to store the food in a cool clean place, like a basement – but beware of pests such as rodents, who can still chew through the thick plastic of the bucket.  If you have a rodent problem, my suggestion will always be to get a few cats!

Food Dehydrators – make your own long term food!

Outside of buying staple foods and storing them in the manner mentioned above, it is also possible to create your own wonderful foods using one of the many food dehydrators that are available.  While not the cheapest investment, they can greatly augment the amount of foods that you can add to your pantry.   Almost any food in your imagination can be dehydrated, from apples and other fruits to making your own beef jerky.  Let your culinary creativity flow and start that dehydrated food stockpile started!