As a prepper, we're always talking about stocking up on various products, lets be honest we wouldnt be preppers if we didnt, it comes with the territory! Before I start my list, I want to clarify the terms of storage. For me and my prepping journey "Short Term" storage is 6 months to approximately 2 years. "Medium Term" is 2 to 5 years , "Long Term" is anything from 5 years up to 25 years. Those intervals are based on my experience and my prefferd way to organise my preps and pantry. You may disagree with the below but as I said, its based on my experiance.....
1. Flour I dont stockpile too much flour, even if i wanted to, i choose not to! I have about 15/20 bags of flour stored for medium-term storage but thats it. I vacuum-seal the flour, then freeze it for few days , take it out, defrost and put it away.
The reason i choose not to stockpile too much of flour, is that I always end up having a problem with bugs and no, im not talking about weevels, im talking about Flour Mites. They are simmilar to dust mites, very tiny and almost translucent but I have 20/20 vision and I will spot them right away. I have been stocking up on flour before and wasted so much time and money in storing it, just to throw it away. Yes to some, bugs are not an issue but I refuse to consume it if it's infested.
After freezing the flour and vacuuming I may not have too much of an issue, however after my experience im just scared to stock a lot just to throw it away. Yes, some preppers Mylar bag them with Oxygen absorbers too and swear by it but im pretty sure many have not openned their 10 year old flour to check? Oxygen absorbers ARE NOT Fault proof and, unfortunately, you wont know weather its worked until you open it. Generally, when you buy flour, it has a year and a half to two years of shelf life. If I vacuum pack it, it might give it an extra six months or tad more I have enough to bake a loaf a week if we have no bread but I can certainly do without. I have semolina flour, which I don't seem to get so many issues with, so if I have to, I can make breads using that.
2. Yeast Yep, Yeast. I normally buy my east from lidl and it has a relatively short shelf life and yeast doesnt always last that well past the best before date. I have purchased a commercial pack on Anazon and it has a 2 year shelf life, which is fine by me. You can freeze yeast, yes however, as a prepper, we're preparing and trying to avoid storing stuff in the freezer, apart from meat ofcourse. If in SHTF situation the power goes of, then our yest will be ruined. So the alternative and the reason why I'm not stockpiling so much for the long term is that we can make a mama yeast/wild yeast starter. It is very easy and i have done a video for it here......................................
3. Ready-made prepared microwaveable rice
Generally the ready made packetas have about 6/12 month shelf life. I have had a terrible experience with one of the packets from Lidl that I have chosen to buy it to store, only for a short term comsumption. The packet in question, was freshly purchased and had a long date, however it was totally black and blue with mould, badly, so you cant even trust it short term. Otherwise, I found the pre packaged rices are starting to smelly plasticky just after the best before date, probably still safe to consume, as it is a best before and not use by date but I find it very offputting. So for me and my prepping journey its a No No
4. Instant noodles and ramen noodles
It's also the exact reason for instant noodles and ramen noodles. These have a year's shelf life. That's absolutely fine. The same as with rice; after a little while, I find they are becoming rancid and smelled like plastic. I have attempted to consume one pack that was year past the date and it was vile. So thats my reasons not to stock them for "Long Term" storag. Some people are of an oppinion that they can last forever in vacuum but no, they have a fat content, thats why they go rancid overtime.
5. Brown rice
Brown rice does not keep anywhere as well as white rice because it has a higher fat content. If you vacuum seal brown rice, you can store it for a longer term however I dont see a reason to do so. Firstly Brown rice is far more expensive than white rice and kind of unafordable to stockpile (unless money is no object), Secondly white rice is guaranteed indefinite shelf life with proper storage so I don't see the need the spend money and risk spoilage. Nutritional values lost without having brown rice, could be easily supplemented .
6. Brown sugar
Brown sugar doesn't last as long as white sugar purely because of the moisture content. White sugar has 0.3% water, brown sugar has anywhere between 2% and 4%. Yes brown sugar taste nicer, however you can make brown sugar with white sugar and molasses, both of which have indefinite shelf life. So like brown rice, I dont see a point of stocking up long term just to risk it spoiling. Plus the only reason I stock sugar is for making jams and pickles so white sugar is a win win.
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