Pantries and Preparedness 2020. Foods that last years and years.

Things have been calmer here in the last week but I know this certainly is not the case everywhere.  And things have evolved.  Shortages and rationing have changed somewhat too. I would love to hear your observations in your location but here the new sought after goods are chickens, seeds, seedlings...  I am seeing also canning jars, lids etc.   All the same stuff as before as well, toilet paper, soaps, hand sanitisers, flour, sugar, pasta...  and so on.
In the wider picture I am seeing meat processing plants closing down specially in the US.   I am also seeing massive price rises!   So by keeping our eyes open we can see what things we might need to be doing to be ahead.

One of the things I hear a lot is about the worry of increasing food supplies only for it to be wasted.  People worry about expiry and best before dates.   We need to get ourselves educated on this.  For instance I see honey has a date on the lid!   Yet honey will keep forever.  I have Himalayan Pink Salt in my pantry. It took hundreds of thousands of years for someone to package it but it expires in June.   Seriously!    We are taken for idiots!

Today I am going to share some foods that you can store for many years.   We can never really hope to stock everything.  But in this time I have seen that if you have good supplies of some things you can trade and help others.   And the things I have noticed people chasing most of all are basics such as flour and sugar.     Many basics also have a whole lot of uses.  If you stock them you have the beginnings of so many recipes and some medical and cleaning applications as well.    Next week I am going to cover the ingredients and items that keep for years that will allow you to make all your cleaning and washing supplies.  Today we will stick to edibles.

My first long term item is Alcohol.  You do not need to be a drinker for this one.   This Pandemic has shown if everyone had a high alcohol Vodka,  Everclear or similar in their storage they could have made a great amount of hand sanitiser, surface spray and cleaner.   Alcohol over 60% proof kills germs and viruses.   If you have Vodka you can make extracts and tinctures that also will last years.  You can also make Alcohol wipes for many purposes.   This is a very valuable thing to have.

Some of the foods that will keep years if stored properly include:
Rice.  White rice keeps years longer than brown rice.   I freeze if for a few days first.  Then store properly... in each case you want air tight, rodent and bug proof containers.  I use glass jars or glass canning jars with rings and clips.   Then rice should last 30 years!!   Imagine how many things you can do with rice.

Dry beans.   So many types of beans.  Filling and versatile.   Many will last a good 30 years also!

Pasta.  This will last years and years.  30 years even!  Plus you can vary the shapes and types for variety.

Salt.   I am not much of a salt user.  However it is a preservative and I keep Himalayan Salt as part of my medical pantry as you need it to make Electrolytes which can be life saving.

Vanilla Extract.   This basically lasts forever and in tight times some heavenly flavour would be so nice!

Bullion cubes.   They last a long time packaged well.  Flavour is a good thing!

Vinegar.   Lasts and lasts.   Useful to preserve and also in cleaning!

Wheat.   Well sealed it will last years and so will many other grains.  If you have a grinder you are set.

Sugar.    White sugar will last years and years.   So will castor sugar.

Cornflour.   This lasts a long time too.

Potato Flakes.  Stored properly they will last YEARS.

Honey.   So many uses that this is something I keep large supplies of.

Maple Syrup.   Will keep indefinitely!

Baking soda.   Another thing with so many uses.  It can be stored indefinitely.  Getting it out of a box into a glass jar will greatly help.    In a pinch you can clean your teeth with baking soda and clean the dish washer!    Very useful thing to have.

Cocoa Power.   It will last a few years at least.

Molasses.   Full of vitamins and minerals too!

For Australians... Golden Syrup and Vegemite.  Both useful and lasting!

Powdered Milk.  So useful.  Stored well it lasts many years.  It needs to be kept in a cool dark place.   Sealed well.   But it will last long after the date on the packet.

You will never go wrong storing these long lasting items.   There are more as I believe many freeze dried items are very long lasting.    If you can think of others please add them!    I think spices such as pepper probably do last a surprisingly long time.    Tea leaves also sealed up well will last a fair while.  They will not go off... just lose some oomph.   When desperate for a cup of tea I would still be trying it!  Dried fruit lasts a long time... I am just unsure how long!?

I am quite happy to keep some of my pantry over flow in random cupboards and even in plain sight.  To me jars are a beautiful thing!   These are in my lounge room... they are salt and sugar mainly so I am not too concerned about them getting some light.

One thing I am sure of is the situation with rationing and shortages will be around for a while.   It might change to different items and we need to keep an eye on that.  But supply chains are broken in many places.  Currently it takes one person coming down with the virus in a warehouse or factory and the whole thing is closed down.  So this is a pretty volatile situation.  While some things might be made in our own countries  some items to make them might be imported.  It is surprising and the most interesting things are harder to get... my brother purchased a generator and it was a circus to get it as parts come mostly from China... 

Being able to stay in and feed  your family is a huge accomplishment.  Being able to help others is also!  We are not helpless and afraid, in fact we are not afraid of the winter as we prepare!  

I want to wish you all a very blessed Easter.   We are having a quiet day.  The sun is shining.  I have eggs to collect and seedlings to water.  We have faith and hope and many blessings!xxx