"Dr. John Burge" > wrote in
message news
>
> We are storing up food (and water) for an all out long-term emergency.
> We have stored 100 gallons of water and have constructed a rain water
> harvesting system. Additionally we have racked up a number of canned
> goods and staples as well as a large supply of MRE's and dehydrated
> foods. We want to store rice and beans in a large quantity for feeding
> large groups but have held off because of the high potential of little
> critters often found in raw rice and wheat or corn products - flour and
> corn meal for instance. Does anyone have a tried and true method of
> storing a large quantity rice (100 lb sacks) for a long period of time
> (months and years)? Thanks.

John, the general rule is store what you eat now, or the nearest long-life
equivalent. MREs are just about OK but if you don't like chilli or chicken
then there is no point in storing packet or tinned versions of either
thinking that if you are hungry enough you will eat them, though if you are
in a larger group there will probably be someone who likes them. If it is
just for your own family there are plenty of alternatives, so store what you
enjoy. If you can store what you already use you are also more likely to
constantly rotate your stocks so that they remain fresh.

To some extent what you store also depends on the extent of your other
stocks, such as water and fuel. If you have limited space for, and access to
further supplies of either, then you need food that is ready to eat rather
than things which need rehydrating or cooking. You can eat baked beans or
tinned chicken curry cold and straight from the can even if they are not the
most appetising that way but rice is hard to digest when dry and uncooked,
so even if you have a 25 pound bag of it you are likely to go hungry if you
have little water and no fuel available. If, however, you have plenty of
fuel and a reliable source of water then dehydrated foods like pasta, rice,
noodles, etc. are light, relatively cheap, long-life and easy to store in
bulk.

The most secure way is separate large bags into smaller Mylar bags,
preferably 1 family meal sized portion per bag, vacuum evacuate the air and
then heat seal the bag. Mark the bag with it's contents, the date stored,
and any special cooking instructions, then place dry ice or oxygen absorbers
in a larger Mylar bag in a sealable container such as a food-grade 5 gallon
barrel with an air-tight top. When the evaporating ice has displaced most of
the air or immediately after adding the O2 absorber and food bags, fit the
top and seal it. Then place the container in a suitably dry cool place. If
the temperature range where you are is quite wide, it is probably best to
bury the containers, preferably under an outbuilding where the ground will
not freeze too hard for you to dig up the container if you need it in
winter. Dried food stored this way will last for at least 15 years and some
for far longer.

Try http://www.sorbertsystems.com, or http://waltonfeed.com, or someone from
your local LDS community, for sources of relevant supplies. Some LDS online
sites also offer a lot of good information about food storage and much else
in the way of prepping.


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