You’re ready to start storing dried food long term. That’s a brilliant plan, but how long can you store things? Dehydrated foods like beans, rice, vegetables, and even fruit are a great way to get through an emergency. Sadly, you won’t be surviving anything if you don’t store your dried goods properly. Whether you plan for a week, or twenty years, you’ll need to understand shelf-lives of different dried foods to make it work. Luckily I’ve been storing emergency supplies for many years. I’ll walk you through the various shelf-lives of dried foods, and how best to preserve them. Long term supplies are no joke. They will save your life if you know how to stock them away correctly. However, moldy messes won’t feed anyone.
How long do dehydrated foods last? Dehydrated foods last five to twenty-five years. Moreover, when properly stored, some dehydrated foods can last substantially longer. For example, honey-powder can last forever if it stays dry. Fruits tend to go off after about five years, but vegetables, sugars, and other foods have a longer shelf life.
Storing Dehydrated Food Long Term
When you get dehydrated food in stores, it’s usually not packaged to last long term. A clear plastic bag of jerky may look tasty, but try to store it that way, and you’ll be disappointed. Especially if you put that see-through bag on a pantry shelf where it will get light every time you open the door, it won’t last.
You need mylar food bags and oxygen absorbers to store long term foods. Because you want a light-proof container, you’ll also want to place the bags inside a plastic bucket with a tight lid. Unfortunately, food-grade plastic buckets do allow oxygen inside over time. Hence, mylar and O2 absorbers are necessary.
The actual storage process is simple. Measure your foods into mylar bags. Label them for easy access and place oxygen absorbers inside. Next, push out as much air as possible and seal the bags.
Finally, you put your mylar bags in a bucket. Seal your bucket and label it. Don’t forget to include a date on the outside, so you know how long the food inside is stored. Typically I recommend rotating out your food storage every five years for the best flavor. However, time Isn’t the only enemy of food storage.
Light
As strange as it may seem, light, from the sun or artificial sources, can damage your food storage. If you’ve ever seen a faded soda can or piece of fabric that’s been in the sun too long, then you can see what’s happening to your food.
Not only can light cause heat, but simply by shining on your food, it can damage flavor, color, and even texture. Over time sunlight will reduce the food value and make it hard to eat what you have.
Oxygen
Oxygen is essential for humans but bad for food. Once you expose dried foods to oxygen, they begin to oxidize. Regrettably, this means they are rotting. Vacuum sealing is useful because it removes all the air and helps prevent any bacterial growth.
You can pick up ShieldPro’s 500cc Oxygen Absorbers from Amazon to help protect your supplies. ShieldPro is best in its class and can remove down to point-one-percent. Since you only need one per gallon of food, these will go a long way. Fortunately, if you have leftovers, you can simply toss them in a well-sealed mason jar to keep them ready for use. Check the stellar reviews here.
Temperature
You don’t want to freeze your dried foods. However, you also need to avoid too much heat. It’s best to store dried foods below seventy degrees. Moreover, if you can keep it below fifty, that’s more effective.
Moisture
Like oxygen, moisture, even a little of it, helps food decompose. Additionally, bacteria and mold often need little water to thrive. The reason dried food lasts so long is that the water is removed.
You’ll have to keep the water out if you want those dehydrated foods to last for years. Inadequate storage can make your food go off in hours or a few days at most. Make sure you get reliable, food-safe storage containers and don’t skimp on the O2 removers.
How to Dehydrate Your Food
There are two simple ways to dehydrate your food at home, and both will store for years when appropriately packed. You don’t need commercially packaged foods to have a superb stock of emergency or backpacking supplies. Dehydration is surprisingly simple.
The first method is the simplest. Grab a high-quality home dehydrator. I recommend the Nesco Food & Jerky Dehydrator from Amazon. Not only is this model made in the USA, but it’s easy to use and versatile. You’ll appreciate the fan-forced radial airflow. Find out more on Amazon by clicking here.
To use a basic home dehydrator, you simply slice the foods you wish to remove moisture from and place them in the trays. Make sure your slices are relatively thin, less than half an inch. Preferably cut closer a quarter-inch thick or less for best results.
Dehydrate Without a Machine
If you don’t have a dehydrator yet, then you can use your home oven instead. For this process, you’ll need a home oven, cookie sheets, a knife, and your food of choice. As you may have guessed, it’s a relatively simple process.
One of the biggest tips for home dehydration is to avoid cross-contamination. You should never dry meats on the same tray as other meats, or anything else. Although proper dehydration is a preservative on its own, you still don’t want to worry about any accidental contamination.
Set your oven to the lowest setting, usually around a hundred fifty to two hundred degrees. Space out your fruit, or other sliced food on a cookie tray. Make sure that none of the pieces touch and leave one to two inches between them.
You can line the cookie-tray in foil if you prefer, but do not use non-stick spray. Finally, put the tray in the oven for about eight hours. It’s a straightforward process. You can leave the dehydration trays alone other than to check every few hours to make sure it’s not burnt.
How Long Should You Store Home-Dehydrated Foods
Just like the commercial versions, home dehydrated foods last for years. Although I always recommend eating things within five years, You can easily store most dehydrated foods much longer. There are some notable exceptions.
- Foods that last only about three years include the following: Yeast, butter powder, brown rice, mixes with multiple ingredients.
- Eggs and Garden seeds last about five years.
- Foods that last virtually forever include: Hardtack, hard candy, salt, sugar, honey powder, and possibly fruitcake if made classically.
- Most other foods last ten to thirty years if stored properly.
Please keep in mind; you should follow any manufacturer recommendations. If you purchase food, always abide by the use-by dates. However, when dealing with DIY, you can use the FoodAssets chart for a general idea of how long to store your food.
Dehydrated Vs. Freeze-Dried Food
Dehydrated and freeze-dried foods often have a similar shelf-life and can last thirty years in ideal conditions. Does that mean they’re the same thing? Well, no, not at all. In fact, they are very close to opposites.
Just as it sounds, freeze-drying involves freezing the food in question. Meanwhile, dehydration could be called heat-drying if we were going for accuracy. More importantly, it’s much more difficult to freeze dry anything at home. Dehydration is relatively quick and straightforward.
Freeze Drying At Home
Unlike dehydrating food to store at home, freeze-drying requires a lot of patience or more risk. You can home-dry meals in your freezer, but it may take weeks. Alternately, you can opt for dry ice, but you need a day with zero humidity, and insulated gloves to prevent damage to your hands.
Freeze drying machines tend to be a lot less compact and more costly than their dehydrator counterparts. While it’s a worthy investment for the long run, I suggest starting with dehydration, since it’s a lot simpler.
Moisture Differences
The other significant difference between dehydration and freeze-dried food is the amount of moisture it takes out. Typically freeze-dried goods have ninety-eight percent of the water sucked out. Meanwhile, a dehydrator takes more like eighty to ninety percent of that H2O out of your meats and produce.
Although there’s slightly more water content in dehydrated food, it keeps for years. Plus, it doesn’t change the texture as drastically because no ice crystals form inside your edibles.
The excellent Presto 06300 Dehydro from Amazon will help you get started with your homemade beef jerky, fruit leather, or apple chips. The trays are dishwasher safe for super easy cleanup. Furthermore, the trays nest together for secure storage. Have a Presto delivered to your door by ordering here.
Final Thoughts
Dehydrated foods can last for years. Resultantly, you should have them as part of your long term emergency supplies. By removing the moisture and properly storing dried beans, rice, meats, and more, you can guarantee your loved ones have meals to last any SHTF scenario.
One of the most helpful things about dehydration is that you can do it at home easily. When you cut and preserve your own foods, it means you always know where they came from. Avoiding extra preservatives and chemicals can help increase your health, even when the world is falling down around you.
Make sure you rotate your dehydrated supplies regularly. Typically after about five years, the flavor suffers, so using up older foods will keep your food tasty.
