# Palatability of stored food; rotation



## StillStanding (Jan 24, 2009)

Well folks, StillStanding here after a long absence. Life happens.

Some 8-9 years ago I did my last major push on dehydrated foods. I ended up getting quite a mixture of stuff, some #10 cans from Rainy Day foods, a few things from the grocery store I packed myself in barrier laminate bags with oxygen absorbers, and some of the higher quality freeze-dried individual fruits, vegetables, and meals from Alpine Aire.

A while back I was stuck moving to another house and given that most of this stuff was approaching the end of its shelf life I started drawing down the reserve and incorporating what I could into the family food stream as opportunity presented itself. No point going to the trouble and expense of moving items about to expire.

With some advance planning I was able to draw down most of the major dry and inherently shelf-stable items: flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, macaroni products, baking chocolate, and tapioca.

The quality of the prepared freeze-dried vegetables and meals was poor enough that we ended up discarding most of them. I think, with the freeze-dried soups and entrees, there was a degree of blending of flavors and loss of "side notes" that was not present when I had sampled these prior to purchasing them in quantity.

I also found that the inexpensive supermarket rice I had purchased in large bags was of poor quality and cooked up into a mushy mess. I believe this was a quality problem at the time of purchase rather than something introduced by storage.

So in short it was my finding that even this higher-quality freeze-dried food did not, after lengthy storage in controlled conditions, deliver on its promise of palatable, nutritious, shelf-stable food.

One conclusion to consider is that this means that rotation into the household food stream may not be feasible. As such these purchases should be seen as an unrecoverable cost of being prepared rather than being rationalized as "future groceries." 

Another conclusion to consider is that a storage program based on high quality food requires another approach relying more heavily on wet foods that freeze or can well. The catch is of course that a program like this is much harder to manage -- more space, more weight, shorter rotation times, and reliance on freezers and their support technologies.

Food for thought, broken for you.


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

Or you could just not be picky


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

I'm trying to understand your issue with the freeze-dried foods. Were these products (e.g. corn, peas, carrots, meats) kept in their respective sealed cans or a packaged meal that was commercially produced?


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## StillStanding (Jan 24, 2009)

jsriley5 said:


> Or you could just not be picky


So there are two ways to reply to this:

1) I could sell it out for a joke and say that I don't drink cheap whiskey, drive a Hyundai, or put up with guitarists who only know three chords.

2) Or we could talk about actual emergency situations and how stressful the are, and how having unfamiliar low-quality food adds to the stress. Stress adds to the hazard, demoralizes people, leads to disagreements, etc. Even if you're an ex-marine and can live for 30 days in the wilderness by eating bugs, the whole point of food storage is you shouldn't have to. (After all, physiologically, most adults who are in good health can do OK without _any_ food for 30 days). It's not just about calories.



Country Living said:


> I'm trying to understand your issue with the freeze-dried foods. Were these products (e.g. corn, peas, carrots, meats) kept in their respective sealed cans or a packaged meal that was commercially produced?


Some of each. I had several #10 cans each of corn, peas, green beans, and a vegetable medley. Also, there were some #10 cans with pre-mixed soup requiring only that the contents be measured, mixed, and rehydrated. Finally, there were some #10 cans of a complete dehydrated entree.


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## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

StandingStill, it could be that Rainy Day foods are just not good quality to begin with. I don't know. I have very little freeze dried food. What I do have is Mountain House or Honeyville Grain and it has been fine when we have used it. I don't store entrees of anything. All my stores, whether canned or dehydrated or FD, are ingredients only. 

I have used rice that was 8 years old and it was fine. I have taste tested all my stuff at one time or another. Stored food is never as good as fresh. You're saying that even the stuff you packed yourself was not very good. My answer would be that you need to take a second look at the way you are storing it. Maybe it is not in a cool enough place or maybe your O2 absorbers were no good or maybe your seals leaked. I've been storing food for years and mine is fine.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

kemjack brings up a good point. Did you only have Rainy Day brands? Also where did you store the cans? In the house, garage, attic, basement?

I'm not questioning your findings. I just want to know if there is something I can learn from this.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

It is excellent that you are using your stores now. As disconcerting as it is now, how troubling would it be if that was the only option. We have all had failures in our preps. I have learned many a lesson the hard way, now I try to make my mistakes small ones. I have taken the adage "store what you eat, eat what you store" to heart. When I add a new brand or product to my preps I start with a small purchase. 

These products can be replaced or added to. If you decide to keep these products they would be great to use as barter to those who are ill prepared or as charity. You also have extra to fall back on. All in all, although it may not be an optimal situation, it is not terrible either.


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## WWhermit (Mar 1, 2012)

I've thought about this as well. I've concluded that even though my canned meat may last 3-5 years, I don't want to wait that long to eat it. I figure if I open one jar of canned meat each month, and have it for a meal, not only am I "testing" to see if it's still edible, I'll also be rotating my stock. When I use up enough canned chicken, for example, to make another run in the canner, I will.

Dehydrated fruits and veggies are the same way. Use a little each month, and I'll be able to do some quality control. Rice and beans, same same.

I'm too cheap to buy MRE's, or commercially processed freeze dried foods. Plus, it's easy enough to dehydrate your own food, or can your own meat, and much cheaper, and you know you'll like it when you open it up!


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