Emergency Preparedness: 5 Smart Food Storage Solutions
Having a food storage solution is a valuable investment that helps you conquer challenges that happen in everyday life. This means you will be ready for emergency cases like the covid 19 pandemics, which can restrict movement and shopping. If you need to store food, you must buy it in bulk to keep it in extended storage.
However, if you fail to store food, contamination may occur, leading to massive losses. It would be best if you had an appropriate container to package your food from insect infestation. If you don’t have an idea, this article will guide you on storing food in readiness for emergencies.
Here is how you do it:
How You Can Keep Food Fresh for An Extended Period
Buying food in bulk can be challenging to store and maintain freshness for a more extended period. You need to set strategies to consider as you avoid the pain of watching it rot. Please consider the following.
Date Of Expire
This gives you a clue to know how long the product will be in good condition, and past those dates, the taste might change. All food industries state after the best before date on the food product they produce. The food is safe before the best-before date ends.
Freeze Meat and Vegetables
If you have plenty of food and don’t want to waste the best option is to store it for an extended period in case of an emergency. It would be best to have a fridge and check that the food is still fresh before proceeding with your freezing process. Cooking the food before storing it in the freezer is still a great idea to use.
Treat Herbs Like a Bouquet
Planning for the future means you need to buy fresh herbs in a bag and store them. Storage of this can seem not very easy, but you need a glass of water on the windowsill to keep your herbs.
Let Food Ripen at Room Temperature
Protect your fruits like avocado from spoiling by letting them ripe at room temperature before you proceed to store. Would you please not alter the ripping process if you need to maintain freshness for a more extended period? Once you cut the ripe avocado, keep the remaining inside lemon juice to preserve.
Avoid Refrigerating Your Tomatoes
Refrigerating tomatoes means you’re killing the flavor because the juice inside does not need freezing. Always keep your tomatoes in the room and allow them to be ripe to their full potential. Also, don’t store potatoes and onion in the fridge; use a darkroom out of sunshine.
Long-Term Food Storage
It’s essential to select the right food product before you can proceed to store it. Food varies in moisture content; some contain high moisture levels, hence short shelf life compared to dry foods. The best food for long-term storage should have 10% or less moisture with low oil content.
The dry food you can store includes wheat, corn, kidney beans, black beans, white rice, etc., easily. If you can consider storing dehydrated fruits and vegetables, they should have low moisture content. You can dehydrate food like potatoes, onions, peppers, and carrots. Correctly freeze-dried food, like meat, is suitable for long-term storage.
Here are the best containers for long-term storage
Oxygen Absorbers
Oxygen absorbers are small packets containing iron powder that removes oxygen from the atmosphere of the storage container; as a result, killing insects and larval insects. It prevents moisture in the container that causes iron to result. You can store a wide variety of food with this method.
Vacuum Sealing
It’s a method where you remove air from the package before you can seal it. It would be best if you had the right vacuum bag then feel appropriate before you pack it. The average time you can store food in vacuum sealing is 2 -3 years. It’s perfect for dried meat and fish, saving you money. There’s a wide range of sizes for cryovac machines that start very small and portable and can also get up into the commercial grade.
Glass Jars
Perfect for storing dry food, and still, you can reuse it every time you need it. Dried foods like fruits, vegetables, and herbs are suitable to keep in a glass jar. They can’t allow moisture and air to seep through.
Plastic Buckets
The food-grade plastic with gasket seals is essential to store grains, bags of pasta, and powdered sugar. The bucket protects from moisture in the storage room and maintains the freshness of the food.
Freezer
Freezing is one of the keys to reduce food waste and keep them for future use. These keep all kinds of foods you buy, keeping you close to homemade kitchen meals in times of crisis. The flavor of the food isn’t lost if you follow the requirements needed before you can store your food.
Food like raw meat, fish, and poultry should be away from other foods to avoid contamination. You need a fridge with a meat compartment to separate the kind of foods you’re going to store. Keep in mind to wash handles before handling any food to avoid any contamination.
Cold Storage Basements
Consider storing foods that don’t need refrigeration in a cold room. It’s the perfect way to store carrots, beets, and tubers. The cold basement keeps the food fresh as well as free up some space from your fridge.
Proper Food Rotation
Flash floods, tropical storms, and blizzards are emergencies that you need to be ready to handle. Always the best way to plan food for your family is to make sure they take at least one balanced meal a day. Check on the emergency food expiries before giving out to avoid food poisoning.
You need to include vitamins and minerals to supplement your nutrition. Particular attention would need your stock for infants. If you decide to rely on powder formulas, it will at least save you money. The amount of food you need should depend on age and the size of your family.
Managing to store food for an emergency is not a one-time action. It takes your time to have the necessary stockpile you desire. Remember to keep checking on the stored food to ensure it doesn’t get spoiled before using it. Use the above information to get you started if you need to stockpile.
