What to Store for Years
A long-term shelf is a short list. White rice, dried beans, oats, pasta, salt, sugar, and honey. Those are the foods that keep for years if they stay dry. Everything else is extra.
The backbone
White rice lasts longer than brown rice. Brown rice still has oil in the grain, and oil goes off. Dried beans and lentils are the protein. Oats and pasta fill a bowl. Salt and sugar do not spoil if they stay dry. Honey lasts longer than the jar if you keep water out of it.
What to add second
Canned fish, canned tomatoes, and a jar of oil. These date sooner than rice. Put a date on them and eat them in the first year or two. Powdered milk is optional. It is useful and it is not a fresh gallon.
What does not belong
Fresh meat, soft cheese, opened milk, and cooked rice left out. Brown rice for a ten-year shelf. Anything damp when you seal the bag. A long-term shelf is not a second fridge.
Who this is not for
Skip this if you want a shipped meal kit and no cooking. The list is ingredients you already know how to boil.
When the fridge is off, the same list is the menu:
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