Chapter 5 – How To Prep A Food Stockpile That Will Last A Year

 

Tip #18:  Rely On Old-Favorites

 

You are not the first person to build a perpper's pantry.  Moreover, the idea of building up a store of food is certainly not new.  Whether for storing over the winter, or for long journeys, people have a wealth of experience about which foods are best for stockpiling.  It makes sense to use this knowledge, stay safe and stick to the old favorites. 

 

Long-term food stores are traditionally composed of a number of items: water, wheat, rice, pasta and dehydrated milk, and it makes complete sense to utilize these as much as possible.  They will still be able to supply you with food after 12 months and for much further into the future.

 

Possibly the first food to be used for a long-term store was wheat.  If it is stored in the right way, wheat can be kept for an indefinite length of time.  Not only that, but whole wheat flour also has a great nutritional value.  Similarly, oats are also a  very healthy food that, traditionally, has been stored and used when it is needed.  As with all foods for the long-term store, you should be trying to use a little all the time, rather than shutting them away for the future.  This enables you get to know the best way of preparing them. 

 

Pasta is a great choice for prepping for 12 month periods and more.  It is cheap, flexible and can be prepared easily.  Pasta is a favorite prepping food as it is so flexible and people are familiar with using it to make a range of different meals. If stored correctly, pasta keeps for a very long time indeed.

 

All the same arguments apply to storing rice.  Try to store a range of different varieties of rice in order to keep your meals interesting.  Brown rice varieties are the most nutritious.  Always bear in mind the quantity of water cooking rice and pasta will use. 

 

You will also need to add water to powdered milk.  But powdered milk offers many advantages for a long-term store and because it has been heated to remove the moisture, you can keep a long time.