Question about storing rice and beans that I’ve had for a while
Posted by KernalKorn16@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 29 comments
So about 2-3 years ago I but a couple pounds of rice and beans and left them in the original plastic packaging and put them in a card board box, left them in a closet. I’ve since become more serious about prepping and doing it correctly and have bought some Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. My question is, is it okay to put the rice and beans I have now and they will still last for the 30+ years or should I just go ahead and buy more, and just use what I have now to eat.
The beans look totally fine however, the rice seems like it was lower quality and has bits of what seems like dirt in the bag, no signs of perforation of the bags. Thanks!
FlashyImprovement5@reddit
Store what you eat Eat what you store
You need to have rice and beans in your diet now. If you switched suddenly, you would suddenly have intestinal issues.
Recipes that use those beans? Do you know how to cook them properly and what meals to make with them? What about rice dishes? How many meals do you know that use rice?
Also, do you have a way to cook your rice and beans off-grid? Those beans can take a lot of power if you don't have a pressure cooker, sun oven or haybox cooker
Tessatrala@reddit
You can sprout them.
shesaysImdone@reddit
What does sprouting do?
Tessatrala@reddit
Well,with many beane and grains you can eat the sprouted version without cooking them. Some of them you shouldn't because of chemicals they have in them like I think maybe kidney beans and lima beans but you would want to research that.
Tessatrala@reddit
Do you know if they cook faster if you grind them?
FlashyImprovement5@reddit
A little bit. Quick do you plan on grinding? Black bean flour?
Tessatrala@reddit
Only in extreme circumstances.
SunLillyFairy@reddit
If it were me - I'd toss 'em (or compost if you have it). White Rice having brown spots that look like dirt is bad. That could be mold, bug eggs, or decay - even if just dirt or rice bran that's not a good sign for quality control and rice is cheap. The beans might be fine, but after 2-3 years in original packaging they will have lost some (or most) of their vitamin content and likely have become very dry/hard, making them harder to cook.
They definitely won't last 30 years in Mylar because they are already at the end of their shelf life. I mean... if they were stored cool, dry and dark, the beans might be edible for 5-7 years after their original packaging date... so maybe still OK, but at $1 - $2 a pound I just wouldn't be willing to deal with 2-3 yr old dry beans, or waste a mylar bag on them.
whozwat@reddit
In my opinion the secret to successful prepping is actually use the ingredients daily and replace as consumed. I have about 6 months supply for my live forever soup which I eat everyday. Sounds boring. But I take inspiration from my 17-year-old dog who eats the exact same thing everyday. My cost for a fully balanced nutritious meal is about $2 a day. I'm nearing 70, on no medications and my annual wellness checks are perfect.
essentialpartmissing@reddit
What's live forever soup?
whozwat@reddit
It's s what I call my $2/day health-forward survival soup: legumes, grains, dried veggies, seaweed, Indian spices and supplements. It's the base of my daily nutrition. I've posted the recipe several times on Reddit.
Impressive_Ad_9285@reddit
I wanna be like you!
iamfaedreamer@reddit
my gut says that's not dirt in your rice bag but rice weevils. get rid of it.
Myspys_35@reddit
Came here to say this. Get rid of it and make sure to decontaminate everything around it
Honestly this is such a great example of why knowing food preservation and preparation is so important
apoletta@reddit
This.
THC_Dude_Abides@reddit
Get new stuff and eat what you stored. You should be cycling through your food stores. Just because it can last 30 years doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat it and buy new stuff every so often.
JRHLowdown3@reddit
Start fresh with new and pack them not long after getting them from the store.
https://survivalandpreparednessforum.net/forum/the-basics/1154-diy-food-storage-basics-ask-questions-get-answers-etc
Here is what you want to read, this has helped tens of thousands of folks over the year do DIY food storage correctly.
kkinnison@reddit
they wont last 30 years. they likely will have a off taste and be a bit stale, and I am not sure you want to stock 30 years worth of grains. much easier to start with a 6 or 12 month supply and work your way up. again, store what you eat and rotate. dont have the mentality of creating a bunker to wait things out in. too many have spent their entire life creating survival bunkers and never used them.
That "dirt" in the rice bag is rice weevils. Throw it away. The plastic isn't 100% air tight.
Best way to preserve grains long term is to put in mylar with Oxygen absorbers. and then place those bags in containers to keep pests out. easily last more than 10 years. This is what I have been doing, but i also have it as part of my regular diet and rotate out stock. We can go through a 25# bag of rice (split into 3 pound mylar bags) in a couple of years. Best to buy in bulk and split it instead of just grabbing a pound at the grocery store and paying five times as much
tianavitoli@reddit
wash it off and eat it, it's fine
you're def never going to survive whatever imaginary scenario if you're scared of old rice
like, someone is going to go outside and defend themselves, world a weapon, be crafty and resourceful, but they're cautious about eating rice?
Mala_Suerte1@reddit
The reason you store rice, beans, wheat, etc. in mylar w/ O2 absorbers is b/c Weevils lay their eggs in the kernels of food. W/o oxygen, the eggs die and never hatch.
As long as you don't see any little black bugs crawling around in your rice or beans, then it's good and it will be fine to put it in mylar w/ O2 absorbers and store it.
My wife bought some organic white flower and w/i 6 months we had little black specks crawling around in it.
DwarvenRedshirt@reddit
Yes, but really, if you're going to spend money and effort on mylar and oxygen absorbers, don't you want the best and freshest starting quality food in that storage? I'd buy new and put that current food in the rotation to eat and get rid of it.
wwglen@reddit
I use empty cleaned out plastic juice bottles.
Put the rice, beans, whatever in them and the toss an oxygen absorber on top and seal.
Pulls the side in and protects the contents. They do need to be kept in a darker location as the bottles don’t block the light like Mylar.
Formal_Pension_9456@reddit
I just rotate stock every so often.
PineapplePiazzas@reddit
Refine and use your knowledge the best you can to store food long time.
You also want to store food that would feel fine to incorporate in your / your family diet.
Therefore use the rice before for example 5 years have passed but have a goal of it lasting 30 years.
That way preservation period is prolonged while you are always prepared for a worst case scenario.
Purifiedx@reddit
I have rice in air tight sealed mylar bags with silica packets, which I then put in those 5 gallon buckets with the twist lids. Opened one that was 10 years old and it was still like new.
EchoGecko795@reddit
I recently cooked a bag of 8 year old rice. It was stored in its original bag, but in a waterproof food grade bucket with a moister removed. The color was mostly fine, still white, but slightly darker compared to new rice. I gave it a sniff test, it did not smell off or musty, and I didn't see any bugs or mold. So I cooked it, and it was fine. A bit thick and stickier then I am used to but no issues.
Virtual-Feature-9747@reddit
I would not bother spending resources (time, energy, mylar bags, oxygen absorbers) trying to preserve 2+ year old dry goods. Get the right materials and then go buy some new new rice and beans.
BTW, I'm in exactly the same situation. I just left the old bag of rice as is. If someone (maybe neighbors) are desperate enough they will eat it. And if someone is pounding down my door demanding food I have something to sacrifice.
PrisonerV@reddit
You ever going to eat them?
If no, then a mylar bag is fine, isn't it.
unicornofdemocracy@reddit
depends, nobody can tell you exactly, but newly brought rice stored in mason jar/mylar bag with oxygen absorber can last 30 years. It has to be white rice though.
I would say, at 1 year I wouldn't expect too much of a differences but at 2-3 years that's more than half the shelf life of rice in plastic bag. They can typically be kept for up to 3-5 years in their plastic bag. I would recommend eating those rice and buying a new batch to store it.