“Taking Stock of Food Storage,” Ensign, Mar. 1983, 43
Taking Stock of Food Storage
A good inventory system helps you determine what kinds of food your family eats and how often. With this information you can plan your year’s supply to suit the tastes of your family.
On a three-by-five inch card indicate name of item being stored and shelf life. This varies according to storage conditions and type of food. If stored in a dry, dark, cool place (40° F. to 70° F.), in rigid, rodent-proof containers, most products will store as follows:
Grains, rice |
—Indefinitely. |
Beans |
—Indefinitely. Will become hard after a time. Do not add new beans to old. Hard beans may be made usable by putting them in a sack and hitting the sack with a hammer to break the beans open. Soak the broken beans and cook as usual. |
Fruits & vegetables, canned |
—Two or more years if cans are not dented or bulging. High acid or highly pigmented fruits such as grapefruit, oranges, plums, berries, and black cherries have a shorter shelf life (one or more years). |
Canned meats |
—Two or more years. |
Milk, canned |
—One year. Turn cans every thirty days to keep milk from separating. |
Milk, nonfat, dried |
—At 40°, -two years; at 79°, -one year; at 90°, -three months. Keep cool, tightly sealed, and dry. |
Sugar |
—Indefinitely. |
Honey |
—Indefinitely if stored at 45°–75°. Higher temperatures cause color, texture, and flavor changes. |
Fats, oils |
—One year below 60° F. Stores better in brown and green glass than in clear. |
Packaged mixes |
—Six months to one year in rigid, insect-proof containers. Placing packaged flour products in the freezer for four days should kill weevil larvae and extend shelf life. |
Note: Check expiration date on cans and packages. They store past this date, but shelf life will not be as long. Mark all products with the date of purchase or processing. Rotate by using oldest first.
Average cost. Can be figured over a period of time and will help you see if an advertised special is actually a good buy.
Quantity needed. If you use twelve cans in six weeks, you will need 108 cans for a year’s supply.
Enter the date on which you begin your inventory and fill in the quantity on hand. As product is used, make a mark in the “used” column. Before you shop, count the marks so you’ll know how many to replace. With each new purchase, enter the date, the number added, the cost, and the quantity on hand. Shirley Nielsen and Al Vester, Salt Lake City, Utah