Interesting. I never would have picked canned tomatoes but he makes a good argument via nutritional value.

12 food for long term storage

-Blast

No surprise, at least to me, that peanut butter was right at the top. Didn't notice okra there anywhere...

That was a good article. I like that canned tomatoes are considered good LT food, because they can be used in combination with another LT staple item or two to make various meals.

I had no idea cheese was considered what they call a "complete" food unto itself, meaning that you could survive on just that. That's pretty cool. And if you ate nothing but cheese, you'd probably never have to worry about going to the bathroom again, either! :-o They specify raw milk cheese from grass fed cows, but I wonder if that has anything to do with the nutritional value of the cheese or just their desire to avoid Pasteurized, "non-organic" milk for other health concerns.

The mention of meats suitable for canning makes me a bit nervous, as the impression I always got was that trying to can meat was just too risky for an amateur to try.

Anyway, good food for thought.

David

Canned stewed tomatoes were an old standby in 19th century cowboy chuck.Dried peas went into a Wermacht dried soup ration, still made, still unavailable in the USA except to determined prussian reenactors who won't share.

Canned tomatoes were also carried by cowboys for their water content. In places where you knew you weren't going to see water, canned tomatoes were a way to carry it.

Man I love sardines and would eat 'em anyway but its nice to know they're kind of healthy. I'm buying more sardines. And maybe some okra, but only the one's canned with the slime. Good for the plumbing if you know what I mean.

Shocked Art's canned alligator didn't make the list:

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=146751&page=3

Pickled Okra, that's the way to go. Mmm.

Canned Tomatoes - LONG TERM STORAGE?!

My guess is that the original writer has never stored ANY tomatoe product in a CAN for any amount of LONG TERM.

Assuming the term CAN means STEEL CAN and not the home canning process that involves GLASS JARS, you cannot store any tomatoe product at room temperature for 10 years.

At 5 years at room temperature, you are pushing your luck. The acid in all liquid forms of tomatoes attacks the seals and eats thru. Your first hint will be a black ring on your shelf around the bottom of a couple of cans. When you open the offending can, you will note that the inside of the can has turned dark due to corrosion.

This chemical reaction doubles as you raise the temperature 10 degrees C.

There are several good articles found using ask.com - "canned tomatoe corrosion"

Here is a non-technical summary article -

Food Preservation-Canned Food Safety
There are limits to how long food quality can be preserved. Why? Several factors limit the shelf-life of canned foods.

Cans or metal lids on glass jars can rust. When rust is deep enough, tiny holes open in the can or lid that may let spoilage agents in. Shipping accidents that dent or crush cans cause problems.
Can corrosion. Food reacts chemically with the metal container, especially high-acid food like canned tomatoes and fruit juices. Over several years, this causes taste and texture changes. It eventually lowers the nutritional value of the food.
Temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit are harmful to canned foods. The risk of spoilage jumps sharply as storage temperatures rise. At prolonged storage temperatures above 75 degrees, nutrient loss in canned foods increases. Light can cause color changes and nutrient losses in foods canned in glass jars.
Never use foods from containers with these spoilage warning signs: loose or bulging lids on jars; bulging, leaking or badly dented cans (especially along the top, side and bottom seams), or foods with a foul odor.

TO STORE CANNED FOOD WISELY, FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES:
Store in a cool, clean, dry place where temperatures are below 85 degrees (between 50-70 degrees is good) but not freezing temperatures.
Rotate foods so the oldest is used first. Try not to keep canned foods more than one year.
Use canned meats and seafood within 12 months.
Use low-acid canned foods within 8-12 months.
Use high-acid foods within 12 to 18 months. Foods stored longer will be safe to eat if the cans show no signs of spoilage or damage but may deteriorate in color, flavor and nutritive value.
Canned fruit juices can be stored up to 3 years.
For more information, call AnswerLine at 800-854-1678.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Food Preservation-Canned Food Safety Number: 642
Script writer: Jan Rasmussen Source: U of MN Dept of Food Science and Nutrition, U of WI Extension Service
Date: 1992/1998/2003 Reviewer: Bill Schafer, Carol Burtness


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I suppose it's all relative. "Buy what you eat; eat what you buy." Canned tomatoes should last 3 years, and if you are actively eating them at say 1 tin a month, that allows for a cache of roughly 36 cans before you have to start throwing the oldest away.

I don't keep canned tomatoes because I don't eat them. I do keep canned pears and pineapple. Pineapple has acid and the use-by date is just a couple of years, but I consume it fast enough not to matter.

Oh yeah, and not just 'maters. When my ex father-in-law died, I got the fun job of getting rid of all the stuff he had wasted money on over the years. He would buy a case of anything when it was on sale. Not as a "survival" thing, just 'cuz it was on sale. He would store those cases in his garage, which got down to freezing in the winter, and into triple digits in the summer, then forget about it. I found case after case of canned veggies and fruits with that dreaded black ring, many with the sides and tops starting to push out. I won't even tell about the cases of TP and paper towels with the mice living in them...

Home made beef or pork something in brine that had been sitting in an open air crock for at least a year.... Yeah, that was my last day with that job.

"They specify raw milk cheese from grass fed cows, but I wonder if that has anything to do with the nutritional value of the cheese or just their desire to avoid Pasteurized, "non-organic" milk for other health concerns."

I was reading about raw milk a while back, and they mentioned something interesting that may indicate that raw milk is more beneficial than the pasturized stuff: Many people can't drink milk because they can't digest the lactose. Some of these people tried drinking straight raw milk, and discovered that they don't have any problem with it. So, it may be a digestibility issue.

More open-minded research should be done on raw milk. It would be nice to know some FACTS instead of just profit-motivated opinions.

Sue

Thanks Cliff. Very good to know!

The raw milk issue has been around since man started cooking his food. Raw milk is great if you don't get sick. The probability of milk making you sick is very high.

The following article gives some history why raw milk is illegal to place in interstate transportation. It is illegal for intrastate sale in about half of the states.

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/rawmilk.html

If you follow the chain -

sick cow
antibiotics in the cow
pus,flys and manure on the teets
antibiotics on the teets
Harry, the milker, has not washed his hands this month
Harry's dog usually cleans up when the milker is removed
flys, pus, dust and antibiotics on the milker cup
the milker has not been cleaned
Harry's brother the truck driver shook hands with Harry
The truck broke down and the milk sat at 95 degrees for 8 hours
Two days later you get some "FARM FRESH MILK"

It would be fresher and have less time to grow if you laid on your back and took the milk directly from the cow.

As you laid on your back, you would know why you cook your food and pasteurized your milk.

Its funny you mention this. When I was a kid, I was violently allergic to milk. Not the lactose but the pasteurization. I could drink milk that had not been pasteurized, but if it had been except for one Dairy in Des Moines, I could not drink it. This lasted until high school and now I can drink any milk and it does not bother me.

Corporate control?