I like Mt. House pouches for the occasional camping meal, very tasty (beef stroganoff is delicious). As someone else mentioned though, a lot of the meals are are very salty and tend to have lots of fat. Nothing wrong with that but after a few days you may become constipated and have a serious case of heartburn. At least I would. Which led me to seriously sort through the pantry and only store foods that I can eat (comfortably) for more than a few days. That made me buy more canned vegetables, pre-cooked wild rice, whole oats, raw nuts, and semi-sweet peanut butter, etc. Basically food that hasn't been processed so much and is relatively healthy. Its also a good idea to some ground flax or other source of fiber.

Newbie questions:

If my long term storage area gets up in the high 80s during the summer, would that diminish the number of years Mountain House #10 cans would stay fresh? For instance, at that temperature (or a temperature even in the low 90s), would a #10 can of Mt. House only stay fresh say 10 years, rather than 25 years?

Also, rust is a big problem in my area because of the amount of salt & humidity in the air near the ocean. Would a #10 can of Mt. House food begin to rust after a few years of storage, like everything else that's metal in this area?

Newbie suggestion:

I don't see many pictures or lists of survival rations that include an adequate supply of Tobasco. We buy Tobasco in the gallon size around here, and frankly, I don't see how one could carry forward without it, and in vast quantities. If you partake, here's a link to a source for the gallon size (buy 5 or more gallons and get $10 off): http://countrystore.tabasco.com/prodinfo.asp?number=00052

I don't know about the MH 7-day kits, but Emergency Essentials shows an MH 3-day kit (for one person) of 12 #10 cans, two cartons, that weighs less than three pounds total. It's $45.95 plus shipping. Six #10 cans fit in a carton that's about 7 1/2"hx12 1/2"wx18 1/2" long.
I've eaten the MH pouch foods as well as the canned foods, there's no difference. It's good food. I've also had other brands of freeze-dried and dehydrated foods, and MH is one of the better makers, and certainly has the most extensive menu to choose from. The pouch uses about 1-2 cups hot or boiling water (depending on what it is) to reconstitute, for a meal for two people.
Hope that helps.

Grady, high temps will cause shorter shelf life, and large swings in temps seem to cause more damage than long periods of steady temps, high or low.
Obviously, rust is a major problem with cans, if they rust through the food is easily contaminated and shelf life is greatly shortened. Try to store it where temp and humidity are more controlled, cooler and drier. Use space under the bed, in the back of closets (stack boxes on edge, heavier ones at bottom), under living room tables, behind couches, chairs, etc. to make space inside temp. controlled area. Most food storage cans are coated to prevent rust, but that only goes so far.
As for Tabasco, you have my permission to eat all of my share. I'll just stick with El Pato sauce, thank you.
How are things on the Gulf Coast? I have family in the Houston area.

Due to the possibility of an emergency only being short-term, I'm planning on starting out with the pouches, like what comes in the 7-day "Just In Case" kit. Then working my way up to 10# cans. I'd hate to open a 10# can to only eat one day worth of food out of it.

Plus a good bit of the stuff in the 10# cans looks like it has to be actually cooked, versus the pouches where you just add boiling water and wait 15 minutes.

My plan is to start small, buy 1 of the 7-day kits right now, then add to that as $ provides. Maybe buy another one every paycheck or so until I have 1 month worth of food and water saved up for 2 people. Then get into the larger bulk-size cans of food.

Some #10 cans hold almost 13 cups and some can hold as few as 9 cups. Here is a thread on the size and capacity of a #10 can:

http://www.onlineconversion.com/forum/forum_1045294157.htm

According to the following website, #10 cans are 6 & 3/16ths inches across by 7" tall.

http://www.ochef.com/1032.htm

To prevent the #10 cans from rusting through within a year or so, I was thinking about keeping the #10 cans in a dust free area and placing one of the less toxic oils, for instance, Victorinox tool oil (as long as the oil meets NSF H1 specifications as to cans) or its equivalent, around the lids and bottoms of the #10 cans to prevent rust-out. Any suggestions?

The stuff in the can is the EXACT same thing in the bags. Just bulk style. There are certain flavors that do come "uncooked", gulf shrimp and pork chops... the pork chops ARE dam GOOD! I use cold water and reconstitute them for about 2 hours in the fridge (or a cold part of the house or in a deep hole in the shade if you are in the SHTF, then cook them anyway you would fresh pork. I do not like seafood so I have not tried the shrimp.

The cans do have alot of food, but you if have 4 family members they each hold ABOUT 2 servings... Ie alot more feasible. Its like the single guys trying to save money buying fresh produce at costco... 90% of the time, them alone can not finish it before it spoils... it is then best to buy in smaller quantities. Also remember children suffer form apatite fatigue WAY FASTER than adults. The exception to this rule is cereal, chicken nuggets, pizza rolls, fries and mac n cheese. Anything else they will get bored with and stop eating. Keep this stuff in mind when prepping.. It is also best to experiment to see what they "can" really go thru.



http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E...cy%20Meal%20Kit FYI these are NOT #10 cans. They are pouches.... and for me this "kit" is a deal breaker since 2 of the 9 main meals are "scrambled eggs and...." These are the WORST MH meals I have tried.... instructions state something to the effect of "add XXX cups of boiling water. Stir and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir again. Please note that there will be some liquid left int he bottom of the bag, you can pour it out to discard before eating..." This smell (smells JUST like raw eggs), you have to pour it out before you eat otherwise I could not make it thru the meal. Then if your in camp you invite anything hungry to your location.... I am glad I bought almost every flavor in bags first.... I would not recommend this or any other pre cooked scrambled egg meal to anyone.... including the egg omelet in the MREs.... same thing. Buy powered eggs, and make your own scramble. MUCH better... I like honeyville.

Re: Cans rusting... Some of the remedies I've seen are to dip the cans in melted parafin. Or spray the cans with polyurethane (food safe when fully cured, according to several sources.)

Remove the label. Treat. Reattach the label. Or remove the label, use a permanent marking pen to label before treating the can.

Lee

I heard you can prevent the cans from rusting by moving someplace with low humidity *evil grin*