photo by Tim Patterson
I had a reader email with a question about long term storage of rice. The following is the answer I gave her. Although we were discussing rice, these storage techniques work for long term storage of any dry product (wheat, rice, beans, oats, sugar, etc.).
I bought a bag of rice and I do not know how to store for long term. Can you tell me the best way to do this?
There are a few options for you for long term storage of rice. Some are easier and less expensive than others, but they all have their advantages. The things you want to protect your long term food storage from are light, heat, moisture, and pests.
1. #10 Can. Really the way I prefer is to get the rice into a #10 can with an oxygen absorber. It is a good usable size for most food products which also makes it a nice size for storing–not too heavy when it’s full or so big it won’t fit under your bed if that’s where you want to store it. However, to pack your bulk foods into a #10 can, you need a can sealer and the unused empty cans which can be accessed through an LDS dry pack cannery, but otherwise are quite expensive to work with. (Note: Sugars and high sugar content drink mixes should be stored without oxygen absorbers as they will make your sugar turn to a block instead of nice granules.)
2. Food Grade Buckets. You can also put the rice in a food grade bucket. You want to make sure you have a bucket that hasn’t had other non-foods in it (paint, etc). These buckets can be purchased new or picked up used at a local bakery for cheap and sometimes free. Add a couple of oxygen absorbers if you can to keep it really fresh (you can pick these up through Amazon or some food storage companies like Emergency Essentials or Honeyville also sell them), but it can go in the bucket with no oxygen absorber and will still keep a long time.
3. Mylar Bags. Another option is to seal the rice in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. The bags and oxygen absorbers are both available on Amazon. They can be sealed with a special sealer machine or using a hot dry iron as in this video. The only drawback is that the mylar bags are not rodent proof, so you’ll want to put them inside something else that mice can’t chew through (bucket, bin, barrel, etc.).
4. PETE Bottles. For a smaller amount of rice, you can also put it in any cleaned out, thoroughly dried food grade plastic container. Things like 2 liter soda bottles, peanut butter jars, etc. Look for “PETE” or “PET” on the bottom of the bottle. Again, you can add the oxygen absorber for optimum freshness, but it’s not required. Screw the lids on tight. These bottles are generally clear, so it will be best if they’re stored in a location without a lot of light, and they are odd shapes and sizes, but hey, they’re available with no added expense on your part and they work great for smaller quantities of dry foods that wouldn’t require an entire bucket.
Hopefully that helps you out some! Let me know if you have any other questions, and all the best to you in your preparedness efforts!
Cool, I’ve just started getting into food storage and how it all works. This was a good introduction into the subject for me.
I have stored many items and never even thought of rice or sugar (I rarely use sugar and when I do it is organic cane). Question – once buying this and storing it – do you know how many months will it keep? Great post by the way!
This may make me sound like some crazy food storage lady, but due to an overzealous rice purchase in 1998, we are still eating rice that was packed in #10 cans with an oxygen absorber that year. Properly stored, rice can last 30 years or more. Check out this study done by Brigham Young University on shelf life of long term storage foods for information on how long other food items will store.
Thanks so much Angela! Time to store rice!
If storing rice in 2 liter bottles how long will they keep? Where can i purchase #10 cans. What is the best way to store sugar?
If stored away from light and heat, the rice in the bottles should still be good 25+ years. #10 cans already filled with product can be purchased from food storage retailers like Honeyville, The Ready Store, Emergency Essentials, Thrive, etc. Check my advertisers. Empty #10 cans can be found at an LDS dry pack cannery, but I’m not sure where else you can purchase those. If you’re canning your own, you’ll also need access to a can sealer (which the LDS cannery has and most will rent out). They are expensive to purchase, so if you’re wanting your food in cans and don’t have access to a cannery, you may just price check the emergency supply stores and get the best deal you can on pre-filled cans.
Came at a great time. I was about to look all this up. Thanks
Having food during the times of a natural disaster or emergency situation is crucial for comfort as well as survival. For long-term emergency food storage freeze dried or dehydrated food is ideal. They are lightweight and nutritious with a long shelf life, in some cases up to 30 years.
Hello, Great series of articles but I am having a very difficult time finding any type of list of say a weekly menu plan. The goal is not to have a 55 gal drum of rice or other large quantities, but rather a 1 week supply (1-4 weeks) in 1 5 gallon sealed pail or other compact means. Any bug-out I would know if I were able to load 10 pails the 2 of us would be OK for 40 weeks or some other such scenario. Example would be 2# beans, 4# pasta, 4# dried fruits etc… Any lead on a good meal plan per week/month/per person?
Lastly, one glaring omission I have spotted, mentioned only 1 time in the series thus far, first aid packs. We’re storing up bare necessaties there too, also in bug-out pails, but difficult without a foundation in medical education.
David, your best bet for meals that you could pack a weeks worth in a bucket would be your own favorite recipes adjusted to use shelf stable ingredients, then those ingredients either packed as a meal or measured by the number of times you are planning on having that meal. You can also try recipes from a book called “It’s in the Jar” or from Chef Tess’ 52 jar method. These recipes are designed to be one meal (approximately family of 4 size) all packed in a quart mason jar. They could easily be adapted to bags inside a bucket.
Anything wrong with using a storebought vacuum sealer like a “foodsaver” brand and the rolled bag material they use?
Those work great, the only things you need to watch out for is that the bags are not very tough, so if you’re packing anything that has sharp points (wheat, dehydrated veggies/fruits/etc.) it can poke a hole right through the bag and let all the air in. The other issue is that they let light in, so you’ll want to at least put them in a box or even better a tin or bucket so you can also keep the mice and critters from chewing through the bag. With the proper precautions, they work fine.
I love your “lists” category!
I’ve started storing some rice, beans and other foods in sealed mylar bags stored in home depot buckets. I want to store these food buckets in my garage, but I live in Alaska and my garage gets below freezing in the colder winter months. Will the seasonal freezing and thawing effect the long term storage life of the food inside the bags and buckets when they are properly sealed?
Don, the freezing and thawing is harder on the buckets than the food. Over time your plastic buckets may become brittle, but with the mylar bags inside the food should be fine even if the bucket needs replacing. If the food is getting too warm in the non-freezing season, that will shorten the shelf life, but getting too cold isn’t a problem.