Types Of Food Storage Containers-mountain House Freeze Dried Food

There are many types of food storage containers. In this article, we will examine each type and explain the pros and cons of each.
Food should be stored in food grade containers. This is very important as you don't want the chemicals in the food to react with the material in the storage container. #10 metal cans, give gallon plastic buckets, and glass jars are the most common types of food storage containers.
Five gallon buckets made of food grade plastic have been used for years for food storage and work very well. Just remember that you must have a bucket made of food grade plastic. If you are tempted to use non-food grade buckets, you will find that they will impart an off taste to the food or even chemicals as they react with the food.
Food grade buckets can be purchased from a supply house. I have used the Ropak brand for years, and they work very well. However, Ropak is a manufacturer, and to buy directly from them, you will have to buy a palette worth of buckets. So, you may want to do this with a few friends so you can split the cost.
The lids on these buckets have very nice gaskets which provide a good seal while your food is in storage. If you use nitrogen to pack your food, you can be assured that it will stay in the bucket for years. I still have some food stored in 5 gallon buckets that was packed fifteen years ago, and it's still fine.
An important thing to remember is that you don't want to stack too many of these buckets on top of each other. For example, if you stack two buckets, the well in the lid of the bottom bucket will just fit the bottom of the top bucket. So, the top bucket will not sip off the bottom one. However, over time the weight of the top bucket(s) can break the lid of the bottom bucket, cause loss of atmosphere, contamination, or insect infestation.
Personally, I learned about the problems with stacking buckets in the beginning of my food storage days, so I have never had the problem. As a result, I can not tell you how many buckets you can stack on each other without breaking any of the lids. I built shelves where the space between the shelves is just big enough for one bucket. That way, I have never had any problems. But these shelves are very substantial and were built specifically for this purpose.
Another very popular method of storing food is to use glass jars. Since most grocery stores sell them, they are easy to obtain. The cost of the equipment for home canning may seem to be initialy expensive, but the jars can be used over and over. Just as long as the mouths of the jar are not chipped or cracked. The lids are another matter and cannot be used over. No matter what people tell you, they can not be used over. When I was learning canning I tried it, but just wasted a lot of time and effort.
The lids for the canning jars are made in two parts. There is a ring and a lid. You place the lid on the jar and screw the ring down. I think it is a good idea to store some extra rings and lids along with your food storage so that you will have some available when you need them. You will also need to buy a pressure cooker to use in the canning process to seal the jars. There are different types available along with a lot of information on how to do the entire canning process.
Metal cans are another very popular method of food storage. The metal cans used in the canning industry for wet-pack canning are designed to last only for a few years. So, canned goods must be rotated frequently to keep the stock healthy.
If you would like to do metal canning yourself, you will need empty metal cans, lids, and a can sealer. The equipment is harder to find and is also more expensive than glass jar canning. The members of the Mormon church have been doing this type of canning for years and are very experienced at it. They have canning facilities that have all the necessary equipment to do this type of canning. You may not have access to one of these facilities, so you would have to acquire the equipment yourself. Although I have never done it, I have heard that the can sealers are expensive. You would have to determine if it was worth it to you or not.
The #10 metal can is very popular in the food storage industry. The size is great for storage and the inside of the cans are lined with a material that will not react with food. Another advantage here is that #10 cans that are packaged by a food storage manufacturer will me made of the proper materials, and will be sealed with the proper atmosphere that won't react with the food, and will provide the longest possible shelf life. One drawback to #10 cans is that they can not be resealed. However, once opened, you can put a plastic lid on them which will be better than nothing. I have used #10 metal cans for years and have never had any spoilage when using the contents. However, that is because I have purchased freeze-dried food packed in metal cans. Resealing this type of food with a plastic lid while you the contents are used has never posed a problem for me.
I feel a person should use diversification when putting together a food storage program for your family. It is a good idea to have food storage in #10 cans, 5 gallon buckets, and home-canned jars. I have all three types and like the flexibility that this provides.
If I was just starting to create a food storage program for my family, I would start with a commercially-packaged food unit comprised of #10 cans. Yes, you will have to pay some money, but it is the quickest way to start a food storage program for your family. In addition, some manufacturers like Mountain House, offer food that has a 25 year shelf life! After you get a food unit comprised of #10 cans, you can expand your food storage to include 5 gallon buckets and home-canned jars. This way you would have all three types of storage.