The BEST Canned Food to STOCKPILE - Get Prepping NOW! 

I rotate all my cans but yesterday I found a can of Campbell's tomato soup in the wrong spot. It was dated 2012! I know y'all are like me an thought let's see. When opened it smelled good and the color was a little darker. Cooked it up and tastes great. I waited a day and then gave the rest to my picky wife. She didn't know the difference. No matallic taste at all, still living

I know that I need to store up some canned foods for survival. My wife doesn't want to have them stored. She thinks they go bad and don't taste great, even when new. I keep my canned foods stored in a locked shed so she can't complain. I told her she can eat bugs when the food runs out.

One thing I do is when buying canned food is when I get home I immediately write the date code on the can with a sharpie pen. It saves time and you can at a glance pick a can to use first when rotating your food supply.

Can food is a great prep. The water can be used to cook rice in and the can fruit juice can be used to make pancakes or liquid for baking. Dried food will require water that may not be readily available to cook with. Small tip. If you buy the cans with pull tabs, do not stack on top of each other. Place a piece of corrugated cardboard between your can stacks to prevent pressure on the cans below.

It’s so great when you can watch a 10 minute video and leave with a wealth of useful information! This was great.

I live alone, and have stocked many single serve cans of veggies, baked beans, Corned Beef Hash and Pineapple chunks. The reason for buying small cans is that there are no leftovers to refrigerate if the power is out.

Many years ago I had a nutritionist tell me that with canned vegetables most of the nutrients are contained in the water that it was cooked and packed in. The sweet water in a can of corn is actually very tasty.

A few weeks ago, I didn't have much in my house to eat so I rummaged through the pantry and found a can of Hormel chili. It was from 2017. I wondered what condition it would be and opened it. I tasted it cold, and it seemed fine. I heated it with some extra canned beans, and it was perfectly fine. No tin aftertaste, nothing nasty. Bottom line, this product was good a whole 6 years after the expiration date.

Don't forget to have at least TWO can openers on hand!

I bought a can of the corned beef, a can of cabbage, a can of potatoes, and a can of carrots. Made it as a test meal one day based on my "real " St Patrick's Day feast. It wasn't half bad. During an apocalypse it will be 5-star dining.

My bias may be a factor of being from Quebec, Canada - but cans or bottles of maple syrup would be my addition to your list. Unopened, will last forever. If it crystallizes, heat whole container in water - voilá, ready for use.

I honestly try to do a bit of prepping every day as a routine. Some days are bigger than others, but even doing just a little all adds up. Two days ago I bought another case of canned tuna fish, yesterday I bought another 3 month supply of survival food. Today I got more 5 gallon pails for container gardening. Tomorrow who knows what I'll be doing, but I'll try to do a bit more. I check a few times a day to see if there are any new videos here. Keep 'em coming, there's no telling how many lives you may be saving by sharing your knowledge. Thanks!

I went to a restaurant supply store and bought a lot of #10 cans of spaghetti sauce, whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. I opened them and re-canned them into my glass jars. Now my tomato products will last for many more years.

We hit SAMS club today and spent $350 in canned foods. We bought pantry foods in bulk. Chicken, SPAM, roast beef, sardines, corn, green beans, soups, and much more. I saw many ppl prepping for what's to come. Powell raised interest rates today and markets show pain. Got spices since it is needed for canned foods. Our daughter lives in a old torn trailer because she can't work with 4 brain surgeries. We save food in case economy forces her to live elsewhere. We found out our granddaughter is now pregnant at age 17. In 11th grade. I bet her BF takes off. Kids will not listen to grandparents so must learn hard way.

If times get tough enough, EVERYONE will eat, and love, Spam.

Yes, I was storing canned fruits many years ago, and found the canned pineapples were the first to actually show cann degradation. The acids really did a number on the seals and metal. We're sticking to bottled "canned" fruits, but store mostly peaches, now. Also, I agree about the canned evaporated milk. I would definitely go with powdered milk for the long storage. Powdered milk brings back memories of growing up in the 70s, too.

Take your can and drop it into hot water for a few minutes before opening it up, your food will be warm and you can eat it right from the can. During the war half of the guys ate 2 or more meals that way. We always had hot food. I'll start listing more food ideas that we had from the Army. It seems we need to show our civilian brothers what they may need to care for themselves and the wives and children. there's more than one way we can defend our folks.

Here's what I like to do. I buy a very large amount of various canned goods like the video. A few months before the Best By Date, I donate it to charity so someone can benefit. Buy some more to replace it. I get a tax break for charitable giving. And I cycle out of old canned goods. I like writing the Best By Date big enough to see it at a glance. Thirty-year-old canned goods contain the essential nutrition. But if you are fighting for your life during a future emergency, why not have some good chow :). But my favourite part is giving away the food. Feels good. Win, win, win, win outcome.

I need to say this: I read a study on spam, and it’s the best prepared meat you can buy. No added fillers, no snouts,feet, sinews etc. I’m not crazy about it, but it is actually one of the healthiest choices! And ifyoure down to the wire, meats meat right? Besides the fact nothing better than sliced spam fried, with an egg on the sammich lol Also, the canned potatoes, sliced and browned in butter makes them delicious!

Be careful of pull - tab cans...Armour recalled some items recently and I had already gotten food poisoning from the Vienna Sausages and found 2 cases with the lot code. I noticed the pull tabs on the lot seemed easier to open, and (Being a Die-maker myself) MY opinion was the dies that perforated the aluminum cans struck too deep and allowed air in the product. Pull tab cans anger me anyway as the product is harder to remove without damage, but these days there is no way to avoid these cans, so try to not stack them while storing to keep them from pressing on the can tops. Happy Prepping!

Me again- Alaska Granny just did a video on something called FILLED Evaporated Milk. She got it unknowingly at Dollar Tree. If it says FILLED on the label you don't want it. Oils or something are added to it and it's specifically for baking. Not for use in cereal or coffee for instance. I was glad to get that info and happy to pass it on.

Also, the liquid in canned vegetables will add to your hydration if your drinking water is not available. Don't pour it out. Many of the nutrients are in the liquid.

Thanks so much for your down-to-earth helpful information. I'm a prepper, like everyone here, and my stacked-perfectly canned foods in plentiful supply truly do give me a sense of peace and gratitude when I look at them. To others, I'm a hoarder. But when the world goes dark, and they aren't prepared, they will be happy for some of my canned foods! And I'd willingly share of course. Recently our power went out and the wells around here are pumped using electricity, meaning no power, no WATER! But not at my house. I had water stored also, and a huge generator, so I had basic light, water, etc. When I charged my neighbor's phones, I admit to being inwardly just a tiny bit smug about it, but overwhelmingly was happy I could help them. Hope they learn to start prepping!

One thing I like to do with canned chicken is drink the water out then add something like mayo or buffalo sauce and stir it together until it's a shredded tuna consistency then eat it on bread. Super simple and tastes good. I'm sure other things could be added into it to make other savory sandwich spreads with. Also, using the water of the chicken and less water with ramen or cup noodles makes the broth tastier plus you get some chicken chunks added in as well.

The problem with canned evaporated milk, and all hydrated milk for that matter, is that milk breaks down on its own pretty quickly. So yeah, powdered milk is the best way to go when it comes to stockpiling milk.

Anytime I see anything on sale for $1.00 a can I buy between 20 and 50. It seems like each week there will be at least 1 item. Vegetables , beans, soup you name it. Have fun.

This would have been great info to know years ago. I've thrown out so much "good canned food" through the years. So sad that they lead people to believe they expire by a certain date. Thank you for sharing this.

The thing about beans, potatoes, and milk is that you can buy dehydrated beans, potato flakes, and dry milk powder which, if stored right, could last forever also.

This is a little off subject, but I hope it will be useful to others to know. Another reason I like Chunky soups are because of a characteristic of their can. If you use a side cutting safety opener on both ends of the cans, they can easily be pushed, one into the other, to form a stove pipe, to whatever length you might need, for an improvised wood stove. I push 4 of them together as far and tight as I can to form a section about 16" long and then push those 4 can sections together just enough to hold them in place, yet still be able to disassemble them when I break the stove down. I haven't found any other cans that are so large in diameter that will fit together so easily.

Learned my lesson on the canned fruits long term as far as metallic taste, so bought a bunch of the Costco peaches in glass jars. Taste great years later, and the jars can be saved for other storage needs. We still buy canned fruits, but the peaches in the glass jars are one item we bulk up on.

*A day care provider told me that they ask parents to donate canned foods, peanut butter and the like, EACH YEAR.* That way, when they get the "new" donations, they use up the donations from the previous year. So, the kids have an emergency supply of foods on hand ... and the Staff doesn't have to worry about expiration dates. VERY WISE !!!

BE SURE to read the label of canned goods before purchasing! I recently bought a can of carrots and found when I read the label that it had been canned in China and might contain lead or carcinogens.

6) Canned Meat 5) Canned Veggies 4) Canned Potatoes 3) Canned Beans 2) Canned Soups & Chilli 1) Canned Fruit Considerations, off-gone foods Bonus 1) Canned Tomatoes Bonus 2) Evaporated Milk

canned mackerel is always overlooked--excellent omega profile when added to new england style clam chowder w a can of mixed veg, dried onion, dried garlic and bay leaf--makes a wonderful fish stew

Speaking of the canned potatoes from Aldi, they are very good. The potatoes are small whole potatoes. Also, I noticed when you open them and dump out the water, it is clear, not "milky" like sliced potatoes. Good deal, and Aldi has a "twice as nice" guarantee. If you buy something that is not good, you take it back and they not only give you your money back but also a new product! Some stores require a receipt for this. Take care and God bless.

*Baked beans, Canned Yams without syrup, canned whole pearl onions, canned asparagus and processed canned fruit filing (for pies) all do well.*

Went back this morning. Picked up another 100 cans of green giant vegetables. $1.00 per can. The lady thought I was crazy. That's all I bought and left. Have fun.

I love canned spam. Fry it with onions, rice, baked beans. Very good

Thank You, “ A Man A Can And A Plan “. My family bought me this book years ago and it was a huge source of info and laughter. Thank you For your time doing this Can presentation. I did Subscribe. I’m from immigrant parents , Jamaican and French Canadian born in Canada 1957. Moved by my Fathers friend Sponsorship and a Job waiting to California in 1963. We ate canned food all the time and I loved it. You are so right about it being the best poor man storage on the planet. Enough butter and salt and pepper made these foods taste great. Thanks and may God Bless you 🙏

If anyone has noticed that alot of the can goods are coming with the pop top lids. I try to always get the ones that are not the pop top, it would seem to me that those cans could be compromised alot easier than the ones you open with a can open. What I mean by pop top are the cans you can open with your hands, they have the pull tab. I just think that the others would have a better seal and if they are dropped or dented a little, they won't lose their seal as where the pull tab ones may crack open a little. I don't know for sure but just my opinion.

Just a suggestion. A great place to hide your cans is behind your kickboards under your cabinets. Also in your walls between studs

The best thing to do is always buy a few extra cans of food each time you shop for groceries, and rotate them according to date so they don't get really old. Also, buy acidic foods such as fruits or tomatoes in GLASS jars so they don't come in contact with harmful BPA lining in cans. Don't even think of keeping canned foods for several years past due date. Instead of a food dryer, use the sun. It's FREE. I place fresh fruit on baking sheets and cover with cheesecloth outside on a patio on a table in full sun all day. Cheesecloth keeps insects and dried leaves off. Repeat another day or two until fully dried, then store in plastic bags. Make "fruit leather" this way, too. Look up recipes online.

I would add in my experience the cans that require a can opener are more resilient than the cans that have the pop open feature.

LOVE the practicality of your recommendations, I mean we have to start somewhere, and everyone can buy a few extra cans each time you go to the grocery store 😀

Another thing I add molasses. It has sulfur and iron and can be nice and sweet for a treat. It can also keep indefinitely.

I’ve two favorites. One is peanut butter. Delicious and a good source of protein. And canned sausage country gravy. Grandma would be appalled but some country gravy (any canned gravy for that matter) over bread or biscuits is a tasty, rib sticking meal.

Thanks for the tips. I have cans of white beans in tomato sauce stored away but now I know that I shouldn't be surprised should they taste a bit metallic after a while. Apart from that I usually have smaller cans as I'm alone but fortunately I can store quite a number of them in my pantry because of that so I always have something to eat. My favorites are green beans, white beans in tomato sauce, potatoes, and a kind of veggie mix with corn.

Adding to your number 10 cans, I have bought a peaches acidic foods and recanned them in glass doing a waterbath. Therefore helping on price, and creating more individual servings. I have also dried many items that I bought in cannes, dried foods will store for a long time and it takes out the bulk. When it comes to the peach juices and the fruit juices I will water bath the juice in jars, to use for jellies and other desert items later.😊

I make sure I stock the soups you don't have to add water to. Water could be scarce in a SHTF scenario. Nice list 👌

I eat eat sardines in tomatoe sauce and some sardines with egg and Noodles

This is my first video of yours. Nice job! Great info and none of the video was filler to make it longer and waste my time. Subscribed. Thank you.

A great food for both protein and other nutrients as well as filling you up is black beans and rice mixed together. I use the low sodium black beans because of my hypertension but it tastes fine to me. Put some canned chicken in the mix and you have a complete meal.

I recently stocked up on a variety of canned fruits. They will make a nice stove-top dessert with pancake mix (no extra sugar required).

Thanks for putting this video together. It helps and is appreciated. You’re making a difference. FINISH WELL!

Thank so much for taking your time to help us prepare👍🏽

Thanks for the informative video. I recently got into water bath and pressure canning so I'll be doing that as well to add to my pantry.

The only canned fruit that I stock is pumpkin -- I use the Libby brand. A few months ago, I opened a can that had expired in 2017. I expected to see brown pumpkin puree, but it was just as bright orange as a newly purchased can. The pumpkin tasted fine, and the pumpkin bread was even better. 😅 Canned peaches do not store well, even when kept cool and dark. We have had a number of the cans of Del Monte canned peaches leak out. The cans had expired, yes, but what a mess! They 'bust' at the bottoms, too, not at the pop-top where I would have expected them to be compromised. So for us, if I don't home-can a fruit, I just don't stock it on my shelves. **Kirkland brand roast beef, with expired date of 2018, was delicious. Had that last week.

Thank you for sharing this information with us and I hope you have a wonderful day.

Great video - You may want to consider getting Tomato Sauce in Jars - No Metallic Taste - Keep in a dark place till needed. Also I would recommend getting powdered milk and repackage into to vacuum bags to remove the air - They should last at least 7 years if air is removed.

My local Piggy Wiggly just cleared out Progresso canned black beans, kidney beans and chickpeas that had just reached their best by date for 69 cents a can. Snapped some up for the prep pantry. Usually can my dry beans in jars for quick winter meals.

I bought tons of crate boxes of the sardines you showed in this video. (From Costco). Canned in olive oil, the best by date is 3 years. Good vitamin D and protein. My favorite.

Note that some vitamins are severely decreased in the canning process. (examine the very low content of vitamins in the ingredients list!) Be sure to include a well rotated stock of vitamin supplements in your prep. Vitamins may not be important in a SHTF situation since your expected survival duration is very short.

I enjoyed your video and I'm a "can prepper" as well. I've looked at the multitudes of dry foods sold online (survival foods) and the only problem I have with them is that you have to A) have enough water stored for prep. B) have a way of heating it. Remove both or 1 of those items and you have a lousy meal. I wouldn't mind mixing in "some" dried food in with canned. The fact that dry food is expensive is another factor.

Remember manufacturer's only started putting best buy dates on cans to sell more products.

I love your videos! Straight to the point and no nonsense. Thank you 🙏🏼

Thanks for suggesting which canned foods to stock up on . We hope that your keeping well, and thanks again Simon and Beth ❤❤❤

I’ve been prepping for 35 years. I tell most people canned food with tomatoes is good for about three years past the Best Buy date, anything with fruit is good for about five years past the Best Buy date and Everything else is good until it swells up, or when you open it reeks. The only cans I’ve ever gone bad was fruit. That’s happened to me three times now.

Warning on the canned soups, I bought some chunky soups- you know the brands- there was barely any meat, veg or noodles in quite a few of the cans I got… aldi has potato leak soup and split pea soup that are absolutely delicious comes in big cans and needs nothing to add to flavor

I had some German potato salad that picked up the metallic taste, so there are more than just the examples you mentioned. There are scientific studies that show benefits from chicken broth for sinus issues All those Jewish mothers knew what they were talking about. One of my go-to items when I am struck with any cold that includes my sinuses. Inhaling the steam as well as eating the chicken noodle soup. 👍🏻

These videos really help! Blessings to all!

Dollar Tree has some of the best prices on canned pineapple, mango, mandarin oranges, chicken and shelf stable cartons of milk that last way beyond their best buy dates. Pasta is boxed up with 25% more making it a great deal as well.

I had some canned sour kraut a few years ago, that ate through the can and leaked onto the shelf. I also had some home canned tomatoes I ate last year from 1986 that tasted fine and I did not get sick or anything. Home canned acidic foods in glass jars last much better than metal cans. IN my experience.

You have a large family to prepare for . SO MUCH must be purchased .. God bless you .

An overlooked place to get free produce is to ask at the local grocery store (not the big box ones). I got produce for my chickens and cows and bonus! I found produce that I could still use in my kitchen. Sometimes one item is bad in a bag the produce manager will toss the whole bag.

Thank you Eric for this great information. Stay safe and prep on. Shalom❤

The fat free evaporated canned milk has a shorter shelf life than low fat evaporated canned milk, but they both have fairly short shelf life compared to other canned food. It's hard to come up short on salt when eating canned food, so the few that are available with no salt or low sodium should be chosen to try balance the salt intake.The Heinz baked beans have half of the sugar the Bush's baked beans have and they are still sweet. I see huge salt content differences between the different brands of canned meat.

I keep on hand cans of mixed peas and carrots. Great to add to left over stew or soups to spread a little further. Jam, use as a sweetner or even to add to a slice of cake to be more festive. I also stock dry lentils,barley, etc as a great source of protein and vitamins, and of course don’t forget canned tomatoes and beets.

I've had a stockpile of food for 50+ years. I have so much that we only go shopping to rotate product. We have enough to last us without leaving the house for roughly 2yrs. That's a big reason we rotate regularly. Another item for the pantry is chipped beef. There is a lot you can do with it.

I stock a lot of Corned beef as there's a lot of Fat (energy) in those cans as well as the protein. I'm Keto also, but carbs are easier to store.

I agree with you about canned food. I see so much of this dehydrated stuff, plus the rice and lentils and the beans and the pasta, etc. But all of that takes a lot of water to prepare. And sometimes water isn't that available. If you have to you can eat a can of soup without adding anything to it. Or green beans in the can, Canned meat, etc. Very little prep, no more water required.

Also, for removing metal taste from tomato products, try a little baking soda.

We are very familiar with canned meats. We enjoy all of them. We like spam, chicken, roast beef, sardines, tuna, corned beef and corned beef hash, canned ham chunks and canned salmon. We used canned potatoes to bulk up soups. You are amazing. All of those suggestions are perfect. I have lots of canned milk. outside the expiration date is about 1 year.

Awesome video. Great info. Straight from the heart. I had just bought more canned meats, thinking I was smart, but here you are ..... telling me again. Love the channel. Thank you.

It's so refreshing to see you trying to at least get through to the one's that just refuse to believe or understand what's about to happen!!!!!! Thank you for at least trying you're definitely a treasure and a gift to the ignorant masses!!!! Now if we could just get them to listen maby you'll be saving a few for a little longer or maby for the duration of there expected life span!!!

Made some of these already myself! Carrots, sweet peppers, red cabbage, various kinds of meat, gulash, etc... there is a learning curve but it is fun to prep! I use glass, not cans.

Thanks for this excellent vid! Keep prepping!!

Yes, freeze dryers are very expensive! Dehydrators and pressure canners aren’t too bad. I have many veggies dehydrated and have even powdered some. Also can your own meat at home. Definitely cost effective!

We had a bunch of canned goods from Y2K about 5 years ago. My father in law had given us a lot of canned chili. I opened a can and it was great.

Mr. Goshen great video! I agree 100% on your sentiments regarding canned foods. Keep that seal and they generally last far longer than we would expect. Canned meats are the golden ticket in so many ways for preppers

Canned potatoes are really good, sliced, fried with onions and sweet peppers and seasoning .

If food gets scarce, I believe Keto and all other forms of dieting will be the last thing on the priority list. I'm prepping with canned food for survival !!!!

"Canned" foods are basically just a modern version of old-school ball-jarred food storage. e.g. Don't overlook "jarred" foods, too (like jellies/jams, pickles, pasta sauces, etc.) You mention combining Chilli over rice. Don't forget Chilli over pasta/noodles, too. (Chilli-Mac.) Pasta noodles will keep a LONG time "as-is." Or, you can put them into ball jars with a oxygen absorber (or two,) for nearly forever storage. Canned meats: We are all accustomed to chicken and tuna in our normal/routine diets. But, not many of us eat sardines, routinely. If you look closely in the Canned meat/fish aisle, you will find other familiar favorites (Canned shrimp, canned crab, canned pork, etc.) You started to hint about vitamins/nutrients over time. But, I think you should put a bit more emphasis on this. e.g. Canned fruits have vitamin C and such (that our bodies need.) They might taste a bit more metallic over time, and indeed lose some of their nutritional value. But, that means you need to stockpile/rotate MORE, instead of avoiding them, entirely. Other canned/jarred products worth mentioning: Mushrooms. Onions. Carrots. Black & green olives. Fruit juices (Pineapple juice, tomato juice, OJ, cranberry juices, etc.) Instead of canned Chilli, we opt for what we call "Chilli stacks." = one can of black beans, one can of kidney/red beans, one can of diced tomatoes, one can of tomato paste. Pour all of them into a crock pot, add your favorite Chilli spices. Bam! I'll also include "honorable mention" of near-canned (shelf-stable) items in plastic jars/containers. Peanut butter (we opt for Skippy Natual or Jiff, as they don't have/Develop that pool of oil on the top.) But, there's also mayo, relish, mustard (plus your canned Tuna = Tuna salad.) And/or hard-boil some farm-fresh eggs to create deviled eggs! There's also ketchup, hot sauces, soy sauce, teriyaki sauces, sweat & and sour sauce, etc. (Makes road kill much more palatable.) Others worth mentioning: Ghee, coconut oils, various salsas, honey, cocoa powder, olive oils, parmesean cheese, Velveta cheese bricks, canned nuts, canned sodas, glass-bottled waters, vitamins/supplements, popcorn (lasts forever when you buy jarred versions,) pure Syrups, Teas, instant coffee, powdered drink packets (Teas, Lemonade, etc.) Oats/Oatmeals. Lastly, I'd still also opt to buy some hardware/supplies to maybe do your OWN preserving (if needed in the future.) How-to books on canning/preserving. Pressure cooker. Ball jars and plenty of lids. Jar tongs. Jar funnels. Pickling salts!!! Etc. Hopefully, you will NEVER have the "need" to can/preserve anything, yourself. But... IF, IF, IF that day DOES come, you will want to make sure you have the "tools of the trade" to be successful. Peace.

Absolutely correct. Each month I buy quite a bit of canned meats and sometimes some reduced sodium spam or Turkey spam to mix things up a bit. Canned meats have a good amount of protein. I don’t have a ton of canned vegetables since I have lots of dehydrated mashed potatoes and canned beans as well as dry kidney beans in 5 gallon containers. If you find canned chili with meat, buy them. I try to keep my food stores as light as possible in event I need to leave my home and canned food is pretty heavy for my wife to carry as she assists the loading. I keep the canned goods in boxes that can be lifted by my wife and we stack a few on a quality lightweight dolly to move as many at one time to the truck. For soups, once again I go for the dehydrated/freeze dried. So along with the dehydrated goods, I have a few water filters and water purification products to ensure the water won’t injure us. We have quite a bit of other dehydrated goods such as butter, sour cream, milk, eggs, etc. they are a little spendy but they last a lot longer and are more compact where I can stuff a lot more into a smaller space than canned versions. The dehydrated items I mentioned are great for baking bread or other baked goods and give a broader option of varieties. Flour is another critical item we have and we have 3 versions; self rising, all purpose and whole wheat flours. Here in Texas HEB sells their own HEB brand line of flours at $2.45 per 5 pound bag and once I freeze treat each bag I seal it in a heavy plastic bag and store them in a clear plastic tote of 6 bags each. Other staple items are readily available at stores like Costco that you can buy in bulk but remember to freeze treat them for 7 days to ensure no insect larvae are in the foods. And sealing them will prevent insect infiltration while in long term cool storage. Another good option is to consider buying MRE’s off of eBay or Amazon that’re the humanitarian rations that come in a 10 ration box for $35 and shipped free. These rations are good for rapid use or to give to loved ones when time doesn’t permit pulling other foods from your stores. The MRE/rations will also last for at least 15-18 years if kept in a cool climate where temps are under 80 degrees. The reason MRE’s last so long is that the individual packets are exposed to a radioactive isotope that kills all bacteria before being stored in the large pouch. Eating MRE’s over long periods won’t injure you, I served 24 years on Active Duty as an Infantryman and ate quite a few of them, the first MRE’s were horrible but later they improved drastically. The Winter MRE’s have double the caloric content so be careful with these since you can stretch them over a days worth of food instead of one meal. You can identify the winter MRE’s by the white colored pouch and they come with a couple different Chinese food entrees that’re delicious. And don’t forget to buy various types of yeast, baking soda and baking powder.

I ate a 13 year old can of Hormel chili one time. Kind of metallic tasting, but it didn't make me sick.

Along with sardines, we love kipper snacks. So yummy!! Highly recommend tuna in oil for far more calories not to mention flavor.

Besides lots of canned foods, I also store the Asian canned vegetables such as water chestnuts, bamboo slices, and sprouts ( all from Walmart) which with canned chicken and a hot spice makes a good Chinese meal. Bottles of sesame oil are stored in my fridge. Mc Cormick's curry powder in 16 oz. containers from a restaurant supply ( the green type) can make many items so tasty and I'm just finishing up a container I bought in 2009 which is as good as brand new. Also, anything in vinegar or brine can last years so I stock up on jars of Dona Maria sliced cactus ( no bad flavor as lots of vegs have) and a huge jar of pickles which I just use a bout a quarter of a pickle, mince it and add it to the bland boxed potato flakes and add some garbanzo beans for a tasty cheap meal. Of course, add lots more salt to taste. Make sure the pickles are not in a sugared brine.

Yes, cans will last a while, but you still have to watch out for botulism. So even if the can is sealed, if it's "puffy", just get rid of it, don't ever eat a puffy can. I also got food poisoning from what looked like a perfectly good older can of noodle soup, so maybe just plan on a regular rotation as long as you're able.

Agree with you on the evaporated milk. And I also don't know why but after a year or two after the best before date, it's gets hard like a greek yogurt and smells bad. I first noticed with many years back when I opened an old can to use it. My first thought was there must have been something wrong with the can or canning process but opened all the cans I had from the same time frame and they were all off. I year ago I opened the oldest can I had and it was a 2016 date (2022-2016) so 6 years old and it was not usable. Agree with everything you said here re other can foods. The texture of the food will change over time but they are same to eat nearly indefinitely. Related, when we moved across the country in 2018 we found a can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli that had fallen through an opening for electrical at the back of the pantry. There was no "Best Buy" date on it however I had marked the date of purchase as 2007. It was 11 years old. Curious, I opened it and warmed it up and while the texture was off, the pasta was a little mushy, it tasted great and I didn't die. That's all. Thanks for the video, reminded me that I really need to buy more canned meat.

Thank you so much for the info. We have decided NOT to to can food ourselves but to buy canned food instead. It doesn’t take up as much space. I don’t have to refrigerate leftover (what I don’t use in one sitting. (It’s just my husband and I). it’s cheaper. It is more durable and easy to travel with in a bug-out situation. In an emergency situation if someone steals our food, I can have some buried in a stash in my yard safely and easily. I don’t have to bury so deep because I won’t be using glass jars. We do still garden, but we eat most of that and save the canned food. Ate a 6 year old can of green beans last night. Tasted perfect!

I’m doing the same things you mentioned except for the evaporated milk where we store canned powdered milk. Also we store tomato sauce in glass jars.