Comments on: How Long Will A Home-made Mre Last, If It Is Vacuum Sealed?

By: Mountain Man

Mountain Man — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:49:51 +0000

There is only a few foods I would suggest and candy aint one of them.
Home made jerky and that means beef that’s very lean dried on racks and cut about 1/8th of an inch thick, store in cotton bags and tie the top and it will last almost indefinitely,
Hard tack, made from whole wheat, salt(to taste) and beef tallow( you’ll have to render this your self. stored in a cotton bag hang in a dried place and it will keep almost indefinitely, even if it gets wet because it is so well dried it can be redried and used unless it becomes moldy…. and remember, flour, all flour has bugs or some kind of larvae in it and under the right conditions can become wormy or get weevils…the rest you’ll have to gather along the way….IMHO

By: wmayers9

wmayers9 — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:05:03 +0000

Even though vacuum-sealing the stuff sounds like a good idea, it’s sadly true that stuff gets moved around, shoved out of the way, bumped and banged, and within that year and a half, a good half of your stored foodstuff’s packaging will be compromised – busted, cracked, torn – even a tiny, barely-visible puncture will allow the contents to deteriorate very rapidly.
I’ve used modern MREs prepared specifically for our soldiers’ use in the field. They’re astonishingly good when fresh – but the packaging is vulnerable. Even though the old C-rations were nowhere near as tasty and inspiring as modern MREs, at least the C-rats were packed in sturdy tin cans or surrounded by them – last time I got hold of a case of C-rats, every item in every meal in that case was perfectly preserved and eatable – and the friggin’ case had been packed thirty years previous to my getting hold of it.
No, I didn’t acquire it by “midnight requisition” – a nearby reserve unit was moving to a new facility and needed to get rid of a bunch of stuff, so this stuff was offered to the reservists – who in turn gave it to family and friends – otherwise it was due to be destroyed. Heh – I’ve had my P-38 – my G.I. can opener – since before the birth of my first child, and her fortieth birthday is in a couple weeks! Guess that makes me a real old fart, huh? Woo hoo!

By: f100_sup

f100_sup — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:59:22 +0000

Home-made MRE’s will not have the same types of preservatives and other treatments that help them keep for long periods, such as irradiation to kill bacteria!
Might I suggest storing the items separately and just making the meal when you are ready to eat it.
Flour, and most other grains will have bug larvae or bug eggs in them, and vacuum sealing will not stop them from hatching, but will kill them.
The original reason for sifting flour was to remove the BUGS!!

By: Big Country

Big Country — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:09:25 +0000

Good luck. Keep in mind that MRE’s are stored cooked for a year before they’re even packaged.