12 Pantry Foods That Practically Never Expire

Honey, salt, white rice, dried beans and the others my grandmother trusted, plus how to store each.

Some foods outlive the people who bought them, if you store them right.

1. Honey: it may crystallize; warm the jar gently.
2. Salt: keep it dry.
3. Sugar: store airtight to stop clumps and ants.
4. White rice: 25+ years sealed with oxygen absorbers. Brown rice doesn't keep (the oils go rancid).
5. Dried beans: they keep for decades, though very old beans take forever to soften.
6. Rolled oats: long life when sealed in mylar.
7. Pure vanilla extract
8. White vinegar
9. Cornstarch
10. Baking soda: keep it dry; test with vinegar.
11. Hard liquor: for cooking and tinctures, of course.
12. Pemmican and hardtack: made right, see the recipes on this site.

The storage basics

Airtight, dark, cool, dry, and off the concrete floor. Food-grade buckets with gamma lids are worth every penny for bulk.

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