Cooking With Food Storage–Pasta & Long Term Storage Solutions

I don’t think you need too much imagination to include pasta into your diet.  It’s easy, quick, delicious and there are a million ways to serve it.  I’ve already given suggestions to use it in soups, with sauces and then there are salads too.  It is inexpensive.  About once a year I have seen pasta go on sale for just .49 cents per pound.  Buy as much as you can then.  The second best price I see is .90 per pound when Meijer has it’s “Buy 10 Get the 11th Free” sale.  That price is followed by purchasing at a 5/5 or 10/10 sale and after that a bulk purchase is the best price.  Just a few things to keep in mind when storing:
First of all you need to know that whole wheat pasta, like whole wheat flour, does not have a long shelf life.  Regular pasta does have a long shelf life, however.  Most of my reading has given it a shelf life of 10 years but www.providentliving.org gives it a shelf life of 30 years if stored properly.
Properly storing pasta, or any food for that matter, means that your food is protected from and free of moisture, bugs and rodents.  It is kept out of temperature extremes, it is off the floor and it is stored away from sunlight.  That’s a tall order and I think some of those things are hard to do in this climate.   Other things can be hard to ensure no matter where you live.  No matter how cheaply you can buy pasta, no bargain is a bargain if you end up throwing your food away.  Sadly I have experienced pasta ruined by each of the above troubles, bugs being my most frequent problem in the past.  One day as I discovered box after box of my best pasta purchases with troubles and I was discarding them I made up my mind not to have that happen again.  The pasta purchased in cardboard does nothing to keep pests and moisture at bay.  Pasta purchased in plastic packaging does better at keeping out bugs and moisture but is no match for chewing rodents.  That was too much money to have wasted and as I threw out my pasta for all of the above reasons I knew I could do better.  I needed to do better. 
Storage Solutions:

This is a plastic Food Grade bucket that can be picked up for free.  Call small businesses in the food industry that use these like bakeries and ice cream shops.   These buckets are usually put out to the trash otherwise and the store/restaurant will often hold them for you or let you know what time they will be putting them out the back door.  The plus side to these is that they are free and that is hard to argue with sometimes.  The down side is that you have to hunt them down, they tend to be different sizes and they can be hard to open. 

This is a plastic food grade bucket purchased at places like Home Depot or Lowe’s.  The lids called Gamma Seal Lids are also sold at these stores and create an airtight, moisture proof seal once the ring is snapped onto the bucket.  The bucket itself is fairly inexpensive.  The lid price varies depending on where you buy it from and how many you purchase.  The cheapest I found them per lid was several years ago online but I had to purchase a whole set of them.  So if you just have money for a few of these at once you are better going to a local store.  The plus side to using a bucket and gamma seal lid is that they are roomy, uniform in size and easily stack three high (no higher or the weight can crack the lower buckets), the seal is airtight keeping out pests and moisture as well as sunlight, and the lids are very easy to release.  The down side for storing food in these is that the lids and buckets add up and can be a bit pricey so you have to look at this as an investment, even if just for peace of mind.  Also make sure you buy a food grade bucket and label the outside of the bucket since you can’t tell what is inside otherwise.

I reuse large cracker, pretzel and ice cream containers and am able to store boxes/bags of pasta in their original packaging.  The plus side for using these is that you automatically know they are food grade, they work at keeping out moisture, rodents and bugs and you can see easily what is inside.  You are not further adding to landfill issues as you re-use these AND they are free!  You probably bought them with food in them for as much as you would pay for about the same empty plastic container in a home goods aisle or store.  The down side is that they are bulky and they let in sunlight so for those reasons you would want to store these on a shelf where you have enough room or keep them out of the way such as in your food storage area in the basement.

 

Glass jars offer a convenient and attractive way to store pasta anywhere.  The plus side for storing in glass jars is that they move easily from food storage shelving to display shelving in the kitchen without trouble.  Mason jars are decidedly the most inexpensive way to store food in glass because they are purchased by the case or found at tag sales and flea markets.  Even Big Lots or other discount stores will sometimes offer these jars at a reduced price.  Relatives or neighbors may have some to offer for free and they can be found on Craig’s List as well for a nominal price or for free.  Mason jars may be the most versatile as well going from food storage to table, from fridge (or freezer) to hot water bath canner.  They keep dried items, canned items and are even used to serve at picnics.  I also use these as centerpieces holding flowers or float votive candles in water with evergreen and cranberries or even sand and sea shells depending on the season.  They are the perfect size for bringing someone soup without spilling it everywhere!  The down side is that these jars keep out everything in your storage but the sunshine.  Also it takes 1 1/2 jars to store most 1 pound packages of pasta although some small pastas do fit into one jar.  Most do not hold spaghetti.   

By storing your pasta, or other dried foods, in plastic or glass with sealed lids you can be sure you are doing your best to protect your store of food.