Who doesn't love spaghetti? Well, I guess there might be a few people who don't love
it, but most people at least like it. And a heckuva lot of Americans
grew up with Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. (Not me--my grandma's baked
macaroni and cheese was to die for; I've never liked the stuff from The
Blue Box. Unfortunately, my husband corrupted my children's palate with
it, and that's all they would eat as young children. Fortunately, they
have matured a bit now.)
With few exceptions, pasta is an ideal long-term storage food. Regular
pasta has little to no fat or moisture content. Without any special
storage conditions, other than protection from bugs and rodents, it has a
shelf life of two years. If packaged in sealed cans or Mylar with
oxygen absorbers, it's good for 30 years. The exceptions to this are
whole grain pastas and egg noodles, neither of which is recommended for
long-term storage.
Many, if not most, pastas sold in the US are enriched with the B
vitamins of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folic acid, as well as
iron. In comparing the American Beauty fettuccine from my cabinet with
some deep-discounted-so-my-husband-bought-it Italian pasta (Delallo
brand), the same serving size of Delallo has 5% more of each
of the B vitamins listed, and the same amount of iron. While the
caloric count for each of the two packages of pasta is the same, your
actual calorie count will vary, albeit slightly. How is that, you
ask? Well, the longer pasta is cooked, the fewer the calories. Al dente pasta has just a few (and it's really only a few--count on your fingers few)
less calories than firm pasta. The same is true with toast. The
longer you toast your bread, the fewer the calories. When every calorie
counts, maybe that will be important. Right now? I'll cook and toast
my food the way I want it, thank you very much.
Regular Italian pasta: Spaghetti, angel hair, fettucine,
linguine, rotini, penne, macaroni, etc. You know what you like; here
are just a few thoughts to keep in mind. Rotini, penne, and macaroni
take a lot more space for fewer calories packed into a #10 can or
bucket. For maximum calories for your space, go with long, thin pastas
like spaghetti, angel hair, fettucine, and linguine. Angel hair and
linguine cook much faster than spaghetti and fettucine, so you use less
fuel.
Macaroni and Cheese: I don't like the idea of storing anything
in cardboard--the risk of bugs is too high, it's not protected from
mice, it's got a pretty short shelf life, and it is so much wasted
space. And I don't even like it to begin with. But I totally
understand that this is a staple for some people and serious comfort
food for many children. So how's about a happy compromise? Store your
macaroni noodles properly, and get some real Kraft Macaroni Cheddar
Cheese powder and package and store it properly (canning jar or mylar
bag with oxygen absorber). It is available on Amazon.
Tortellini and Ravioli: While we're most often used to buying
these fresh, tortellini and ravioli do come in dried versions. The
best-by date is usually pretty short, under a year, but vacuum-sealed in
a canning jar, my tortellini has been good for years. We had some
six-year-old tortellini last month in some soup, and while the kids
noticed the difference in size, no one had anything to say about the
flavor. It tasted just fine.
Ramen: Forever a staple among college students, a lot of
preppers are planning to live on it as well. I'm not too sure this is
the best idea. Cheap ramen noodles are cheap for a reason. We prefer
the more expensive ramen that runs (in today's money--sure to be more
expensive next month) about $1.25-1.50 a bowl. They go into our
emergency packs. Yeah, they take a lot of space, but they are serious
comfort food for us, and we only need to add hot water to prepare them.
But because they are expensive and take a whole lot of space, we don't
store a lot of them.
Couscous: This is a tiny Moroccan pasta that not a lot of people
are aware of. I was introduced to it as a college student living in
the Russian house at BYU. Ten or eleven students and the instructor and
her daughter ate dinner together five days per week. The students were
responsible for preparing the meals, and we had to keep within a
budget. Couscous was cheap, fast, and filling, perfect for college
students. It cooks up just like instant rice and is just as versatile.
Most of what is sold in stores is ridiculously expensive little boxes
of couscous with small seasoning packets. If you've never had couscous
before, buy one of those boxes and give it a try. If you like it, and
you probably will, buy plain couscous in bulk and start using it. In
the Russian house we made a simple stew of veggies and Italian sausage
to spoon over it. Good times. Anyway, to sum up, it's cheap, cooks
quickly, and very versatile. Perfect for prepping.
Links to related posts:
Basic Food Storage--Wheat
Magic Mix
