4 Foods that Age Quicker than You Sometimes we think because things are professionally packed and kept on shelves in stores, that they will live on forever. Sorry. That mostly just applies to Twinkies – the everlasting food. Although many foods are packed and stored well enough that they can sit in your food storage for a decent amount of time (around one year), they were not blessed with eternal youth like you. (You’re welcome.) They shrivel up and die, get stiff or mushy, or just go stale and rancid. Some even pop their tops. Here is a list of a few foods that need rotating more often than not.
Saltine Crackers This seems to be the biggie. Something about those square white crackers just makes us want to buy them in bulk. They are a common binge food. If you want them, you WANT them. But then the craze goes away and you store 5 extra boxes in your cellar for years on end. When the crave kicks in again, you dig them out of your pantry and pop open a sleeve. You’ll be met with a rancid, stale, and disgusting smell. And taste. Moral of the story: don’t let saltines sit on your shelf for more than one year. But, if you must, apparently vacuum packing them in mason jars does the trick. It’s the fountain of youth for crackers.
Tomatoes Any sort of tomato-based jar or can usually struggles over time. Although it’s unclear exactly why, canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, etc., do not fare well over time. Again, they will last just fine for a year or so, but they have been known to burst metal seams when neglected too long. It seems that they have an explosive aging process.
Flour Keeping flour around can be a tricky business. Not only will that white powder go rancid in a fairly short period of time, but it often harbors those tiny little weevil eggs that will eventually hatch and seriously decrease your motivation to bake. Yet again, a year is about your limit with flour unless you take some extra preparatory measures (like freezing, foodsaver bags, or sealing).
Cereal Unfortunately, your Fruity Pebbles won’t keep from the stone age of when you originally purchased them to the current 21st century. All cereals share in this sad fate. While some people claim that their cereals are fine after 3 or 4 years, most people agree that their cereal goes bad after about 1 or 2. So, only buy as much as you can eat in a year, tops.
The Key Naturally, there are plenty more foods that won’t store for long. They key seems to be plastic, air, and oil. If your goods are stored in plastic sleeves, foodsaver bags, or plastic bottles, they will be permeable to some levels of air and humidity – food storage’s two arch enemies. Many people also blame oil as a culprit of speedy degradation. It’s wise to rotate your tuna, mushrooms, peanut butter, and other oily foods often. Any other foods you think should make the list? Comment below and let us know!