Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20070917.htm


From the September 2007 Idaho Observer: <HR>
Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
By Paul James



The year was 1975. At that time many Americans were concerned that the Cold War with Russia could turn hot. People all over the country were building bomb shelters in their backyards and storing large quantities of food.
I was one of them. I didn�t build a shelter, but I did order $10,000 worth of Mountain House freeze dried food to be delivered to my home in Virginia Beach, Virginia. When the shipment arrived from Oregon, my family sampled some blueberries which we all liked. After that the food was stored in the attics of our house and garage. There it rested until August, 2007.
My wife and I are in our 80s and our daughters, who live in Idaho, felt it was time we joined them. In August, 2007, we moved with all of our belongings and 227 cases of 37- year-old Mountain House freeze dried food.
First we opened a can of peas. The moment I heard the swish air flowing into the can and felt their pellet-like hardness, I was convinced no air had entered the can for 37 years. The peas were fine. We checked the blueberries and found them to taste exactly as we remembered them in 1975; the strawberries also kept perfectly. Since then we have twice served the scrambled egg mix. The added flavor of butter and salt were perfect to our taste.
Are we again approaching uncertain times that could affect the food supply? Will my decision to "stock up" during the Cold War 37 years ago soon be transformed from folly to fortune?
In any event, it is an honor to be in a position where I can safely say that freeze-dried food packed by Mountain House in 1975 (#10 cans, six cans per case), is still perfectly preserved after all these years.
Note: Several sources are reporting that food grains will be in short supply this year because farmers have planted so much government-subsidized, GMO corn for ethanol.

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

The 37-year shelf life is no surprise, however, it IS interesting to note that he kept the cases of food in the attics of his house and garage, which I am sure were subjected to big swings in temperature.

You generally want to store emergency food of all kinds in stable, cool, dry environments if possible to maximize the shelf life. So to see that this man's MH food withstood less-than-optimal conditions for that long is a great thing!

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

Im including my Mountain House in my will. It will be passed on for the next generations along with my PMS.:s9:

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

I only wish I bought my MH corn before 1995 when TPTB screwed it all up with GMO. I bought a case of corn and after reading all the info on kidney and liver lesions from GMO corn I hardly want to eat the stuff. Actually I found that article searching GMO + Mountain House. I was hoping I would find out they didn't use it. Oh well, liver damage will probably be the least of my worries if I ever need to open the stuff.

Does anyone know where to get non-GMO corn for long term storage?

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

Yup, this is very true.

When I first got into the preparedness movement in 1982, I bought a packaged three month supply of MH and it's still good. I started rotating it out about a year or so ago and haven't hit a bad can yet. The only thing I've noticed is that when I've opened two cans of the same product (chicken and rice entree), one can would taste as fresh as the day it was canned, while the other can would have a slightly 'off' taste to it. Nothing to complain about and I doubt I even would have noticed it if I had just eaten one can at a time, but I was interested in a comparison.

One thing I have found with dehydrated foods...use less water than is recommended on the can, say only 2/3's the amount. Many of the dishes, especially fruit will come out soupy if you use the full amount.

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

Anyone know why honeyville grain's FD food has a shorter recomended shelf life? Their peas say 10-15 years, and their fruit only 7-10 years.

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

I suspect it's simply a "lawyer" thing, Reality Check......I've have to believe about any freeze dried food packed in #10 cans is good for about the same time period. I've tried some pork chops packed in 1992 that were perfectly good. Mountain House puts 25 years on their cans, but keep in a decent storage place ( cool, dry ), I suspect they have indefinite shelf life......as would Honeyville.



Couple things about the original article don't add up though....

First, I sure don't remember there being any worries in 1975 about Russians and the cold war....storing food and building bomb shelters.....that sounds a WHOLE lot more like 1962 and the Cuban missile crisis. 1975 was the year I got out of the army, and I sure would have been in tune with anything like that going on......

If you subtract the 37 years from 2007, you get 1970, not 1975.....so there are some numbers that don't add up......does this guy even know when he bought the stuff ?


And storing that food in a attic ( which I assume was un-insulated....and could hit 130 EASY in Virginia Beach, VA ) is about as dumb a thing as you could do, IMHO. 200 cases is about a 10 grand investment you could absolutey RUIN by doing that......dumb dumb dumb.....ALL my long term foods ( FDry, Dehydrated and Regular canned ) are stored in the most cool, dry locations I have.

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

Andy, good call on the math inconsistencies.

What I recall of '75 was that that was perhaps the time frame when a lot of New World Order conspiracy stuff was beginning to hit its stride. "None Dare Call It Conspiracy" is a book that comes to mind that I think came out in the early to mid '70s. So he may very well have been driven a bit by that at the time (and not wanting to say that to a reporter today).

Other things happening in '75 ... still some aftermath on Watergate. There was some violent US domestic terrorism going on, in addition to stuff going on in Europe. Of course, Vietnam fell. The Middle East was simmering. Also, some Jehovah's Witnesses thought the world was going to end in '75. There was the oil crisis right before that. All in all--that period of time was not a peaceful time.

And yep--the Cold War was still on--I was stationed in Frankfurt from the mid to late 70s and I had a few real scares during that time, watching the borders.

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

Also big time for Howard Ruff......Ruff Times and gas shortages and 17%mortgage rates............people were acting then like right now

Late Great Planet Earth type shit:smokin:

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

they quit manufacturing that fruit. You've got the old pears, peaches etc. The peaches were incredible. I hitch hiked across the country with just peaches in my pack. Of course I supplemented with McDonalds. Cast iron stomach in those days.

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

I have a garbage bag full of MRE's that were given to me by a Desert Storm vet. They are about 17 years old I would guess. I haven't tried to eat one but I still have them. Do you guys think they are still edible?

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

It would be great if our MH proved as unneeded as his did for 30 years. The circumstances that make one glad to have MH are ones we would all prefer never happen.

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

MREs age/degrade faster than food sealed in vacuum-packed cans. Off the top of my head, government tests put the shelf life of MREs at around 5-6 years if stored in dry, stable, 60-70 degrees fahrenheit conditions.

You can extend that shelf life in colder storage conditions (and if warmer, shorten that time frame).

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

Good thing he didn't eat all of that. The preservatives probably would have killed him.:wink:

Re: Mountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
 

But he'd still be alive AND he'd be "very well preserved"!!! :D