Prepping 101

Our society’s past experience with the Covid virus taught us the importance of preparing for emergency situations. We can no longer assume we’ll always have access to modern conveniences. From a loss of electricity to severe supply chain disruptions, a storm, political strife, or viral illness can rob us of our normal routines. Making sure you’re ready for this eventuality includes stocking up on foods that you can keep for an extended period of time.

Aside from looking for nourishing foods, you might want to include a range of condiments to dress up your food. This list provides a few items that you can keep in your emergency shelter even when you don’t have access to refrigeration. Anyone can add these nonperishable condiments to their emergency stash.

Ketchup

There are a couple reasons that you can keep a supply of ketchup in your shelter without worrying about refrigeration. Since its primary ingredient is a plant-based food, it can sit out at room temperature without spoiling. Additionally, ketchup has an unusually high acidic nature, and that helps to keep it fresh for longer. Over time, ketchup can become discolored and lose some of its flavor. You can protect the flavor for longer by storing it in a dark bottle.

Mustard

Here is another condiment that comes from a plant-based food (mustard seed) and has a highly acidic composition. This creates the perfect condition for keeping a bottle of mustard at room temperature. When you visit a restaurant, you might notice that mustard bottles are opaque. Similar to ketchup, mustard gets a darker color and loses its flavor over time. An added risk with mustard is that it also loses its spicy zest. A dark or colored bottle prevents sunlight from quickening this process.

Hot Sauce

Even in an emergency, you can still enjoy some spicy flavoring with your food. In fact, a few drops of hot sauce can make many bland canned foods taste a little better. Look for hot sauce with very few artificial preservatives. Ideally, this condiment lasts the longest at room temperature when its ingredients consist strictly of peppers. Keep hot sauce in a cool, dark shelter to avoid the loss of its potency.

Vinegar

This condiment tastes great with French fries and works well with olive oil as a salad dressing. You can keep it in your emergency shelter indefinitely due to its acidic nature. It can become discolored over time, so be careful where you store it. As with the other condiments on this list, keeping vinegar in a cool and dark storage place will protect its flavor for longer.

Mayo

When it comes to mayonnaise, its storage requirements can be tricky. Always refrigerate homemade mayo since it lacks the preservatives that manufacturers include in their recipes. According to Hellman’s & Best Foods, the acidic preservatives in their mayo make it more durable. It can last unrefrigerated for one month without the concern of bacteria or fungi growth. It will last up to two months with proper refrigeration.

Peanut Butter

When choosing peanut butter for your emergency shelter, read the ingredients carefully. You can store peanut butter without refrigeration if it was made with hydrogenated oils. However, natural peanut butter will become rancid in a short time without refrigeration. In addition, the oil in natural peanut butter will separate at room temperature.

Honey

Jams and jelly go great with peanut butter, but they won’t last long when stored in your emergency shelter without refrigeration. If you store any jam or jelly at room temperature, throw it away within 48 hours of opening it.

A better alternative is honey. This seems like an obvious substitute since bees make honey without the need for refrigerated cooling. Actually, refrigeration shortens the shelf life of honey since cold temperatures cause crystallization. When stored at room temperature, honey can last for up to 12 months.

Olive Oil

Most people have already ditched vegetable and corn oil for olive oil since it’s a healthier alternative. You can use olive oil with vinegar to dress a salad or use the oil on its own for cooking. Fortunately, this oil doesn’t need refrigeration. Since the cooling process alters the composition of olive oil, many chefs recommend letting olive oil return to room temperature before using it.

Rotate Your Nonperishable Foods

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the term ‘nonperishable’ means that these products will last forever. Like any other food, these condiments will expire in time. Keep an eye on expiration dates and use up foods and condiments as they near their ‘best if used by’ dates. Rotating your food supply will keep you prepared for an emergency whenever it might happen.