Every food item on earth has an expiry so do the ones listed here too. But there are some food products that can sustain in your pantry for an incredibly long time. Further, all we need to make sure of, is hygiene, a cool, and dry environment. Can you imagine the products listed here could have indefinite shelf life?
We have come up with 10 food products that never expires and has indefinite shelf life.
Instant Coffee
While you may wonder if a coffee bean or ground bean lasts forever! The misconception from people is that coffee never expires. But it does lose its taste once the coffee pack is opened.
Some instant coffee packs can stay good for more than 20 years if they are frozen.
However, if you are using ground coffees or ordered coffee beans, then they can give a max shelf life of 2 years.
Dried Beans
The USDA states that dried beans usually last just two years before expiring, but it is possible to keep them indefinitely if they are kept in a clean and hygienic environment.
Being considered safe after longtime usage, there could certainly be some downfall in the nutritional value. The nutritional values are known to decrease by the time they reach 5 years of age.
White Rice
One product that has an immense shelf life, and can last indefinitely is white rice.
White rice is known to survive 5 years on average, but it can last even longer when stored properly.
Additionally, the oxygen-free white rice packs are known to have a shelf life of up to 30 years. Further, the white rice is hard to figure out if they are spoilt or not.
In most cases, white rice can retain shelf life if it is kept in a dry environment.
Powdered Milk
Most of us will have used powdered milk at some point in our lives.
Powdered milk is the best alternative when we run out of milk at home. Most stores out there will have a use-by date within 18 months from the manufactured date. However, this could be the best practice to use within time followed by many consumers across the globe. But in accordance with USDA, powdered milk can have an indefinite shelf life. Additionally, the shelf life is estimated at 2 to 10 years.
You may see some stores selling powdered milk with a shelf life tag of 25 years.
Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is usually made from the xylem sap of red maple, black maple, or sugar maple trees.
The indigenous peoples of North America created maple syrup. Canadians dominate maple syrup production by exporting over 70%of their products to other countries.
Interestingly, it’s important to refrigerate maple syrup to maintain its taste. Not doing so can make it go bad faster.
Hard Alcohols
There are many misconceptions about how long alcohol lasts.
In fact, there has been a lot of questions across the community to know the actual shelf life of alcohol.
The shelf life of alcohol is longer than other food products. Distilled drinks (like whiskey) can have an indefinite shelf life because they don’t spoil very quickly.
Spirits that are distilled and kept in the same manufacturer’s bottles will not expire.
The taste as well seems to retain as that of the original date. Hard alcohol and distilled spirits can have a shelf life of 20 years.
Salt
We all are aware that adding salt to any food product increases its shelf life.
The pure form of salt harvested from the ocean and lakes are considered to never expire.
Sugar
The opposite of salt obviously is sugar.
Now both are considered never expiring while considering the shelf life. Additionally, it is much recommended that the sugar must be kept at a hygiene place to prevent any foodborne illness.
Sugar products last longest when kept in an airtight container, but will eventually crumble if the packaging isn’t sealed.
Vinegar
Vinegar is another fantastic example of an evergreen shelf-life food product.
They consist of acetic acid concentrations between 5 and 8 percent. While talking about vinegar’s shelf life, they are indefinite. They can be kept outside the refrigerators and still they do not get spoilt.
Many may have confusion between the types of vinegar and shelf life. With more insights into their shelf life considering their variance, the white vinegar is known to be everlasting. If the white vinegar is stored in a hygiene environment within the manufactured tin, they do not ferment.
Honey
Honey is considered one of our most favorite food items and especially youngsters cannot deny it.
Being so sweet in terms of taste, honey is considered a food product that has no expiry date. It consists of excellent shelf life and can be kept at home indefinitely if properly sealed.
Something interesting to note is that honey is the only food we consume from insects.
In King Tut’s tomb, a lump of 2000-year old honey was found and they seemed perfect and edible.