Every food item on earth has an expiry so does 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 is hygiene, cool, and dry environment. Can you imagine the products listed here can have an indefinite shelf life? I was personally aware that honey was the only product that has an indefinite shelf life, but we have many other products too. We have come up with the 10 food products that never expires and has an indefinite shelf life.
10. Powdered Milk
Most of us would have used milk powder at some point in our lives. Powdered milk will be the best alternative when we run out of milk at home. Most of the stores out there will have a use-by date within 18 months from the manufactured date. But this could be the best practice to use within time followed by many consumers across the globe. However, in accordance with USDA, powdered milk can have indefinite shelf life. Additionally, the shelf life is as well estimate at 2 to 10 years. Further, you may even note some stores selling the powdered milk with a shelf life tag of 25 years.
9. Dried Beans
I was personally not aware that the dried beans are evergreen when it comes to shelf life. As per the USDA, the dried beans are known to last just for two years. However, they can be kept for an infinite number of days if kept in a pure and hygienic place. Additionally, the dried beans are known to withstand the harsh and tropical 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.
8. Instant Coffee
While you may wonder if a coffee bean or a ground bean lasts forever! The misconception from people is that the coffee never expires. But it does lose its taste once the coffee pack is opened. Further, the instant coffee inside the pack can survive up to 20 years. Furthermore, if they are frozen, then they stay indefinitely and never expires. However, if you are using ground coffees or ordered coffee beans, then they can give a max shelf life of 2 years. Post which, they tend to lose their aroma, which can eventually degrade the taste too.
7. White Rice
White rice is considered one of the best products with never expiring hashtag. The white rice is known to have a shelf life of up to 5 years. However, they are known to sustain even beyond 5 years. 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. Furthermore, if you ever notice any bugs wandering, then it would be perfect enough to discard the entire pack.
6. Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is usually made from the xylem sap of either red maple, black maple or sugar maple trees. Additionally, maple syrup was initially made by the indigenous peoples of North America. Canadians became the largest producers of maple syrup in 2016. Further, they exported over 70 percent of maple syrup production to the rest of the world. While talking about their shelf life, the maple syrups should be refrigerated to retain its 100 percent flavor. Keeping them outside increases the chances of them being fermented.
5. Hard Alcohols
There are many misconceptions about alcohol’s shelf life over time. In fact, there has been a lot of questions across the community to know the actual shelf life of alcohol. The answer is simply that all the alcohol products are not evergreen. The distilled spirits or hard alcohols are the ones that have an incredible shelf life. Additionally, if the distilled spirits are kept in the same manufactured bottles, they are known to never expire. Further, 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. Finally, their taste may degrade if they are kept open and in use.
You may also like: “10 Everyday Food That Can Kill You“
4. Sugar
The opposite of salt obviously is the 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. The drier the sugar is, the more shelf life it gains. In fact, sugar products are known to degrade their shape over time if not used regularly. This is caused due to absorption of moisture and dampness from the air that can cause lump formation. The purest form of saving their shelf life is to consider them sealed in an air-tight jar.
3. Salt
We all are much aware that adding salt in any food product increases its shelf life. Now imagine the salt themselves when they are alone put together. Being said that, the salt’s shelf life decreases when iodized. The pure form of salt harvested from the ocean and lakes are considered to never expire from your pantry. Additionally, if you are checking on the iodized salt, the shelf life can be as much up to 5 years. You may as well notice at times when your kitchen salt goes moistures. This may happen due to the absorption of dampness from the air. However, this probably doesn’t mean that the shelf life is reduced but at times the semi-liquid state can make it hard to consume.
2. Vinegar
Vinegar is another fantastic example of an evergreen shelf life food product. They consist of acetic acid concentration between 5 and 8 percent. Additionally, while talking about vinegar’s shelf life, they are indefinite. They can be kept outside the refrigerators and still they do not get spoilt. Further, 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.
1. Honey
Honey is considered one of our most favorite food items and especially youngsters cannot deny them. Being so much sweet in terms of taste, honey is considered a food product that has no expiry date. Additionally, they consist of an excellent shelf life and can be kept at home indefinitely if properly sealed. In fact, something interesting to note that, honey is the only product that a human consumes from an insect.
Further, honey is an integral part of enzymes from the bee’s stomach. The chemical components such as gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide mix up during the honey processing by honeybees. Furthermore, these two byproducts help in restricting bacterial growth. In fact, technically the chemicals in honey are considered partially acidic that is known to suppress any bacteria to grow in. Evidently, in King Tut’s tomb, a lump sum of 2000-year old honey vats was found. And they seemed perfect and edible.