M
Martin Brown
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
D said:Hi Joerg,
<grin> As a kid, I spent a few months living on C-rations (research).
It's hard to imagine doing that for a prolonged period. Even the
"chocolate" was abysmal!
Do you really mean that or do you mean it actually tasted of *real*
chocolate instead of Hershey bars brown sugary rancid fat product.
ISTR chocolate and boiled sweets tins were about the best surviving of
the timed out rations. And even though UK rations are nothing to write
home about the tinned stuff was OK long after its official junk by day.
I am surprised, though, that things *can* stay preserved, canned,
for such a long period of time. I imagine it depends on the
foodstuffs involved, the materials from which the cans are made,
any *coatings* applied to the insides of the cans and the
mechanical integrity of those cans.
Keep the air out and make sure they are sterile to begin with and they
will last without bacterial decay until the seal is broken. US army
reckons nearly 50 years. The contents may degrade somewhat though in
terms of texture and taste. The infamous tinned meat Spam seemed to last
pretty well without changing at all long after the expiry date.
I would imagine vacuum packing something like beans in glass
(or metal) would also have a very long shelf life -- but I'm
not a big fan of legumes! :-(
Some goods tinned for early Antarctic expeditions still exist and are
nominally edible.
Regards,
Martin Brown