Ramen Stash for the Apocalypse? 🤔

[halfclickwest]

So, I'm thinking about whether to keep ramen in my prep stash. Sure, it's cheap and fills you up, but I get it, not the best nutrition. I've got a few cases tucked away, but I'm curious — how long do they really last after their date? And is there a better way to keep them than just storing the packs in the box? Anyone have tips or tricks for rotating ramen in long-term storage? They seem to do better than the expiration date suggests.

 

[the_leper_colony]

So, I'm thinking about whether to keep ramen in my prep stash. Sure, it's cheap and fills you up, but I get it, not the best nutrition. I've got a few cases tucked away, but I'm curious — how long do they really last after their date? And is there a better way to keep them than just storing the packs in the box? Anyone have tips or tricks for rotating ramen in long-term storage? They seem to do better than the expiration date suggests.

FWIW, I've bought ramen noodles for my stash, because I used to eat a LOT of 'em (almost every evening meal), and they're cheap. They are SO cheap, in fact, that I never pushed them past their "best by" date. Instead, I would buy them in the big bundles, put them in big plastic bags and/or plastic bins, and mark the expiration date on the outside. Then, a month or two short of the expiration date (reminder on the calendar helps), I would grab the ones that were about to expire and donate them to the local food bank (where they were likely to get used immediately), and just buy a new batch. Repeat as needed. IIRC, I had to do that every 8-12 months, depending on how fresh the ramen was when I bought 'em.

I don't honestly know if the taste changes when they get old (having never eaten old noodles), but my wife tells me they are cooked in oil at the factory, and when the residual oil in the ramen gets old, it turns rancid, which is bad for your health.

As always IMHO, FWIW, YMMV, etc...

 

[VenomBallistics]

Ramen is a bit of an incendiary. It only needs a good heat source to ignite, no open flame needed.
Perhaps the past due stuff can live on with some utility around the campfire.