Posted: 2/11/2010 10:52:54 PM EDT
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I need to put away some oil for cooking/baking etc.
What type of oil stores the best? What is the best way to have it packaged for long term storage? |
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Unfortunately oils don't last too long (about one year).
http://www.preparedpantry.com/food-storage-bulliten-emergency-preparedness-storing-fats-and-oils.aspx On the other hand I have used oil stored longer than this and am still here. Mine is stored in a dark cool basement location and that probably extends storage time. |
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Unfortunately oils don't last too long (about one year). http://www.preparedpantry.com/food-storage-bulliten-emergency-preparedness-storing-fats-and-oils.aspx On the other hand I have used oil stored longer than this and am still here. Mine is stored in a dark cool basement location and that probably extends storage time. +1 Store Crisco, shelf life of eight to ten years if kept reasonably cool and unopened. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Unfortunately oils don't last too long (about one year). http://www.preparedpantry.com/food-storage-bulliten-emergency-preparedness-storing-fats-and-oils.aspx On the other hand I have used oil stored longer than this and am still here. Mine is stored in a dark cool basement location and that probably extends storage time. +1 Store Crisco, shelf life of eight to ten years if kept reasonably cool and unopened. A similar thread over in the Survival Forum came to this same conclusion. You just can't keep most "cooking" oils from oxidizing and going rancid. Crisco for some reason, does not go rancid at the same rate. |
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coconut oil has an indefinite shelf life I wouldn't bet the farm on the word "indefinitely". Coconut has a higher level of naturally saturated fatty acids in it than most other vegetable oils, except maby palm, and it's the unsaturated or poly-unsaturated fatty acids that can become oxidized over time to give the rancid flavors. That's why Crisco or any other partially hydrogenated shortening lasts longer than oils. Shortenings are just oils that have had hydrogen bubbled through them, in the presence of a catalyst like powdered nickle, which hydrogenates the unsaturated sites on the fatty acid chains. This improves both storage life and useful life in your fryer or other products. Crisco's statement indicating a year of useful life after opening is because they package their shortening canisters with a headspace filled with nitrogen rather than ambient air. The nitrogen replaces the oxygen in the air, in inert, and does not contribute to rancidity. Once you open the package, remove the "tamper evident safety seal" and introduce air, the process of degredation starts. Bottom line, for storage, hard fats will last the longest. Of the oils, coconut and palm will last the longest while any vegetable oil that does not contain the words "partially hydrogenated" will last the shortest. |
I have no idea what you guys are talking about.  Where I am -shall remain undisclosed  - you can get olive oil by the gallon in tin cans. And as long as there's no leakage or rust-etc on the can, the oil is good. When unopened of course. According to some authors on the subject, olive oil is the best sort of oil for any kind of consumption. (Source: Thomas Levy M.D - Optimal Nutrition for Optimal Health)
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coconut oil has an indefinite shelf life I wouldn't bet the farm on the word "indefinitely". Coconut has a higher level of naturally saturated fatty acids in it than most other vegetable oils, except maby palm, and it's the unsaturated or poly-unsaturated fatty acids that can become oxidized over time to give the rancid flavors. That's why Crisco or any other partially hydrogenated shortening lasts longer than oils. Shortenings are just oils that have had hydrogen bubbled through them, in the presence of a catalyst like powdered nickle, which hydrogenates the unsaturated sites on the fatty acid chains. This improves both storage life and useful life in your fryer or other products. Crisco's statement indicating a year of useful life after opening is because they package their shortening canisters with a headspace filled with nitrogen rather than ambient air. The nitrogen replaces the oxygen in the air, in inert, and does not contribute to rancidity. Once you open the package, remove the "tamper evident safety seal" and introduce air, the process of degredation starts. Bottom line, for storage, hard fats will last the longest. Of the oils, coconut and palm will last the longest while any vegetable oil that does not contain the words "partially hydrogenated" will last the shortest. Specifically ... 
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coconut oil has an indefinite shelf life I wouldn't bet the farm on the word "indefinitely". Coconut has a higher level of naturally saturated fatty acids in it than most other vegetable oils, except maby palm, and it's the unsaturated or poly-unsaturated fatty acids that can become oxidized over time to give the rancid flavors. That's why Crisco or any other partially hydrogenated shortening lasts longer than oils. Shortenings are just oils that have had hydrogen bubbled through them, in the presence of a catalyst like powdered nickle, which hydrogenates the unsaturated sites on the fatty acid chains. This improves both storage life and useful life in your fryer or other products. Crisco's statement indicating a year of useful life after opening is because they package their shortening canisters with a headspace filled with nitrogen rather than ambient air. The nitrogen replaces the oxygen in the air, in inert, and does not contribute to rancidity. Once you open the package, remove the "tamper evident safety seal" and introduce air, the process of degredation starts. Bottom line, for storage, hard fats will last the longest. Of the oils, coconut and palm will last the longest while any vegetable oil that does not contain the words "partially hydrogenated" will last the shortest. Specifically ...
Shortenings from the grocery store that contain animal fats. Next is shortenings from the store that are all vegetable oil. The more saturated fat, the longer the shelf life. One needs to start reading the "nutrition facts panel" on the containers to get the relative amount of saturated fats, mono-unsaturated fats (those with only one double bond per carbon chain), and poly-unsaturated fats (those with two or more double bonds per carbon chain). More unsaturated fat results in shorter shelf life. Shelf life can be evaluated in a chemical lab by the amount of cross-linking between carbon chains (the fatty acids). Rancid, oxidyzed flavors are the result of oxygen transfering energy to the carbon chain of a fatty acid and causing the double bond to break. If the double bond breaks and picks up a hydrogen molecule per carbon, the result is a saturated fat. If the double bond breaks and the active site cross links with another carbon molecule on another carbon chain, you have a polymer. Lots of polymer results in rancidity. |
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Quoted: I have no idea what you guys are talking about. Where I am -shall remain undisclosed - you can get olive oil by the gallon in tin cans. And as long as there's no leakage or rust-etc on the can, the oil is good. When unopened of course. According to some authors on the subject, olive oil is the best sort of oil for any kind of consumption. (Source: Thomas Levy M.D - Optimal Nutrition for Optimal Health) That is contrary to my experience. I have several times encountered properly sealed containers of olive oil (usually from the discount bin, with an expired date on it) that have upon opening, been very rancid to the point my hands smelled rancid for days after getting it on my hands. Even well sealed in opaque and kept cool cans goes bad over the course of a year or two. The stuff goes bad so fast I throw more away than I consume. |
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Get pigs. Make lard. Or just buy it. Commercially processed lard is hydrogenated, should keep as long, bakes better, and is better for you in most cases, than vegetable shortening. It's very simple to make lard yourself. Hydrogenated lard is just about as bad for you as vegetable shortening (trans fats). |
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I have no idea what you guys are talking about. Where I am -shall remain undisclosed - you can get olive oil by the gallon in tin cans. And as long as there's no leakage or rust-etc on the can, the oil is good. When unopened of course. According to some authors on the subject, olive oil is the best sort of oil for any kind of consumption. (Source: Thomas Levy M.D - Optimal Nutrition for Optimal Health) That is contrary to my experience. I have several times encountered properly sealed containers of olive oil (usually from the discount bin, with an expired date on it) that have upon opening, been very rancid to the point my hands smelled rancid for days after getting it on my hands. Even well sealed in opaque and kept cool cans goes bad over the course of a year or two. The stuff goes bad so fast I throw more away than I consume. Broccoli, you are correct. Sealed containers of any kind of oil can go rancid if the headspace between the surface of the oil and the sealed lid was not flushed with an inert gas like nitrogen. Just sealing in a little air with it's 20% oxygen is enough to start the oxydation to begin. Once it begins, it sort of catalyzes the continued reaction. Sunlight is also an oxydizer. Remember when milk came in glass bottles and was left on the doorstep. It doesn't take long for the sunlight to penetrate the glass and start oxydizing the fat in milk. The same thing can happen to oils. ...and thinking you can just leave it in your kitchen, away from direct sunlight, well, the uV rays from sunlight can reflect off of things in your house and find your carefully hidden oil. Some plants don't need direct sunlight, reflected sunlight is enough to make them grow. Oil doesn't need direct sunlight to oxydize, reflected is enough. Now, if you have uV protection on your windows, you have some measure of protection from sunlight, but not total protection. The things that make fats/oils store well are the very things that make them bad for us. Animal fats have cholesterol and trans fats, hydrogenation creats trans isomers (trans fats) which may be as bad as saturated fats. Yes, I said animal fats have trans isomers! Sometimes up to 5%! Fat synthesis in animals usually results in the "cis" isomer which is normal and the most stable configuration, but sometimes, for what ever reason, the molecule comes out with the trans isomer. Well, anyway, enough lipid chemistry, unless someone has questions. Regards. |
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Get pigs. Make lard. Or just buy it. Commercially processed lard is hydrogenated, should keep as long, bakes better, and is better for you in most cases, than vegetable shortening. It's very simple to make lard yourself. Hydrogenated lard is just about as bad for you as vegetable shortening (trans fats). Trans fats are simply the nutritional whipping boy of the later 2000's. Amazing how every 5-10 years, there's yet another thing that spells death for people to eat. Personally, I think today's food-related problems have less to do with all these whipping boys, and more to do with imbalanced diets and lack of portion control. /hijack |
| maybe i should not have put an indefinite shelf life on coconut oil since there are different grades - tropical traditions puts a 5 year shelf life on their cold pressed gold label coconut oil - i wont go into the mine is better then yours and lasts longer - but i have a lot that is older then 8 years and it still smells good and cooks stuff up just fine - just my last 2 cents |
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Quoted: Vaseline will probably last longer than anything else. Yes, you can eat/cook with petroleum jelly. No, I haven't tried cooking with it. will give you the runs. I have this rule. I don't like to shit myself when I sneeze and somehow I think cooking with Vaseline would break my rule. |
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Quoted: Vaseline will probably last longer than anything else. Yes, you can eat/cook with petroleum jelly. No, I haven't tried cooking with it. I just saw your comment. As someone who works in pteroleum refining and Big Oil, I STRONGLY DISCOURAGE eating/cooking with anything petroleum based. Nearly all US refiners use heavy & sour crudes in the crude mix. And its well documented that heavy crudes contain lots of heavy metals, most of which cause cancer. Refiners don't specifically remove all the heavy metals. To do so would cause prices to skyrocket...so there's always a trace in gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, & lube oils. That's why you mechanics should really wash oils & greases off asap. So over time, if you eat/cook with petroleum-based products, I can guarantee you'll get cancer of some sort, and maybe heavy metal poisoning too. |