In my youth, as a poor student, as previously described, my survival bible was 'Frugal Food' from Delia Smith
We been keeping a decent stock of food in for years, partly so we don't always need to go shopping and party to stock up when stuff is on offer. However although we use plenty of cans they're all different sizes. We also find something like tomato puree in a tube is better value than toms in tins.In all seriousness - If one has the space or lives in a slightly rural location then why NOT do this ?
Bit of a bump to this - with regards to Staple Carbs sources - which options should people be looking at ? what offers versatility , stability ,calorific energy , ease of storage etc.
I may have mentioned this before, I carried out a carb vs space analysis years ago when I was backpacking more. I determined the highest carbs per cubic area was lasagne. No wasted air space like in macaroni or other pastas. It's not as easy to cook with but it's possible.
Orzo!! I was trying to remember what it was called - thank you. Yes , definitely can be compact.Orzo pasta is rice shaped, so more compact than others.
No powdered milk mentioned? Think FDA says it's good for a decade unopened.
A while ago I applied myself to learning how to cook dried beans, lentils, peas etc. That changed our kitchen quite a bit. I think if I'd tried this list before that point, it'd look pretty different.
For emergency use cooked, tinned pulses are more useful as you don't need the time to soak and the energy to boil, rinse and simmer dried pulses. I often wonder how much money you save with dried vs tinned?
I was going to raise a similar point with rice, brown is far more nutritious but takes far longer and more energy to cook.