Sugar is an excellent food to store for long-term food emergencies. You can use it to flavor baked goods and preserve and ferment bounties of fruit that would otherwise go bad in the cellar. It’s an excellent apocalypse food but does go bad?
Granulated white sugar is almost impervious to the microbial and bacterial growth that spoils most food. For that reason, it has an indefinite shelf-life and will not go bad as long as it is stored properly.
A word of warning, however, sugar will soak up nasty smells and flavors if it isn’t sealed against them, the quality will decline but it is still edible as long as it isn’t mixed or contaminated with other foods that spoil.
What affects the quality of sugar?
Sugar quality can be affected by pantry bugs, absorption of flavors from the food around it, or from moisture which causes clumping. Even if the quality is reduced, it can still be used. So, how do I store it?
How do I store Sugar?
Store sugar in an airtight container in a cool, dry space to avoid moisture, flavor absorption, and bug infestation. It will last indefinitely (forever) stored this way.
To be clear, we are talking about white granulated sugar, not brown, powdered, or other types of confectionary sugar. These others have a limited shelf-life of one year if stored in an airtight container.
Mylar Bags
Sugar does not need to be stored in Mylar bags, but it is an option. The good thing about sealed Mylar bags is that they are a proper moisture barrier, which will keep your Sugar dry.
Another excellent method of storing Sugar is a clean five-gallon, food-grade bucket with an airtight lid. This is how I keep most of mine in bulk.
Mylar bags are harder to find these days, but a clean 5-gallon pale can be picked up at a big box store for less than $5.00, and it gets the job done. Food-grad buckets are also easy to store because they can be stacked and repurposed for other food-grade tasks like fermenting and pickling.
Air is mostly nitrogen and oxygen; neither of these gases affects the quality of Sugar. Moisture, bugs, and absorption of nasty flavors in the pantry are all you have to worry about. Oxygen does ruin most other foods, but both sugar and salt are the exceptions to the rule regarding long-term food storage and Oxygenization or spoilage of food.
Oxygen-free storage
Do not store sugar oxygen-free, stored this way it will turn to stone but will still be edible. If you store it oxygen free the sugar will be a five-gallon-sized cube that you’ll have to break apart to use.
Sugar Is outstanding food for preppers (7 Reasons)
Sugar is one of the best staple foods you can store for long-term emergencies. It’s cheap, lasts forever, is helpful as a preservative, for fermentation, and it is excellent for bartering when the currency goes belly up. Following are six reasons sugar is an awesome prepper food.
#1 Antimicrobial
Sugar is antimicrobial so it won’t spoil.
#2 Indefinite Shelf-life
It lasts forever.
#3 Preservative
It preserves fruit, meat, and other foods
#4 High Calorie
Sugar is a high-calorie food that is important in a survival scenario.
#5 Inexpensive
Stockpile hundreds of pounds for little expense.
#6 Easy Storage
It is easy to store in bulk, it can be stored in #10 cans, Mylar bags, 5-gallon buckets, or canning jars.
#7 Fermentation
It is used to ferment fruits and vegetables via fermentation. For example, hard apple cider or apple cider vinegar.
Storage Tip: If you are interested in stockpiling Sugar, you should also check out storing Salt in bulk. Check out the Ready Squirrel article, How much salt to store for Long term Survival?
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Keep on prepping!
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Regards, Scott
