Potatoes
Shelf Life – 2 to 5 Weeks
The best way to store potatoes is to put them in the refrigerator. The colder the potato, the longer it will keep. Potatoes can also be kept in the freezer.
If you put them in the refrigerator, you’ll need to take them out before you use them. Don’t forget to remove the eyes from the potato.
Yukon Gold, red, and fingerling potatoes should be stored in a cool, dry, dark place.
Keep them away from apples and onions, which give off gasses that can speed their decay.
Store them in a plastic bag or container, not a paper sack, to keep out light and air.
For more information about this you can check out blogs like JikoniTaste.
Onions
Shelf Life – 1 to 2 months
Like potatoes, you need to store onions in a cool, dry, and dark place to get a long shelf life.
As discussed, keep in mind not to store the onions with potatoes as they release gasses which will spoil both of them faster.
Peanuts
Shelf Life – 1 to 2 months
You can use peanuts for almost one or two months if you store them in a cool and dry place.
Winter squash
Shelf Life – 1 to 3 months
Most winter squashes are quite durable. Some of them have even been called “superfoods” because of their nutritional value and antioxidant properties.
The various kinds of thick-skinned winter squash – these include butternut, spaghetti, acorn, kabocha, and Hubbard among the list of durable fresh vegetables.
Apples
Shelf life: 5 days to 6 months
Apples stored in a fruit bowl at room temperature will generally last about five to seven days.
When stored in a humid place at a temperature of 30º to 40º F they can stay crisp and fresh for as long as six months.
Tea
Shelf life: 6 to 12 months
Dried tea leaves, either loose (in a sealed container) or in tea bags (in an unopened box) can last a year or more if they’re not subjected to moisture or humidity.
Tea does lose flavor over time, though.
Powdered milk
Shelf life: 1 to 1½ years
Powdered milk gets old. It doesn’t necessarily get better. The color, texture, or flavor may change, but that doesn’t mean you should toss it. It’s perfectly safe for at least 18 months.
Beef jerky
Shelf life: 1 to 2 years
Jerky and its predecessors have been around for a long time. They were invented to last a long time in the wilderness and on long journeys.
They’re lean, dry, and salted – qualities that make them easy to eat for a long time.
Dried pasta
Shelf life: 1 to 2 years past “best before” date
It’s made from just semolina flour and water, then thoroughly dried.
This is a very different kind of pasta that’s great for eating hot or cold.
It’s not as easy to work with as fresh pasta, but it’s quite easy to make and can be stored for a long time if kept in an airtight container in the fridge.
Bouillon cubes
Shelf life: 2 years
These useful little blocks of instant soup or stock are sensitive to oxygen and moisture, so keep them well sealed and in a cool place.
They’ll last for at least 24 months.
Peanut butter
Shelf life: 2 years
If you keep an unopened jar of peanut butter in the refrigerator, you can make it last even longer.
For best results, keep the peanut butter in the fridge for up to six months, although it will not last more than two years at room temperature.
Dark chocolate
Shelf life: 2 to 5 years
Milk chocolate contains dairy and so it will go bad more quickly than dark chocolate that has high cacao content and little or no milk.
Warm temperatures are the enemies of chocolate, and it should last for as long as five years at temperatures of up to around 75°F, it will last for as long as 10 years if the thermometer is kept at temperatures of 60-65°F.
But you can see some spots on chocolate if they are exposed to high temperatures, but these aren’t harmful and don’t affect the flavor.
Canned or vacuum-pouched tuna
Shelf life: 3 to 5 years after “best before” date
Tuna is a hardy fish and one can use it for at least three to five years when canned, or vacuum-packed in pouches).
For optimum flavor and texture, don’t keep it longer than three years after the producer’s “best by” date.
Dried beans
Shelf life: Indefinite
Dried beans have very little water content and so are easy to keep fresh and ready to use. They may need a longer soaking time if they have been stored for a while before use.
If you don’t plan to use dried beans that quickly, you may want to store them in the freezer for later use.
They’ll last for several years before losing their moisture and needing to be cooked
Longer.
Honey
Shelf life: Indefinite
Honey can be the best by date, but most of the time, it’s best if you eat it as soon as you buy it.
If you store honey in a cool, dark place, it should be fine for years.
It won’t get cloudy or crystallized, which can happen if you put honey into a warm room, even when it’s in an unopened jar.
Liquor
Shelf life: Indefinite
Most people know that wine can last a long time, sometimes greatly improving as it ages.
However, it can also go bad quickly through exposure to extreme heat or cold, oxidation through leaky corks, and just the natural evolution of its chemical constituents over time.
Not so hard liquor.
Unopened bottles of spirits are virtually unchanging. You all know that alcohol is also used as a preservative agent. Due to the high amount of alcohol content they do not age.
But this is not worth all the alcohol. There are some exceptions with some sweet liquors, from which, as the years pass, the sugar content will precipitate out, forming crystals and leaving the liquor slightly less sweet.
White rice
Shelf life: Indefinite
Brown rice is usually considered to be healthier than white rice, but it has a high oil content and so will go bad after a couple of months, whereas white rice will last for much longer if it’s stored dry.
The only problem, other than moisture, is the sudden appearance of tiny black bugs in the rice grains.
These are known as rice weevils or flour bugs, and they’ll either find their way into the package through microscopic holes, or their eggs were harvested along with the rice itself.
Storing rice in thoroughly dried airtight containers will stop them from getting in, but if they’re already there, the rice should be discarded.
Canned fruits and vegetables
Shelf life: 1 to 2 years past “best before” date
Canning is a very efficient way to preserve food.
Generally, canned foods are safe for 2 years or more, but be careful about those dented cans or those with swollen lids, which could indicate that they’re harboring harmful bacteria.
If you can’t subject your canned food to intense heat, you should have no problem with it lasting for two years or more.