Valley Food Storage 25-year shelf-life Mac and Cheese review

Our finished product.

Valley Food Storage's Mac and Cheese

If you do an internet search for “long term storage food” you will find over 7 million results…give or take a few thousand. With so many companies jumping on the preparedness food bandwagon, how do you know which one to try?

Or more importantly, how do you figure out which one will deliver on their promises for taste, quality and storage time?

Short of borrowing The TARDIS™ from Dr. Who, I don’t have a way of confirming food quality 25

years from now, but I was certainly happy to accept the opportunity to review the taste and quality of Valley Food Storage’s Cheesy Mac when they contacted me.

•  Product: Mac and Cheese
• Manufacturer: Valley Food Storage
•  Size: 5 Serving Pouch
• Packaging: Hand sealed inside a Nitrogen flushed Mylar Pouch.
• Shelf Life: 25 Year Shelf Life
• Nutritional Information: No MSG, No Trans Fats, No Cholesterol

One thing that I noticed immediately when I landed on their website was the large button offering a
free sample of the company’s product. That’s always a good sign for two reasons: First, the company is confident that they offer a good tasting product. Second, they want the customer to feel confident that they are ordering food that they will enjoy eating.

Packaging: The offered sample arrived quickly. I appreciated that the packaging was compact. No unnecessary packaging materials and air to take up precious storage space. That’s one of my pet peeves with food packaging in general. The Mylar pouch was sturdy, air-tight and prevented light penetration. Nutritional information was displayed clearly on the front of the pouch and included Allergen information. And the best part? There were only eight ingredients, and they were all in English!

Preparation: Whisk in contents of package to 4-1/2 cups of boiling water. Turn down the heat and boil gently for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5-7 minutes before serving.

Prep Comments: I voiced my concern about the length of cook time in a survival situation, and one of the company’s founders, James, shared that in a survival situation where fuel and cook time was a concern, one could pour the boiling water directly into the bag, reseal, and let set to cook in the pouch. While it may not reconstitute as well as traditional cooking methods would allow, this would still produce a passable meal.

Left: Our normal brand of Mac and Cheese.
Right: Valley Food Storage's Mac and Cheese. Note
that the elbows are plumper and the sauce is creamier.

Product: I planned a night where my husband and 19-year-old step-son would both be home to be my guinea pi– taste testers. I prepared the VFS Mac and Cheese as directed as well as our “normal” brand of packaged mac and cheese with the packet of cheese spread. The VFS macaroni cooked up plumper and creamier than our normal brand and thickened more upon standing for several minutes.  The color wasn’t as orange as the competition, and I attributed that to possibly less coloring in the cheese mix. As to texture, my concerns that the pasta might be mushy were unfounded.

Taste: This was one of the most important points in my opinion. I want to know that when I do use my long term food store, I’m going to like what I’m eating. I dished out a portion of each brand and let my taste testers compare the two. The Valley Food Storage mac and cheese passed both the Teenager Test and the Hungry Husband Test. My stepson, E-man, declared that it tasted fine and that he’d be happy to eat it any time. My husband said that he “couldn’t tell it from the real thing,” meaning that it looked and tasted like regular mac and cheese.

Price: $11.95 per 5 serving package. A case of 20 packages (100 servings) runs $203.15, which is a savings of $1.79 per package. According to the company’s website, there is free shipping on all products.

About the Company: James, one of the founders of Valley Food Storage, gave me a little information on the company’s background: “We started Valley Food Storage after purchasing food storage and after only a few years realizing the food had already gone bad. This was due to oils and ingredients that many companies put in their food. They just will not last more than 3-4 years, and with food storage you are only as good as your weakest ingredient. After doing more research, we noticed that many other companies are also using so many preservatives that the food nutrition had become compromised or that the Packages they offer include up to 60% filler orange drink. We were so frustrated that we started our own company. As you go through our products you will notice you understand everything on the label, and it’s all natural high quality ingredients. All of our labels are available online.”

VFS has a good selection of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options, as well as side items and desserts. Gluten free and dairy free options are marked for ease of ordering.

Conclusion:  I am a proponent of buying long term food stores that one has already sampled to prevent any unhappy surprises 5, 10 or 20 years down the road when it is needed and used. I can certainly recommend Valley Food Storage’s Mac and Cheese as a quality addition to a person’s short and long-term food store.

DISCLAIMER: This unbiased product review was completed upon request of Valley Food Storage. A free sample was provided, which is available to any potential customer by clicking the “Get Your Sample” link on the www.valleyfoodstorage.com website. There was no financial compensation offered or received, and the positive review and recommendation are based upon my own family's use of the product.