Real Life Shelf Life, Velveeta Cheese (cow, good, light, natural)
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I just bought a 2 lb. box. The expiration date is Oct. 22, 2019. That's just under six months. That's fine because I probably use about one box per month so I keep five boxes. My largest single use is for wrapping two pills for my dog each night. Beyond that, it's great for baked macaroni and cheese and makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches.
It is not a long term storage product, but a six month shelf life is more than adequate. If you need a longer shelf life, buy canned cheese. Meanwhile, I'll continue buying Velveeta to guarantee a full larder.
I also buy fresh milk and butter. Half and half, even opened, keeps for two months. I also buy fresh vegetables and fruits that are only good for a few days. Preparedness for emergencies is necessary, but it's just as important to maintain the necessities of daily life.
If you are stocking Velveeta for SHTF, you can do much better. Look up Red Feather canned cheese. It is a natural, full fat cheese (cheddar) packed in heavy duty cans and guaranteed to have an 'indefinite' shelf life. We buy it by the case, and have used it 10 years later. Excellent quality, and zero signs of spoilage.
If you are buying Velveeta to enjoy now, that's fine - but you can still do better. Buy natural, full fat cheeses and refrigerate them. You can even freeze natural cheese for a few years, with no nasty results inside of outside the package.
Velveeta is a processed cheese food, not real cheese. Why anyone would want to eat this adulterated product is beyond me. Not good for you, whether fresh or nasty. Eat real foods, or suffer the consequences.
It tastes like butter as you'd expect, though the texture is a bit firmer. I've been told it doesn't melt but I don't recall ever trying.
Washington state university sells a variety of canned gourmet cheeses, however they are supposed to be refrigerated. We bought 3 varieties but haven't tried them yet. The tins are very large. https://creamery.wsu.edu/
If you are stocking Velveeta for SHTF, you can do much better. Look up Red Feather canned cheese. It is a natural, full fat cheese (cheddar) packed in heavy duty cans and guaranteed to have an 'indefinite' shelf life. We buy it by the case, and have used it 10 years later. Excellent quality, and zero signs of spoilage.
Got a couple cases of each in storage. Along with case of Yoder's canned bacon, I'm zombie ready. :d
If you are stocking Velveeta for SHTF, you can do much better. Look up Red Feather canned cheese. It is a natural, full fat cheese (cheddar) packed in heavy duty cans and guaranteed to have an 'indefinite' shelf life. We buy it by the case, and have used it 10 years later. Excellent quality, and zero signs of spoilage.
If you are buying Velveeta to enjoy now, that's fine - but you can still do better. Buy natural, full fat cheeses and refrigerate them. You can even freeze natural cheese for a few years, with no nasty results inside of outside the package.
Velveeta is a processed cheese food, not real cheese. Why anyone would want to eat this adulterated product is beyond me. Not good for you, whether fresh or nasty. Eat real foods, or suffer the consequences.
Is that even possible? lol. My DH used to eat it on crackers and thought it was great. Yuk. I don't want to eat any cheese that is "shelf stable."
Cheese is a dairy product and dairy products require refrigeration as a rule. I automatically freeze milk and that gives me several months and a lot of ice should I need it. Lowers the fridge load as well as frozen milk helps shoulder the cooling burden.
Since they put "Best if used by" on everything now - and have shortened to period to six months when they used to allow years on many products - the date has lost most of its meaning.
Keep food cool and dry when possible - that will give the owner a lot more time. it is almost impossible to prep and live by the six month "advisement." That date helps stores rotate their stocks properly though.
Canned foods are widely reputed to last a long time indeed though ingredients may separate. If the thought of old food sickens your delicate sensitivities - don't prep. You wouldn't hack it in a likely "preppers environment" anyway.
Really the best way to have "shelf stable" dairy is to get goats. Before refrigeration milk was preserved by fermenting it into cheese, kefir, yogurt, etc. Sheep work well too. They are harder to milk, but on the other hand their milk has nearly twice the protein of cow's milk so you need less of it. True "Greek Yogurt" is made from sheep milk.
"Velveeta is a processed cheese food, not real cheese". Velveeta was invented by a cheesemaker who wanted a way to mix all the "bits and pieces" of cheese that were leftover from cutting and packaging up the cheese. The name came from the velvety texture of it. It's origins were mostly real cheese, but I have no idea how the modern day version is made.
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