posted 3 years ago
10 years is my minimum guess for well stored beans. I have never had any I wasn't pleased with come out of storage, and I have stored them for many years, including some that fell and got lost, and everything has been good. I think it may have a lot to do with a lot of factors about how it's stored, not just what containers, but how dry was it when put in them, what variety of bean, where did it come from, where have the containers been stored, etc.
I think 10 years is minimum for assuming dried beans are ok.
Whole grains last much longer than flour, but flour stored well holds a very long time. I pack my flour into containers VERY tightly to exclude as much air as I can in between the bits of flour. I have never had bad flour come out of my storage either, I get at least 5 years out of commercial stone ground whole wheat flour.
Rice, barley, etc again, I have never had bad come out of my storage, with dates about 8-10 years old.
Basically, the only things I have ever had bad out of my storage involved damaged containers, as long as the containers are intact, I have had no issues. I check everything well as it comes out, just to be safe, but have had no issues. But I am very OCD about how I put it into those containers.