I've eaten dried beans that were over 10 years old without any problem. And so did the hundreds of airmen that I fed them to.
If you don't have water and fuel, you are fundamentally screwed anyway. Man that can't make a fire, even in Arizona, isn't much of a man.
Cooked beans can be crushed, spread out, and sun dried to preserve them. To prepare them after drying, simply rehydrate them. I've done that, in the wilderness.
/johnny
I heard on a radio show about biochar (glorified charcoal)
that indians put some charcoal in their dry beans to preserve them for many years......
Thanx, Johnny!!!
I have my dried beans vacuum packed in the freezer. Good to know they can last that long. I planned on cracking or grinding them w/a mill, if necessary, if they got too old.
Dehydration would be great for a surplus of cooked beans. Not sure if sun drying would work here. If it is hot, then it is humid. But I will experiment to see how long it takes w/the dehydrator.