Posted on 10/15/2016 3:14:20 PM PDT by Paved Paradise
Understand. You have to pick your battles. ;-)
Wow, this could be a pretty complex answer to a short question :-)
How about a little information on what your needs are first?
Because there are a lot of different ways you could go with food storage. If you are looking for something to put away to use only in the event of catastrophe and have unlimited funds, you could go with prepackaged freeze dried meals. On the other hand, if you want to be thrifty and still be able to use the food is under normal conditions, you would want to store more things like beans and rice.
As for myself, I like to cook. I also didn’t want to waste my money in case nothing happened, so I store foods that I normally use anyway. I like to bake bread, so I have a lot of wheatberries. These will store almost indefinitely and I can grind them to make whole wheat flour. You can also cook them up to be like cereal or even a meat substitute in a burger. It just depends on how adventurous you would want to be.
Anyway I have a lot of wheat berries , beans, rice, etc. packed in mylar with oxygen absorbers. this is the best environment for storing food long-term, because without the oxygen you’ll have less food deterioration and no spoilage. No mold and no bugs! Some I bought from emergency essentials and some I packed myself. There’s a lot of great information out there on how to pack them yourself and you can save quite a bit of money that way.
I also have some number 10 cans of items I can use along with The beans and rice. Like butter powder, peanut butter powder, sugar, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, – Most of these are pretty good quality and I can use them even if it’s not a dire situation. On the other hand, some of the ready-made just add hot water meals I would never use unless I was starving!
Pressure canning or water canning garden produce this also a great way to store food. Although those jars will only last a year or two, but the thought is to keep growing and keep canning.
For $2000, or around there, I probably have enough food storage for two people for two or three years. This is assuming our activity level is sky high, with having to garden, split and stack wood, with or without The use of modern conveniences.
So there’s quite a variety of ways to store food, different levels of effort required, varying amounts of money needed- it all just depends on what works for you. It’s not a one-size-fits-all endeavor.
Plum tomatoes are best, more pulp and fiber, although you can use any tomato.
Blanch 30 - 45 seconds , in order to remove the exterior skin Remove the stem, gelatinous material and seeds, but retain to strain off the liquid later (fresh tomato flavor - see below).
Slice and dice tomato : the smaller the slices, the quicker they will dehydrate, saving time and energy.
Place in Excaliber on parchment paper, (or some units come with special silicone-like sheets cut to sheet size, or can be ordered at Excaliber).
Place in Excaliber until your degree of doneness/ shrinkage is complete, .. and then just a little more.
Place the dried tomato into a food processor, or coffee grinder to create a powder; a 1/2 bushel of tomatoes will dehydrate into 2 quart plastic zip-lock bags,
and can be frozen almost indefinitely as needed for fresh tomato flavor in soups, stews, broth, pasta, salsa, etc.
The reserved pulp, gelatinous material and seeds can be drained in either cheesecloth, spare pillowcase, fine straining material by gravity for 'tomato ambrosia'.
Don't press or pressure the liquid, just angle the container so that it leaks into a container - the liquid should be clear, absent of any solids, then refrigerate.
That’s interesting about the easy pulltabs. And makes sense that they wouldn’t be as secure as a solid lid. Thanks for the information.
Thank You!
Really helpful post, thanks!
Put rice, flour and corn meal in the freezer for a few days to kill any bug eggs. Then store them as you wish.
Nuts bought in regular packages from the store are best kept in the freezer as they can go rancid.
Regular grocery store bought canned goods will last far longer than their expiration date.
As was said before, buy what you eat and eat what you buy. And rotate. If on a budget, buy a few extra items every time you shop and it will eventually add up. The more you have laid in, the less gas and time you’ll need running to the store in normal times.
Don’t forget your pets.
Don’t forget your elderly relatives or others who might need to shelter with you.
The FReeper Prepper Ping List is still active and well.
Please FReepmail TMSuchman, or me, if you would like to be included, or removed from the Prepper Ping list
Since the Question was raised :
Archived Prepper threads : ”http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/prepper/index?tab=articles “>www.freerepublic.com/tag/prepper/index?tab=articles
Archived SHTF threads (if you have to ask - don't go there !)
”http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/shtf/index?tab=articles “>www.freerepublic.com/tag/shtf/index?tab=articles
Then don't.
Also, stay away from foil topped items and foil packaged as they can easily get a hole and your food would spoil.
Make sure you have a manual can opener. Or two.
Learn home canning.
PT and paper towels.
Vitamins.
Hand sanitizer. Yes, the government doesn’t want you using it but during emergency times when there’s no water it’s better to use it than not.
Drinking alcohol will last forever.
Remember, those dried beans are seeds.
Susan has excellent youtubes on dehydrated products - imstillworking. She recommends that you try out the products now before they’re needed because the serving sizes may not be accurate such as dehydrated onions. She found that they do not reconstitute to the amount shown on the label. IOW, you’re going to run out of food before you expected.
We made strawberry powder this summer. It’s a great addition to a basic sugar cookie recipe.
L
how long can they actually last?...
I've heard that number 10 cans last a long time...
And as a seed, they need to be secure from rodents and bugs; same as rice .
Beans will cook easier and faster in a pressure cooker,
and the pressure cooker can also be used to sterilize and distil water, as well a pressure cook meats.
Hot bath caners are not recommended for canning meats (according to the Ball Canning Bible)
Some threads I hunted down so far.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1990507/posts?page=9901
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2181392/posts?page=1
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2299939/posts
Each of these are over 10000 replies. A wide variety of topics, not just prepping.
Sadly nw_arizona_granny passed away in 2011.
how long does Boost last?
Forgot to go back to the first post on the first link.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1990507/posts?page=1
The serving sizes suggested on the label is enough to nourish and nutrionally maintain the body - but you wont thrive or put on any weight.
I believe the portion sizes were designed for a dwarf - it is not uncommon for someone to have two or more portions to feel satisfied and satiated.
If you know ahead of time a storm or other short term emergency coming your way and suspect the power will be out, there are many things you can do to make life a bit more comfortable.
Fill every container you have with tap water.
Stuff the freezer with water jugs/bottles as the more that’s frozen, the longer it takes your food to thaw.
Cook up what doesn’t need refrigeration - baked goods will last a few days.
Cooked meals will last a couple days in a fridge without electricity.
Eat down on ice cream as that will melt first. Yippee!
Clean the house while you can.
Get the dishes and laundry done while there’s still water and electricity.
Sanitize the bathrooms and kitchen because you don’t want to start an emergency situation with an already dirty house.
Vacuum, sweep and mop.
Take a bath!
If you’re lucky and your trash pick up will come before a hurricane, then make sure everything that needs to be trashed is on the curb so it isn’t rotting in your house.
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