[Kartographer]

A great PDF file with facts, history, methods and recipes for dehydrated food storage, making and use.

[Kartographer]

Preppers ping!

[Nailbiter]

ping to pdf

[Feckless]

Waaay back in '72 as a PVT E-1 one of our payday commissary splurges was a can of dehydrated pork chops about the size of a 3lb coffee can and weighed about 12oz :)

They were about as thick as lunch meat but were good to us at the time. We froze the re-hydrated chops we didn't eat.

Amazing how you could live on $288 a month base pay.

[passionfruit]

I got a new dehydrator at Bass Pro a few months back, when it was on sale for $36. I’ve been dehydrating up a storm! Apples, carrots, onions, persimmons, sweet potatoes, bananas, corn, potatoes, lots of potatoes. By the way, potatoes must be blanched after they are cut, and before dehydrating. Otherwise they turn black.

I’m buying the same amounts of produce I used to get when the kids still lived at home. Using what I can over a week or two, then dehydrating the rest, so nothing goes to waste. I’ve cooked with dehydrated food a few times now. Rehydrate in hot water, and cook as usual. Tasty, nutritious, and it will keep us alive!

[redfreedom]

I saved the PDF for future ref.

As a little kid I recall my mom always having a minimum of 2 weeks food on hand, not counting the freezer and canned stuff. She did all baking. Today we follow in that tradition.

Today we’d be called “preppers”, just one of the many things libs despise. It’s just a insurance policy against storms and natural disaster, but today it’s also a policy against government made disaster, a home defense against libs, which is why they detest it.

[bgill]

Where the heck is this person shopping? I pay 50 cents a can so 24 cans equal $12, not the $38 she’s paying.

If the power is gone, know how to build a solar dehydrator:

http://www.offthegridnews.com/2012/04/16/how-to-build-a-solar-food-dehydrator/

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry/sun.html

[PA Engineer]

Thanks for the ping and link. BTTT.

[Marcella]

Here's what I did:
The plan is to eat stored grocery store food first. When that is gone, go to Walton Feed long term dehydrated food. I first bought the long term food, good for 20-25 years and powdered milk good for 10 years at least. That pdf file is wrong about the shelf life of dehydrated food. She says good for 10 years and that isn't true - it's according to what you buy as dairy has a shorter shelf life, like 10+ years, but the rest is 20-25 years. After I got the dehydrated food, then I stored grocery store food.

I got dehydrated food from Walton Feed. Dehydrated food is cheaper than freeze dried so I got dehydrated which allowed me to have more food. Before I bought I made menus for two weeks to have different foods every day. Then I added up the amount of each food it would take to store for the term I wanted.

Then, I ordered “some”. I didn't want a truck in front of my house unloading ALL of the food at one time. That would attract attention, so I bought it in groups and waited a few days between each order so it was delivered at least a week apart.

If you ask me what I have, I can't tell you because I don't remember. However, I have a hard copy I made as I went along - listing each food and how much there is and I have a hard copy of the menus.

If you buy powdered eggs you can't eat scrambled eggs with that - those are for recipes. “Egg mix” however, makes scrambled eggs. Any form of eggs is expensive, so for recipes I use “Egg Replacer”. An egg is in a recipe to hold ingredients together. Egg Replacer does just that. There are 113 “eggs” in a pound box.

This product is made by Ener-G Foods in Seattle. You can put “Egg Replacer” in search and find this product. A box is not expensive but I don't remember how much a box was. I zipped each box in a gallon freezer bag to keep out moisture.

I didn't buy powdered cheese as that is for recipes and too expensive. Instead, I have Molly McButter cheese sprinkles to sprinkle over veggies, whatever. It has a good strong cheese flavor. I can make cheese to hold in your hand and eat, by using a simple recipe in “Eating Off The Grid”.

I didn't buy butter powder as that is only for recipes and too expensive. I didn't get canned butter because it is too expensive. I use Crisco butter flavor for recipes that require butter and I have Molly McButter sprinkles for putting that on top of various foods when served.

Milk: There is instant milk and powdered milk and they are not the same. Instant milk is in grocery stores. Walton and other companies have that plus milk powder. Milk powder is cheaper. Instant milk dissolves quickly in water. Milk powder has to be stirred a bit to dissolve. For long term storage, I got powder since it is cheaper, from Walton for long term storage AND instant milk to start with from the grocery store.

Instant milk from the grocery has Vitamins D and A added. Long term milk, either instant or powdered from Walton or company like Walton, does NOT have these vitamins added. If you have children and are using milk powder or instant from a long term storage company, stick them in the sun for 15 minutes a day to get vitamin D. In a long term emergency with no power, the kids and you will be outside more than you are now. Kids won't have TV or computer games then.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I can not stress enough that you have store what you use and use what you store. If you do not then when the time comes you have to use what you stored you will find the pot of veggie soup you meant to make now fills two pots and is working on a third. :)

Right now things like that are funny and you can store the left overs in the fridge while you figure out how to use them.

In a crisis, not so funny.