All Things Prepping, Simple Living, Back to the Basics [Survival Today, an on going thread] Coronavirus special thread

3/24/20 | Cottonball

[CottonBall]

This is our ongoing prepper thread, re-invented to be more specific to prepping for, and of course during, pandemics.

Where gave you found your preps have withstood this test? What would you like to have done differently? What are your current prepping plans?

[CottonBall]

That sounds good. Do they stay crunchy?

[metmom]

I believe so.

I can’t eat them cause of those danged food allergies, but mr. mm even likes them, which was a great surprise to me.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I tend to just wax my cheese. As there is just the two of us now I cut the cheese into four oz blocks and dip it in four layers of cheese wax and stick it on the shelf.

I have a cool basement though so your millage may vary.

Note: do not do this with cream cheese. It tends to melt into the wax and make a mess.

[little jeremiah]

That’s interesting. How cool is your basemet? Here the summers are hot and I have a cool pantry but I use a small A/C on hot days, as I store all my herbs there too and heat is bad for them.

[CottonBall]

How do you heat your cheese wax? Sounds like a great idea.

[CottonBall]

This is your ping to the.All Things Prepping, Simple Living, Back to the Basics [Survival Today, an on going thread] Coronavirus special thread

This week's topic is Using Egg Powder and Storing Chocolate at Post #186

If you want off/on this list, just let me know.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I used to use a double boiler but now I use an old crock pot. You do need to do a triple dip if you are going to store it on the shelf. My basement stays about 55 degrees so you might want to add that in.

[CottonBall]

I have numerous cans of egg powder and the only thing I have really been using them for is egg washes. They are great for that, they don’t can’t clumpy and you can get a consistent coat on the bread or whatever it is.

But at this rate I’m going to have to throw out all but one can eventually, LOL.

So I need to learn how to cook with it, maybe make scrambled eggs?

Has anyone used it in baked goods?

[CottonBall]

I didn’t know cheese could ever be shelf-stable. I thought it had to be refrigerated after it’s curing or whatever you call it. That’s pretty neat.

You have a much better basement, my stays about 65. I was disappointed about that when we first moved here.

[CottonBall]

In relating to the virus and storing crucial items, I wanted to tell you about my storing chocolate.

I tried 2 ways, one was with a FoodSaver and either FoodSaver bags or in a mason jar with the jar sealer. With the food saver bags some of the chocolate got crushed, even though I stopped the vacuuming process early. So not all the air was removed. In the Mason jar, they stayed in good shape but the seal on those mason jars never seem to be very good with the food savers. Some do fail after a while.

The second way was I stuck them in a mason jar with an oxygen absorber. Or some in a mylar bag with an oxygen absorber and then sealed with my really cool hair crimper. Can’t believe how easy that thing is. Can’t believe I spent so much time using an iron and a two by four.

So all this took place about a year ago. In my boredom Sheltering in place, I decided to check out the chocolate. I mainly stored Italian Baci candies, if you know what they are. Dark chocolate, hazelnuts, heaven! The chocolate in the FoodSaver bag was just a little bit off-color, you know when the chocolate loses its Sheen and has a few white spots. I had one mason jar feels like a FoodSaver fail, but I had one left. The chocolate looks like and tasted like when I put it in. The chocolate stored with oxygen absorbers also looked and tasted like they were brand new.

A year may not have been a long enough test. I’ll have to buy some more chocolate if I ever get to leave the house and try it again for maybe 2 or 3 years. What I’m mainly concerned with is at what point does the fat go Rancid. Then it would be inedible. I’ll have to find out if there’s a chocolate I don’t like to do this test with. I would hate to waste something good.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

It does not stay good forever I would think but the reports say 25 years if waxed properly. From personal experience I know that the cheese I put up four years ago is still good and tasty.

I have not tried it with any of the blue cheeses so I have no idea how that would work.

But for cheddar, gouda, swiss and edam it does great.

[CJ Wolf]

I have chickens for eggs, chocolate is a different story.

[V K Lee]

After several months and a hiatus of ROKU, today dug deep into the apps the service is now offering. Was I surprised.

In addition to a number of FAITH BASED CHANNELS, they have included channels such as OLD SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES, and one which grabbed my attention for this thread.

PRIMITIVE CHANNEL
https://channelstore.roku.com/details/580751/primitive-channel

Also they have included channels to learn another language, learning to knit — a vast number of categories have been added. In one of these categories is an app for live streaming for FOX NEWS CHANNEL, for those who still enjoy watching this network. Unfortunately, OAN is not yet offered.

ROKU APP STORE:
https://channelstore.roku.com/browse

[greeneyes]

I had a big can of egg white powder—had to get it for my Dad. His doctor wanted him to have extra egg whites for the protein, and just eating a bunch of egg whites was enough to gag after a day or two.

So we added it to biscuits or any baked product, smoothies, and meringue desserts. I do have some whole egg product that I haven't opened yet and won't unless we run out of eggs and can't order replacements with a pickup order.

We had some egg powder years ago that I used on baking and it was ok. Also, I'll mention that flax seed and gelatin can be used instead of eggs in some recipes—I've never tried it though. The gelatin would last for a long time, so I stocked quite a bit of it as a just in case—a few years back.

I add a scoop of gelatin to a cup of my bone broth-it adds 11 grams of protein to the broth.

I also bought some smaller packets of whole eggs in order to make mayo or Caesar dressing—just can't convince myself to use raw eggs for that. Those packets also won't be used unless I run out of mayo and Caesar dressing and can't reorder due to shortages.

Also wondering if anyone else is having trouble restocking their flour supplies? I was going to order a couple of bags just to avoid opening my long term cans—everywhere I looked was out of stock.

So far, I've made some home made bread and crockpot yogurt to avoid a grocery pickup.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

No flour in our area.

We got "discovered" by the hordes of locus.

[greeneyes]

It’s amazing is it not? I knew the toilet paper would go fast, but didn’t really think the flour would. I may plant a little more wheat this year than I have in prior years-just in case. LOL

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Yeah, I really can not see that many people making bread.

But maybe I wrong them. They cleaned out the canned bread case too.

I am just glad I have my stash. Biscuits are a MUST on Saturday and pancakes on Sunday. I think I would face a revolt if I tried to substitute toast.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Is wheat easy to grow? I am thinking of adding in another field half some kind of wheat and half oats.

[greeneyes]

Ha. We haven’t used that much in the past-since the kids are grown. I’m supposed to be a low carb eater. I bought flour in 2017 and dry canned it into Qt. jars—still have 3 Qts. left. But we’ll use more during this period—just to avoid the store.

Picked up another 5 lbs. of flour, and a few boxes of no knead bread mixes back in January. Usually get the low carb bread or tortillas at the store.

I have enough current supply to make 15 loaves before I have to open the long term stash.

[greeneyes]

Yes it is very easy. I usually plant winter wheat. You plant it after the first frost and basically ignore it till harvest time.

If you have a lot of wind storms, might need to encircle it with chicken wire or something so it doesn't blow over.

I harvest it by hand just cut off long stalks and stick in a vase till it's good and dry, then beat it against a bucket, then you throw it up in the air in front of a fan to get rid of the chaff.

Vacuum seal in mason jars with desiccant and oxygen absorber. Grind it when needed.