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 Food Storage Discussion 
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
You are welcome, my friend! The Ramen Noodle salad makes an awesome slaw.

I usually bring this to family gatherings, church and work potlucks. There is never anything left and folks always ask for the recipe! ;)

I usually make it with cabbage and add the sesame oil and the soy sauce.

Sounds strange, I know, but it really is good! Enjoy! :heart

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Mon Sep 06, 2010 7:29 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
{This is really beginning to piss me off; I can’t seem to type in the post window or the PM window without having it freeze up on me, and I have to sit impatiently for 10 to 20 seconds waiting for it to unfreeze so I can start typing again. I’m now typing it in my MS Word window, but WTF is going on?!? Am I the only one, or is this something everyone has been or is experiencing? It’s been happening for awhile now for me, but is getting worse lately.}

I have to admit I rarely venture off the main thread here and even then I feel so pressed for time between all the endeavors I have going, but this is an issue that does deserve its own thread, because when all is said and done we need to be putting our money where our mouth is - literally.

The first consideration you should be thinking about in stocking up is mobility. Are you already in your 'safe place'? That's the biggest worry, because most people making money to buy stuff are almost always in a city and therefore NOT in their 'safe place'. That's why you need everything at-the-ready, which is why I have my stuff in bins marked by months. Each bin can feed at least the 2 of us for a month in off-the-grid conditions. It contains the condiments, which I realized are much better stored in individual serving sizes (so whenever you go to McDonald’s or other fast-food joint, get a small handful. I even order my burgers with mayonnaise, so I have plenty of mayo packs and relish packs that can be mixed with the small cans of tuna for tuna fish on crackers. No need for refrigeration, which is my next point.

Consider how you are going to prepare your food; you’ll likely not have a grid to count on. It’ll be akin to conditions at the turn of the last century, and whatever electricity you have will be what you generate yourself, so put some time into addressing that. Once you have a source for making your own electricity, you can seriously consider refrigerating/freezing leftovers so they won’t go bad. Thus, small cans of tuna, individual packs of ramen noodles, and 14-16oz cans of soup/chili/veggies etc that can feed 2 people per day. Since crackers, honey and peanut butter are “non-perishable”, they can go without refrigeration, but most jams and jellies need it. Same with the larger #10 cans; sure, they’re cheaper, but they would be better used in cases where you have a family group you’re preparing for. (Dan and Marci would contribute those #10 cans to a stash being collected by Alan & Sandy G.; they were to be a ‘group’ and Marci even made a practice run to their planned ‘bunker location’ in Colorado years ago. Dan and Marci got those cans as part of their ‘wages’ in Majestic; they were courtesy of the welfare bureau of Utah – I forget the exact name, but it was printed right on the cans.)

So in my bins I have a rounded mix of tuna/mayo/relish packets, and a matching number of crackers, for at least 2 or 3 days a week. (One can between 2 people a day for one of 2 meals.) I have at least that many meals of Ramen noodle soups, together with several cans of Vienna sausage for the protein (using them in the Ramen soups are a staple for those on ‘limited income’.) I also have several boxes of pasta, which is matched with an equivalent amount of extra-virgin olive oil, or vegetable oil. And a canister of salt, for general cooking, in addition to the packets for the final eating. So; the pasta plus oil and salt can provide the starch for another 2-3 days a week, and for the remaining days I have cans of either chili or beef mac or spaghettios or ravioli, preferably the kind that have the pop-top lids that don’t require a can-opener. I even include a ladle/stirrer/handle and plastic strainer (got them at a dollar store) in each bin, so that 2 people can live off the contents of the one bin per month so long as they have the basic cooking pots/pans in a main storage container/bag/area, where the axe/hammer/fishing pole/tent/sleeping bag/first-aid kit etc are. Oh, and BTW, I even include 2 small plastic plates and several sporks and plastic eating utensils wrapped in plastic; you can get these at any KFC and even McDonald’s. Pick up a couple when you go there; you’ll have enough for you and your significant other for several months in no time.

I haven’t included cookies (because they go quick in the house, I can’t even get ahead by one package before ‘rotation’ scarfs them up before I have a chance to get another batch), but I have included honey and peanut butter. They alternate with the tuna for the attention of the crackers; I got 10 jars of peanut butter for a buck apiece about 3 weeks ago; saved $2.79 on each jar (they were originally $3.79/jar!). Last couple weeks Chef-Boyardee cans were on sale for $1 apiece; normally they’re on sale for $1.49 and usually $1.79 or more. Honey, alas, is very expensive these days – almost $3 for the smallest jar, usually. And rarely on sale. If only we didn’t have to refrigerate jelly; quart-size jars are on sale for a buck lately! Of course we made our own jellies when we were living in Alberta in ’03 and ’04.

I also include one of those family-size plastic jars of multi-vitamins for each bin box, to help compensate for those things we’ll miss due to no fresh veggies or fruits. Especially Vitamin D, which if we do face a lot of gloom afterwards (the sun being clouded over from all the volcanic ash) we’ll need lots of. Coffee is good to have, to help waken one up and jump-start the synapses, but I prefer stocking up on tea (less bulk, in case we have to be ultra-mobile in the short term) because it’s more easily sweetened for a refreshing sweet beverage.

(Didn’t know about the coffee creamer making powdered milk livable; wish we knew that when I was a 10-yr-old and traveling cross-country to see my step-mother’s relatives on the Indian reservation…..we would stop at a motel and the 4 of us boys and the 2 parentals would stuff into 1 room with 2 double-beds; we’d take turns or it was 3 to a bed, and we had cereal in the mornings with that awful powdered milk….ugh……but in an odd way I was thankful as the relatives we were going to see were living in extreme poverty, like they had in Appalachia.)

So, consider your hoarded pantry something you may be called upon to lug with you on short notice, meaning you’ll need a vehicle large enough to carry or haul it. I’d hate to see someone sitting on a thousand pounds of food and they only have a typical SUV, not to mention kids or pet dogs and cats, let alone no gasoline to get out of Dodge on, as the gas stations may all be shut down due to the grid going down. (Or intentionally turned off; make that con-VEEEEEN-iently turned off.)

Final note; I’m thinking of replacing my mid-size bins (not too big that it requires 2 people to carry one) with 5-gal buckets that are air-tight with screw-caps and able to withstand being heaved up in the air with the rest of the room, and crash back without being smashed open. Or being abruptly sent skidding down one side of the room due to the direction of gravity changing when the entire floor is “adjusted” on one side due to an earthquake fault or fissure opening up.)

Just my too sense for the moment; I’ve been focusing on making sure I’m putting in at least the minimal amount of preparation I can expect anyone else to make in advance, so there you have it.

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Mon Sep 06, 2010 11:35 pm
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Well thought out plan there DonD!! Your efforts and your level headed opinions are appreciated.

Living in a City makes this view imperative. Trust those in similar situations will consider this as an option, as well as where to go when that moment arrives. No good camping out on a free way in grid lock, as then you're sure going to have to feed the folk around you too.

We live in the stix - 50 miles from the nearest city and close to the mountains in a small holding where we have been prepping since 2003. So it is easier to envision what to do when TSHTF and we are 80 % complete on that plan. We have also started building root cellars and a "safe" room which we can secure safe passage for 7 days if need be under lock and key. This room is hidden into a underground location, and all I have to finalise is a decision whether we add some sort of surface lining for ELF's and radiation?!?

If we have to do a runner - we have a two week survival kit to get to a cave in the hills if need be. But this will done on foot and to avoid anarchy type attacks - IF it occurs. This IS Africa we live in, and folk may get desperate here when confronted with dire conditions??!?

Well - good luck to all reading here, as I think we don't have that long to see if this is going down or not.


:popcorn

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Tue Sep 07, 2010 2:31 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Don thanks for the feedback some great advice for sure...

In addtion to your relish and Mayo packs may I also add indivdual sugar & creamer packs for your tea and coffee.

Also my mom has always told me that Peanut Butter can go rancid if left too long but I always like you thought it was safe to store for long periods of time :dunno

Can anyone else help us with this one?

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Tue Sep 07, 2010 5:14 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
L2L wrote:
Don thanks for the feedback some great advice for sure...

In addtion to your relish and Mayo packs may I also add indivdual sugar & creamer packs for your tea and coffee.

Also my mom has always told me that Peanut Butter can go rancid if left too long but I always like you thought it was safe to store for long periods of time :dunno

Can anyone else help us with this one?


Creamer packs also tend to go Rank! unles you meen the powdered creamer packs L2L Yes Peanut Butter can go rancid or Hard 'n crumbly and honey Will crystallize it's not if but when it crystallizes and here is a recipe to get the FULL FLAVOR of milk back!

buy 1 2ltr milk bottle - Drink 1ltr! (no not out of the bottle in a glass)
buy a 500G thickened cream (must be THICKENED or it wont work)
buy some powdered milk
and a teaspoon full of butter (Not Margarine)

Preparation (yes I have done this myself)
Add the thickened cream to the 1Ltr of milk in the bottle first then put the cap back on and shake it untill the sloshing sound stops open it and add approx two measuring cups of powdered milk and the teaspoon of butter into the mix put milk lid back on and shake again for another 3-15 mins alternatively if you have a Blender put all the ingredients into that Making sure you put the 2 cups of powdered milk and teaspoon of butter in first and put it on it's highest level of power blend it well then add the cream blend it again then the milk blend it again untill it looks completely blended and slightly lemon in color

It's Very Very Tasty (and fatttening :yamon )

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Tue Sep 07, 2010 6:10 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Quote:
Also my mom has always told me that Peanut Butter can go rancid if left too long but I always like you thought it was safe to store for long periods of time


Yes, it will especially if you are storing "natural" peanut butter meaning the type you have to stir the oil down. It is, after all, mostly oil.

Never had this problem, though, peanut butter never lasts in my house! :roflmao :roll

Thanks for the milk recipe, Freak! Yes, we are talking about non-dairy creamer! Add some to the powdered milk and then shake like crazy. Stick it down in the ice chest and pile tons of ice on top. Once it is really, really cold it isn't half bad. My DH loves to add a drop or two of vanilla extract to the mixture, too. Kinda tastes like melted ice cream. :lol

Thanks for the feedback, Don! Your suggestions are great ones. I can tell you that the bug out bag needs to be concealable. During the Hurricane Rita evacuations, my husband's kin folks were stuck in a massive traffic jam for nearly 24 hours.

Folks were walking up to the vehicles asking for food and water. A couple of times the men in the group had to threaten folks with weapons because they could see into the vehicles.

So don't use picnic baskets, plastic bags, etc. for your bug out bags. Duffel bags work well but they can be suspiciously lumpy especially to the desperate.

The main thing to remember, IMHO, is to store only what you eat. I've said over and over that you really need to practice 24-48 hours without any power, water, etc. You will immediately find the holes in your preps and better then than when you really need them.

Some here know that the morning after Hurricane Ike I discovered a HUGE hole in my preps. East Texas and I buy coffee beans because our coffee pot grinds them before making the coffee. Uh yeah - I totally forgot to store ground coffee. :embarressed

Had a percolator (non-electric), water and everything - just no ground coffee. Well, necessity IS the mother of invention, right? So a ziploc bag and a hammer came to the rescue. :crylaugh

A pot of coffee later and all was nearly right with the world - despite the damage, no power, etc. :yamon

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Tue Sep 07, 2010 6:27 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
:spit

Hey BB - that was excellent, as I have never been desperate enough on lack of coffee to even remotely consider your solution for grinds (smashies?!?) but that will sure go into my desperate recipe list!!

:roflmao

As far as I have experienced, peanuts or any nut for that matter will go off if exposed to too much oxygen. We have opened bottles of peanut butter after 2 years of storage which were fine to consume. (We have been practicing for a while now ;) ) It was a good brand though. Not any oil visible though.

I have a old mate who's a fundi on survival prep and he has 200L drums he stores his dry goods like flour, maize etc. which he slow feeds nitrogen into under slight pressure to keep the contents free of oxygen. He has a large family though and so it's an alternative if you are staying put.

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Tue Sep 07, 2010 9:05 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Some great ideas in this thread already keep em comin folks.

Maybe we should do a shelter thread next, say one for warm climate and one for cold? :hmm

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Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:23 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Oooh - we haven't started on the creature comforts yet!!

What about loo paper, paper towels, shampoo but NO razors though! :silly

And there is a pile of these I can add, but rather not... for now.

I have only seen one of these mentioned - plastic knives and forks!


:mrgreen: :tounge

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Tue Sep 07, 2010 4:49 pm
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Awe the comforts in life :roflmao

I have them stored as well but again unless the SHTF big time I plan to SIP (Shelter in Place) in my home.

If I have to bug out in hurry that's a whole new ballgame

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Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:21 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Sky wrote:
Oooh - we haven't started on the creature comforts yet!!

What about loo paper, paper towels, shampoo but NO razors though! :silly

And there is a pile of these I can add, but rather not... for now.

I have only seen one of these mentioned - plastic knives and forks!


:mrgreen: :tounge


Plastic knifes, forks, spoons, razor blades forget Loo roll wash your "ahem" off in the shower what shower you say!

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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Need a BBQ :clap or a Portable Pizza oven :crazy

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Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:52 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
scroll this page at the bottom is a caravan for food preparation

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This baby runs off your car's lighter plug

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Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:04 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Oooooh, L2L, I’m envious. :clap :clap :clap

Very neat stash of foods there. You’re well on your way.

A few observations, though, from your photos - but for the benefit of any who plan to stash away a good pantry:

Most people think of survival necessities in terms of:

1. Food
2. Water
3. Shelter

True. But actually, the priorities are:

1. Water
2. Shelter (thermal protection)
3. Food

The most vital ‘missing ingredient’ in most food plans is sufficient potable water. A healthy adult can survive for nearly 40 days without food, but only three days without water, and not much longer in frozen tundra. Without food, you are weeks away from extinction, but without drinkable water you are screwed within 72 hours. It is the most crucial survival ingredient by far; you can never have too much on hand. Because when your power is out or the water lines broken, how can you ‘boil water’ for safety? Believe me, you don’t want to have to deal with cholera, dysentery and other killers by drinking unsanitary water under duress.


• Protecting what you have: Those 5 gallon water bottles are a good start but stacked pretty high for safe storage, L2L – if full of water they may well ‘explode’ from their own weight as they topple to the ground in a quake. Finding secure water storage space is a beech – but it’s one of the most crucial things to have stashed on solid footing.

As an illustration, here’s a excellent and eye-opening vid of a cruise ship in a storm at sea – the camera is bolted down, so it doesn’t show the ship’s (major quake-like/tsunami) roll, but watch what happens to anything that’s not bolted down:



And another, even scarier, starts quietly, but....




• Don’t forget that you also have up to 55 gallons of fresh water in your water heater – but the heater itself must be strongly secured to the wall with earthquake restraining straps to prevent it from toppling and collapsing in a quake. Straps are available from Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100067210&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=100067210&ci_src=14110944&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D26X-_-100067210

• My “millennium” water storage area would resemble an old-fashioned hay or corn crib: solid 2X4 framing low to the ground to securely enclose perhaps sixteen to twenty (or more if space available) large bottles, with another row stacked inverted into the spaces atop those bottles, secured with a second tier of tight framing to prevent motion. (It’s on my honey-do ;) list...). Or consider laying the large bottles on their side, then stack and brace.

• Store water in more than one location in case your structure collapses in such a way that you can’t reach your supply or it is damaged. Store water close to an exterior wall to take advantage of ‘the triangle of life’ voids in a collapse. http://www.amerrescue.org/triangleoflife.htm

• Store water in more than one kind of container – take advantage of end-of-summer sales on cases of smaller bottles. Vital for grab ‘n’ run, can be tossed singly into small spaces, also good for sharing.

• Add a portable gravity-operated water filter system, like the Berkefeld or Katadyn to your camping stash for sterilizing flood or river water in case. I’ve added a stash of white sandbox sand and charcoal (without! lighter fluid built-in) to layer in a large pail for pre-filtering muddy water before sterilizing, along with a sketch of how-to, in case I’m incoherent or demised at the time. Learn how to collect rainwater off your roof, or gather dew into a water still.

• In fact, I’m compiling a binder of vital survival information and instructions stashed with my emergency supplies, since the internet will likely be toast when it’s needed. And yes, some of the info has multiple copies, since others will also need it and I’m not parting with my only copy of “Safe Places”. http://www.zetatalk.com/info/tinfo242.htm

I have spent the past year:

• Taking careful note of what we do actually eat around here that can be stored, since our normal diet leans heavily to fresh fish, fruits and veggies bought daily from the local markets. I’ve had to consider canned and storable substitutes.

• I’ve been marking packages by month/year of purchase so that I can track freshness, as well as estimate what constitutes “a year’s supply” of anything as I use it.


• Major investment – as available - has been put toward a separate stash of freeze-dried staples, canned in nitrogen and stable for up to 25 years. I’m buying these a bit at a time, good for powdered eggs, cheese, chicken and beef, along with some quick-prep meals. (A lot of experts do not recommend MRE’s as they go bad too quickly.)


• I’ve adopted a “use one = buy two” approach to grocery and toiletries shopping, to build our pantry realistically, as well as taking advantage of specials and sales. Building a stock of soaps, toothpaste, shampoo and other daily essentials too.


• Researching, researching, researching: learning everything I can about food and water storage and preparation under duress, and camping basics (I’m basically a city girl, but a decent cook.)


• I’ve been accumulating the wherewithal to assemble a solar oven, stuffing its crate full of aluminum foil, black heat-proof paint, cookpots, hardware, recipes and assembly instructions. This stuff is so incredibly cheap now it’s practically free – but will be impossible to get when it’s needed.

• Also stashed a cheap/cheap/cheap but priceless Swedish Firesteel flint (aka emergency firestarter) (from Amazon.com) for when the matches run out.


• Along with heritage (non-hybrid) seeds (stored in our freezer for now), I’ve stashed two large rolls of clear poly sheeting (from Home Depot), duct tape, rope etc for a greenhouse or emergency shelter repairs. Again, so cheap now, so priceless later.

Important: I’ve figured I can easily stash enough carbs: pasta, flour, rice, canned veggies etc. And ‘pretty good’ amounts of protein: canned tuna, ham, beans (in combo with rice or grain), freeze-dried cheese, eggs etc. But sufficient fats are a real beast – they go rancid fairly quickly and rancid oils are quite unhealthy, so a lot of what I’ve stored as oils, peanut butter etc will probably go to waste – and I hate to waste anything! – but fats are an absolute necessity for life, preventing so-called ‘rabbit starvation’ from excess proteins without fats http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation Gotta have fats, so I buy olive oil in gallon metal containers when on sale, decant into bottles for kitchen use – but keep a sealed gallon in the stash. Under duress, I figure I can use the rancid oil as lamp oil....(Recall posted this excellent How To Make an Oil Lamp From a Bottle here: http://www.thegoldenthread.info/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1592 [Note to self: Get more freeze-dried butter.. :hmm .]

Cheers,

Selene


Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:41 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
:clap Well done, Selene!

Don't forget you have water in the tanks of your toilets, too. Not the bowl - the tanks.

Because I live in a semi-tropical environment, I also have a rain barrel on the side of my house attached to the gutters. We've had so much rain in the last two days from Hermine I've almost convinced East Texas we need another one.

Right now, I use this water to fill my koi pond (another source of water) and to water the various pots, whiskey barrels, etc. in my yard that the sprinkler system doesn't quite reach.

In a disaster scenario (or flu epidemic) this water will be used to flush toilets, bathe, wash clothes, etc. It can also be used for drinking (of course with purification first).

I've also tucked away an unopened tarp to use as a water collector for drinking water. :mrgreen:

I also fill up gallon jugs with water and place them in the small freezer in my garage as space becomes available.

I agree with you completely about the oil issue. Crisco says its shortening is good for two years unopened and for one year after opening. Yeah, I know, shortening isn't the healthiest oil there is but, hey, it IS easy to store.

Because my husband is diabetic I have food storage problems that are a bit more troublesome. I don't store a lot of pasta, rice, etc. I have some but probably not nearly as much as most folks.

We tend to run heavy on vegetables, beans, and fruits. I also store grits, cream of wheat and oatmeal.

I don't store anything we don't eat. We learned a lot about what we will/won't eat during a disaster after Hurricane Ike. Two weeks with intermittent power makes ya really picky about what you will eat. Trust me on this one!

Make sure you have some type of comforting food stored. We found that a quickie breakfast and lunch were okay but we needed a hot, homey meal at night. There was just something about the sun going down and the stove going with something good that seemed to lift our spirits after a long, hot, humid day. It didn't have to be something elaborate, either. Heck a can of chili warming while the spaghetti cooked was just the thing! A can of soup jazzed up with added veggies, some crackers and some canned pudding did the trick as well.

Crackers are the one item I have difficulty storing due to the high humidity in my area. We used a LOT of crackers after Hurricanes Rita and Ike.

There's just something about crunchy foods that seem to settle the nerves! Candy - especially hard candy - is also very useful.

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Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:06 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Aha! Crisco! :brockoli :brockoli :brockoli

Thanks, Blue - excellent idea. :agree

Sealed in a can and suffused with BHT (antioxidant), the danged stuff should be practically impervious for even five years. Stores nicely, too.

I'm with you on the importance - nay - necessity of some decent food to help you through hard times. Ramen - bless it! - can only take you so far... Which is why, throughout history and in all cultures and economies, the celebration of a feast with lots of food has been so critical for community sanity. Enough good food is something that keeps us alive in more ways than one.

Cheers,

Selene

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Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:37 am
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Along with sufficient fats for health, and some to burn as light, another important consideration is fuel for cooking.

Available fuel should be hoarded like gold - so, with that in mind, I've invested $25 bucks in a solar camping shower: the poly bag of water heats in the sun, then open the valve to use. Saves tons of fuel used to heat water... Available at Amazon or EBay.

I've also purchased a Jet-Boil camping stove - most highly efficient in its use of cannned sterno fuel. The sterno itself has to be carefully stored - it can evaporate, but it is highly efficient for boiling water for dehydrated meals, heating soup or instant coffee when firing up a larger BBQ would be extravagant.

Also stashed a large jar of Vaseline. Yes. To mix into small balls with my stash of - I'm not kidding - dryer lint. Makes a good fast-igniting tinder to start wood or charcoal fires. Kept by itself, the Vaseline is not particularly flammable and keeps forever.

Because, remember, when the power is out, so is your electric stove - for a year or longer?

Think. :hmm

Cheers.

Selene


Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:56 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
This is one of the best threads we have done on this issue for a while :clap :clap :clap

Selene for the record those water bottles are empty and only stored that way to conserve space for the time being ;)

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Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:43 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Quote:
Also stashed a large jar of Vaseline. Yes. To mix into small balls with my stash of - I'm not kidding - dryer lint. Makes a good fast-igniting tinder to start wood or charcoal fires. Kept by itself, the Vaseline is not particularly flammable and keeps forever.


Selene - you rock! :heart

I have a gas stove so the only thing I can't use during a power outage is the oven. :roll

I also have a propane stove and a propane hot water heater. The hot water heater is by Coleman and it is awesome! Nearly instant hot water and it comes with its own 5 gallon container to hold water.

One topic none of us have addressed (yet) is the issue of no power during cold weather. Bringing this up now because the Farmer's Almanac is predicting an ice box for the middle of the US this winter - including ME! :huh :noway

I have a fireplace in my home (don't laugh - ya'll Yankees!) and I buy a cord of wood each year. Yes, I sometimes get antsy and burn my first fire with the AC on. :embarressed :crylaugh

What are those of you who live in snow country gonna do with no power? How will you keep warm?

Shoot! I barely had enough sweaters to last me 2 months last year! :dunno

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Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:25 pm
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Good question on the heating of space BB. We live in the mountains with temperatures between 0C and 10C on average in winter here. Our electricity is supplied with the courtesy of a $100 levy before drawing an amp, so we have been using propane in 3 gas heaters when we are not up to fetching wood for our two fireplaces in wet weather. We also obtained a second hand wood burning stove for the outage days coming. We have them anyway as our power utility has been cooking the books for the past 12 years, so they can't do total supply if the demand is excessive. Black-outs are the result - so we have been practicing.

We also have a diesel generator for when the supply is lacking, but it runs diesel at about one litre per hour. We are stocking up with spare fuel canisters, but that is not guaranteed when the power goes (no pump supplies will work.)

Wood is the answer if you have access to stock of fuel. Luckily we have forests surrounding us - no problem there ... :mrgreen:

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Thu Sep 09, 2010 5:49 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Sky - I have a small generator, too, courtesy of FEMA after Ike. It is not diesel like yours but it is big enough to give us some light and power the TV and a fan.

Like you, the fuel is a problem because without power gas pumps don't work.

I'm working this year to purchase some more warm sweaters for the two of us. East Texas is looking at me like I've lost my mind! :roflmao

But we need them not only because we've lost weight but because we could face a bone chilling, wet winter. :gah

I have plenty of homemade quilts stored and afhans, too. But the problem for me is the damp cold. We don't usually have snow like last winter but we do have lots of rain in the winter. Keeping the damp out with no power will be a problem.

I purchased a portable clothes line when we had our camper and I can dry clothes in my garage should there be no power. I remember what it was like hanging wet clothes outside in the winter in Oklahoma before my Mother got a dryer.

GAH! Can you say raw, red, aching, wet hands? :gah

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Thu Sep 09, 2010 6:22 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
DonDep, just following up on your excellent and very helpful post. (Plastics forks and spoons! Acch! :doh Onto my get list....)

DonDep wrote:
If only we didn’t have to refrigerate jelly….


Actually, you don’t need to refrigerate a jam or jelly – even after it’s opened (just keep a lid on it). Reason? Sugar itself is a preservative.

That’s one of the principal reasons sugar – and sugar cane cultivation in the tropics – became so important economically in the 18th century: the sugar could be used to affordably preserve fruits (and their vitamins) without refrigeration.

It’s a little-known property of sugars (and especially honey) that it is anti-microbial as well as tasty. Honey has wound-healing properties:

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey

Wikipedia wrote:
For at least 2700 years, honey has been used by humans to treat a variety of ailments through topical application, but only recently have the antiseptic and antibacterial properties of honey been chemically explained.

Wound gels that contain antibacterial raw honey and have regulatory approval for wound care are now available to help conventional medicine in the battle against drug resistant strains of bacteria MRSA [Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus]. As an antimicrobial agent honey may have the potential for treating a variety of ailments. One New Zealand researcher says a particular type of honey (Manuka honey) may be useful in treating MRSA infections. Antibacterial properties of honey are the result of the low water activity causing osmosis, hydrogen peroxide effect, high acidity, and the antibacterial activity of methylglyoxal.

Honey appears to be effective in killing drug-resistant biofilms which are implicated in chronic rhinosinusitis.

Osmotic effect

Honey is primarily a saturated mixture of two monosaccharides. This mixture has a low water activity; most of the water molecules are associated with the sugars and few remain available for microorganisms, so it is a poor environment for their growth. If water is mixed with honey, it loses its low water activity, and therefore no longer possesses this antimicrobial property.

Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is formed in a slow-release manner by the enzyme glucose oxidase present in honey. It becomes active only when honey is diluted, requires oxygen to be available for the reaction (thus it may not work under wound dressings, in wound cavities or in the gut), is active only when the acidity of honey is neutralised by body fluids, can be destroyed by the protein-digesting enzymes present in wound fluids, and is destroyed when honey is exposed to heat and light. Honey chelates and deactivates free iron, which would otherwise catalyze the formation of oxygen free radicals from hydrogen peroxide, leading to inflammation. Also, the antioxidant constituents in honey help clean up oxygen free radicals present.

C6H12O6 + H2O + O2 → C6H12O7 + H2O2 (glucose oxidase reaction)

When honey is used topically (as, for example, a wound dressing), hydrogen peroxide is produced by dilution of the honey with body fluids. As a result, hydrogen peroxide is released slowly and acts as an antiseptic.

In diabetic ulcers

Topical honey has been used successfully in a comprehensive treatment of diabetic ulcers when the patient cannot use other topical antibiotics.



Every prep kit should have a stash of honey in your meds and first-aid section for this reason. It is a good (and renewable) last-resource antiseptic for wounds. Keep another stash for eating.

Sugar itself also stores excellently as long as it is kept dry. And you'll probably end up needing more than you think for making feel-good treats, etc over the long haul. I've put away an entire bin of 5 lb bags of sugar - won't need to rotate that supply for years, perhaps decades as long as bins are critter-proof. (I line the bin with a large clear garbage /recycle bag before filling with paper sugar bags - if some garbags are supposedly made with a built-in insecticide [don't know...] that's not, in my view, a bad idea as long as the bags don't contact the food directly. There can be nothing more appalling than opening your stash of flour, beans or rice and finding it's become bug-infested.... :awe )

P.S. To 'repair' crystallized honey, heat the container gently in hot water - not boiling or you'll crack or melt the container!

Cheers,

Selene


Thu Sep 09, 2010 9:49 am
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Some more GREAT tips, this thread just keeps on getting better :clap :clap

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Thu Sep 09, 2010 3:30 pm
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Well, hey, L2L - :embarressed

I think some of us have been luckily learning (even by osmosis - it was not on the agenda!) the "old faith" of our mothers and grandmothers as they "put up preserves" every fall and "put aside" some of the harvest every season into a good pantry or cold cellar.

Didn't know, really, what we were learning. All that canning and preserving. :huh Didn't understand that it was a thread of civilization and purpose woven - lo! - these many centuries ago and even longer.

And never suspected that we might have to teach these same things, someday.

But we do know it. (Thanks to God and all the good spirits! )

So. Yeah. We're gonna spill.

Great thread.
Because, indeed, ya never know..... :elephant :banana :brockoli

Cheers,

Selene


Thu Sep 09, 2010 5:32 pm
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Post Re: Food Storage Discussion
Ya, I agree Selene, we have a lot of common sense too that will be valuable, but I think practice makes for good prep application later. No good being in a flap and forgetting hte basics hey?

One thing we have not dug into is health support and remedy. As we are not pill poppers and doctors friends, we practice herbology (and common sense taught by grandmother) which got us helping neighbours and friends with cures and remedies for the usual and sometimes unusual ailments. But we are by no means experts in all fields of meds and so it might be useful to banter around?

My first contribution (we use it often) is Calcium. The cause of many conditions if your short on it. Our application we thrive on is Urticalcin (a Vogel micro tab of natural sources) but we also use Stinging Nettle plant dried and crushed into sachetes which stores well. Simply make a tea or add it to foods, salads and you have the most excellent source of calcium!


:tounge

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