The wife and I are working on getting our long term food storage up to were we have a years supply.
As of now we are working on the basic five.
Wheat - we are buying this in #10 cans trying to get 600 pounds each that way we will have half to be eaten and half to trade or plant.
We have learned that you want a hard winter wheat with less than 10% moisture content with 12 to 14% protein
If you buy wheat make sure it is not some kind of hybrid that will not sprout.
powdered milk-We are also buying this in a # 10 can we are shooting for 100 pounds each.
salt- picked up 4 salt blocks from the feed store
honey- We are thinking of 5 gallons. Sassy is helping us out on that one [cool]
vitamin-mineral supplements- 4 bottles of 500
If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them,W
Beans! Good for protein.
Some decent spices. (Tony's Cajun comes to mind)
Sugar.
pasta, assorted
canned butter
vegetable oil
rice
canned sardines, (keep almost forever)
and more beans... I'm in the SW, can't go w/o beans here
peanut butter
nuts (almonds)
coffee beans
chocolate
Thanks Guys,
Canned butter- were can I get that ??? that sounds like a good thing to have.
Just got done cleaning and putting up about 50 pounds of sweet potatoes. I rap mine in news paper.
But I have put them in sacks of feed or straw. The main thing is to keep them dry.
They only last of a year or two.
Here in California they only pick a certain size and shape. The rest are plowed under.
So if you know a farmer that grows sweets you can usually go out in the fields and find some good ones that they left.
This year they picked, and then had guys picking up all the rest for making fuel out of them He told me like they do with sugar beets.
Complex carbohydrates- Wheat is a great start. Some flour on hand is good to have. It saves you from having to do work later. Pasta is good too.
Simple carbohydrates- Sugar or honey. Sugar is much cheaper.
Fats- any oil is good. Keeps well. Some canned butter for diversity.
Protein - Mostly beans, some canned meat.
I always like having extras of sugar and oil. It has more flexibility and energy density. You can use the sugar with yeast to make alcohol. This can power an engine or be traded with a neighbor. Oil can also be used as a substitute in diesel engines.
These are long term use items. I like the idea of chocolate or candy bars for emergencies. Great energy and brings up an association with good memories in the time of an emergency. Something that give you a psychological boost in addition to sustenance is always a plus.
You can make canned butter easy enough. Just type it into google and you will find instructions.
I dunno squirl seems like a lot of work to can butter. First you have to buy a cow, then you have to....
all good ideas. i found canned ham at the dollar store and bought one. it was better tasting then spam in a can about twice the size of spam for only a dollar. now we are talking survivor food here but it would last forever(think sardines) and make a good addition to your store house.
powderesd butter in sealed containers is available. here is one place. "emergency essentials"
i think i better start spell checking before i post :-\
I second Don on the dried beans... one thing I would add is to store them in the freezer if you have space, or at least freeze them for a little while because they often have wax moth eggs in them that can hatch out and get into everything. Freezing is the only sure-fire way to kill them. Or, I guess you could just cook the beans, wax moths and all! Think of it as extra protein! ;D Canned tomatoes last forever and help do something with all the pasta you stockpile, and add some diversity to the menu. Drying vegetables and then vacuum sealing them will provide you with a little more well-rounded diet in an emergency. Dried squash is really good made into chips (my kids love it with salt, vinegar and dill.) Canned meat is another one I'd have on hand. I'd also keep dried onion and garlic on hand because I just don't think I'd like to eat very much without at least those two flavors.
Here is a food storage site. Has articles on canned butter and cheese.
http://www.survivalcenter.com/foodstor.html (http://www.survivalcenter.com/foodstor.html)
I second the rice and beans suggestions. Both are extremely versatile.
If you ever need any more food storage tips, or great recipes that use food storage food (non-perishables only!), feel free to check out our blog!
http://safelygatheredin.blogspot.com/
Good luck on your food storage.
Hannah
Quote from: Whitlock on October 30, 2008, 01:27:29 PM
Thanks Guys,
Canned butter- were can I get that ??? that sounds like a good thing to have.
Whitlock, the only brand of canned butter I've had my hands on is Red Feather. Expensive, but nice to have as an "extra". Do a Google, I'm sure several hits will occur. I have some I bought someplace but don't recall where.
It is also possible to find Australian or new Zealand canned cheddar cheese. Again, I don't recall where I got it from.
We keep a stock of canned ham, DAK brand at present. It's not bad at all as someone mentioned.
We also have a supply of store bought canned goods such as tomatoes, tomatoes sauces, peaches, pears, pineapple, chicken breast, tuna, salmon, evaporated milk, dry milk, dinty moore beef stew and hormel corned beef (keep forever, but not really heart healthy, but something for a change), bean and pea soups, and a few quarts of shelf stable milk.
Some of these are aimed at short term emergency use. Some we routinly use and replace. Others are not a staple and we cycle them into the local food bank every year before thanksgiving.
w* to the forum, Hannah. Thanks for the link.
Sassy noted earlier that the blogs are near all down tonight -- maybe we'll know why tomorrow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardtack
Sailor Boy Pilot Bread----the quintessential survival food of the "great white north" (Alaska). No remote cabin, bush plane or fishing boat is complete without a box of this virtually indestructible food. Sailor Boy and peanut butter has saved and comforted many sourdoughs in hard situations over the years!
just echoing HG's comments on freezing grains and the like before sealing them up to kill the eggs that are present. Spending the money for beans and rice only to find them infected with weavils or who knows what when you really need it is a letdown. If it's an option, just keep them in the freezer until you need it or need the space. Keeping the freezer full also helps lower electric usage as any frozen content will keep the area colder longer than dead air that rushes out when you open the door.
We got a vaccuum sealer thing as a wedding present and it still works. I have have good luck with sealing them, freezing them for a few weeks and onto a shelf. I do this with bags of flour, sugar, corn meal, and such as well. I see no reason it wouldnt last for decades in that condition.
Another option I have been toying with is to use the 5 gallon "corny" kegs. I use them for serving homeade beer and buy them used fairly cheaply. These are the 5 gallon stainless kegs normally used for pepsi and such. They have two posts on the top for injecting co2 and have heavy duty seals. Load them up on a dry nont-too-humid-day, drop in a dessicant to be sure, fill them with rice/beans or the like, top off with 30 pouns of co2 pressure. release the pressure relief valve to relaese all oxygen and fill it up again. Watch it for a day or so to be sure it doesnt slow leak down. Let it sit for a few years until you need it. Waterproof, indeed airproof in my experience, and built like a little tank. Iv been considering loading one up with an actual survival kit of sorts and hiding it very well in the country. Not too sure how ammuntion would fare if placed under pressure but I am curious. Peter - would you know? How bad would it be to add a few magazines of live ammo under co2 pressurization?
Cornmeal is another staple I would stock. If you can find them, the dried eggs are also good to cook with (though I don't think they make very good scrambled eggs, but they're fine to cook in other things like pancakes or baked goods.) My only experience with them has been because a friend who got tribal commodities unloaded a bunch of stuff on me when I was in college and those packaged dehydrated eggs lasted forever. Even when DH and I first got married we were still baking with them and the powdered milk. The cornmeal I like because cornmeal, peanut butter, and a little sweetener (maple syrup, sugar, honey, or molasses) is a pretty decent cornmeal mush for breakfast, in addition to making bread or pancakes with it.
Dried fruits like apples, berries, peaches and apricots are nice too, and don't take up much room, especially if they're vacuum sealed after they're dehydrated. (My grandma used to dry watermelon and cantaloupe, too, believe it or not... back then I remember thinking, "Doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose of a nice juicy melon?" But, in retrospect, there was something kind of fun about eating dried watermelon in the dead of winter...even though the drying made it taste over-ripe. And, it used up some of the melons that we couldn't possibly eat or sell during the months of the melon glut. The dried cantaloupe wasn't bad, and I'm sure honeydew would taste alright too.)
Great Ideas. I will have to come back and post more later. I off to the high county to gather up some more food for our storage.
Have a good weekend,W
I bought one of those "seal a meal" or whatever you call them, at Costco a few months ago - finally used it the other day when I'd bought a lot of meat & wanted to store it in the freezer.
You're right about freezing the beans, flour etc... I do that with rice, noodles etc too - really makes a difference. Guess I should try the shrink wrapping on them - I bought a couple 10# organic bags of flour from Costco & put the flour in the freezer - don't have enough room to keep them there so I could wrap them also...
The way things are packed/canned by the Mormans (Whitlock's wife orders from them) is really great - good for 30 yrs, easy to store, good variety & reasonable in price. Didn't see cornmeal, but they do have canned dried re-fried beans - they're flakes & you just add water & heat - they said they were great!
Freezing eggs - canning cheese - Sassy freezes cheese also.
http://jordansfarm.blogspot.com/2008/07/freezing-eggsmilk-and-canning-cheese.html
I buy dried beans from local farmers. Pick your storage method. All have pro's and Cons.
Buy Rice from the big box store. Rice is a near perfect food.
Peanut butter is another near perfect and stores very well.
Honey rounds it out and has a near unlimited shelf life. If it crystallizes, heat it.
Don't try to keep stuff forever. Use it and replace it.
Grow a garden and can it.
I havent seen anyone talk about Gamma Lids for 5 gallon buckets. They are great for daily use, they're cheap and extremely well made.
http://beprepared.com/category.asp_Q_c_E_444_A_name_E_Gamma%2520Seals
I see that Home Depot dropped the price of their 5 gallon buckets to under $3.00 recently. They could work with the lids.
I can milk a soy bean!
I have never milked a cow, but I have milked a soy bean. Really easy!
Is there some udder reason I would want to milk a soybean? ???
This slipped my mind earlier. d* This is for storing your own grains, nuts, whatever, rather than buying them in sealed nitrogen packed cans.
Place 1/4 to 1/3 of a pound of dry ice in the bottom of a 5 gallon plastic pail. Fill with the grain, whatever. Place the lid but do not tightly seal right away. Wait several hours as the dry ice sublimates. When the pail bottom does not feel freezing cold it's done. The pail is now filled with the food and Carbon Dioxide. No oxygen to feed spoilage, insects, etc. Seal the lid and you're done.
Well Glenn and I just got back from getting some more food storage stuff. Most was packaged to last 30 years :D We are going to need a trailer next time if Glenn orders again.
Maybe he will take a picture for you all.
:)
I see Whitlock is going to make me get out of my chair to take a picture--- I'm sleepy.... [waiting]
(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/foodstorage.jpg)
....Because of Obama, I bought food and bullets.... hmm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4yloipsoZ0
Is that a ton of dog food on the left? Or dire emergency dry rations. rofl
Quote from: MountainDon on January 02, 2009, 10:16:03 PM
Is that a ton of dog food on the left? Or dire emergency dry rations. rofl
We need to make something out of our wheat
Don,looks like chicken feed to me ???Hopefully Glenn dosen't start clucking [waiting]
We have several bags of dog food and chicken food. Feeding them well keeps the meat fresh.... d*
I'm kidding - I couldn't eat Spike....
unless I ground him - he's too tough. [crz]
All seriousness aside, there are two bags of dog food - 2 chicken laying pellets and one scratch... :)
I find popcorn kernal's make for the best cornmeal. Hard on the grinder, but best tasting.
Muldoon, TX has no shortage of deer and hogs.
(http://www.loopy.org/pictures/galleries/Dixon%20Ranch/November%202008/freezer.jpg)
That is some great storage there, muldoon. We have a pretty good amount of them here.
I don't currently hunt but used to and could in an instant if the need arose. I view live deer as a method of keeping the meat fresh.
Hey Muldoon do you cut and rap your own meat?
I do, well I like shoulders for roasts and BBq .. Backstraps and loins for filets and just steak it out. And then grind the rest into either sausage or burger. I want to learn to make tamales.
Cool you wouldn't believe how many people don't know were the tinder loins ( No Jokes Glenn)are and throw them away.
Tamales are made at a store close to here and are so good It's not worth it to make them at home.
I sometimes deep pit a deer or pig if the freezer is full.The left overs make great carnitas.Or I would put the deer in the smoke house until someone bought it from me.I need to build another smoke house but that is project # 34562 ???
I hear you on too many projects. I'm in the country this weekend and on the blackberry. Everywher I look is a project, thinking about a greenhouse lately. This is the last weekend for deer season, tagged out tonight with a yearling doe. Yum, gotta make some room in the freezer. :)
We found a habitat for Inhumanity in Fresno on the Blackberry today (in Fresno it's Inhumanity) . They were near as much as new.
Remember the loins mouth, Whitlock - must be somewhere near the head. d* I for one, do know where the loins are.... ::)
I take a little different approach to food storage and have had to live off of ours for an extended period of time. We store what we eat on a normal basis. We used to store a lot of bulk items but when they were needed we found that there were quite a few things that were not very palatable. While they may keep you alive and somewhat healthy, I store for bad times (disaster, economic collapse, Obama being elcted ect.) I dont want me and mine to just be able to survive it I want to be able to thrive (or at least live better than the average Joe)
It has taken a bit of time for us to build our pantry to the year level, but by shopping sales and discount clubs we are now comfortable with the stores we have put away. It also allows us to rotate the food on a normal basis by using it in our day to day cooking and replacing when the stores have a good sale. We have estimated that this has cut our food bill by over $2k a year for the last couple years! Just a thought but you would be amazed at how many people store food and when they try it they are not happy with what they have.
Brian
Quote from: muldoon on January 03, 2009, 12:17:30 AM
I do, well I like shoulders for roasts and BBq .. Backstraps and loins for filets and just steak it out. And then grind the rest into either sausage or burger. I want to learn to make tamales.
(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/eatme.jpg)
Brian, I agree with that. But what you use and use what you buy. It can sit on my shelf at home just as easy.
Has anyone mentioned yeast? We freeze costco packages and keep a jar on hand in the fridge.
Water...might consider that one too. And if you're storing food, you should then move towards other long-term storage needs.
I'm LDS and we're encouraged to have a 3 month supply of things we eat every day and then progress to a one year supply of basic food storage. They've updated the storage shelflife listings for foods:
Wheat 30+
White rice 30+
Corn 30+
Sugar 30+
Pinto beans 30
Apple slices 30
Macaroni 30
Rolled oats 30
Potato flakes 30
Powdered milk 20
Carrots 20
If you want to read more about it:
http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7636-1-4104-1,00.html#question_5
...There are all kinds of resources out there these days if you just do some searching. Garage sales are the best place to buy old canning, cooking, survival, freezing, dehydrating books and items. Even doverpublications has some good survival and cooking books (I love the old ones)...that's where we get the majority of our classics for homeschooling as well. Best wishes!
Akemt have you tryed the refried beans or the potato pearls yet?
Flutterby is also Catherine, and that is where we got the food stock posted on the previous page.
http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=5497.msg77715#msg77715
There is around $540 there for about the same amount of lbs of food - around a $1 a lb average overall- can't beat that.
Akempt, I have brewing yeast stored up but wanted to make a comment on yeast in general. It multiplies easily and freezes well. If you put yeast in sugar water (honey, sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, fruit juice, etc) the yeast will multiply as it eats the sugar. It converts sugar to alcohol and gives off co2 (good for plants). After a week or so you'll end up with hooch of some kind but at the bottom will be yeast slurry. Perhaps 10 times the amount of yeast you started with, you can freeze it and do the same thing again when you are about to run out. I freeze in ziplocks. You also can reconstitute many yeasts from commercial beer or wine (just find one with a little sediment and build it up as above). Its called yeast wrangling and its how I get the bizarre yeasts from obscure beers. Especially the belgiums.
Great info, muldoon. Thanks.
yeast wrangling - very clever!
Quote from: glenn kangiser on January 04, 2009, 01:08:04 AM
Flutterby is also Catherine, and that is where we got the food stock posted on the previous page.
Catherine? Do you mean Latter Day Saint?
Quote from: Sonoran on January 05, 2009, 11:35:04 PM
Quote from: glenn kangiser on January 04, 2009, 01:08:04 AM
Flutterby is also Catherine, and that is where we got the food stock posted on the previous page.
Catherine? Do you mean Latter Day Saint?
Yes, LDS. I guess I left that pretty unclear didn't I? d*
...and speaking of food storage, I tried the Potato Pearls yesterday. A pretty good deal as there are 12 packages that make over 9 lbs each when prepared. That is 108 lbs of potatoes, and they are good too. :)
Oh yah, potato pearls are good and easy...pre-flavored, though most people love that. The only time I didn't like it was with morning sickness. I haven't tried the beans myself, though I've had things made with them. Fudge anyone? Who'd have thought!?
And yes, by "LDS" I meant "Member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." You'd be amazed (or not?) how much of what is said around here about government, family, preparedness and education parallels what our prophets and scriptures say...the problem is that many members don't bother reading and studying to find out and thus are easily led by social norms. We've been studying these subjects for a couple of years now and slowly breaking off our shackles, though our progress is perhaps slowed by life with 4 young kids!
We are ordering more to add to the stash. Most is good for 30 years- some 20 - some a couple. They will not be able to starve us out for several years.... :) One box of potato pearls with added water makes 400 servings for about $40 108 lbs of mashed potatoes and you can 't tell them from real. Actually they are real - just dehydrated.
I functionally finished a pretty good bunch of shelves in the new pantry section of the lower level of the underground command center. They are about 2/3 full and more to be added as I get to it. d*
My experiences with freeze dried and dehydrated foods is that their definition of a serving size and mine differ.
It could -- these say 1/2 cup per serving.
The LDS folks have a really nice food warehouse / cannery program in almost every community. They buy in huge bulk, and the LDS members can it and purchase it at a discount.
I wish that non-LDS folks could assist in the work and share in purchasing the food. I have heard that the potato pearls are nice.
Glenn, where did you purchase yours? Were they a good deal?
I was considering getting some instant mashed from Sam's and vacuum bagging them.
-f-
We get the food from the LDS (check out Provident Living - akempt posted the link) The potato pearls are excellent - you really can't tell that they aren't fresh & all you add is water - don't need milk or butter - so if things got really bad & you didn't have access to those items, you could still have good potatoes.
When Glenn & Whitlock went to pickup the food, one of the ladies there said that the food is offered to everyone - that way, people would be prepared & they wouldn't have as many people in need to help out if things dumped. It's a great program.
I don't know if you can go in and do the canning yourself, but I do know that all our employment, social services, and humanitarian aide is offered to all regardless of religion...based on need and obviously for those who ask. There is no cannary around here (According to Palin we're officially "nowhere", Alaska) but if memory serves, those who are accepting assistance can go and spend a day canning and then take home a certain percentage for themselves. I'd suggest looking up a "Bishop" in the phone book and asking him.
Quote from: NM_Shooter on January 14, 2009, 09:54:52 AM
The LDS folks have a really nice food warehouse / cannery program in almost every community. They buy in huge bulk, and the LDS members can it and purchase it at a discount.
I wish that non-LDS folks could assist in the work and share in purchasing the food. I have heard that the potato pearls are nice.
Glenn, where did you purchase yours? Were they a good deal?
I was considering getting some instant mashed from Sam's and vacuum bagging them.
-f-
I see Sassy got this answered - I had to sell my body for money today. The order form is on the Provident Living site along with prices on the PDF which may vary from the time the order is placed to pickup time - usually not much.. It takes about 4 to 6 weeks to get it in.
A direct link to the order form and pricing -
http://www.providentliving.org/pfw/multimedia/files/pfw/pdf/120132_HSOrderForm_US_JAN_09_pdf.pdf
The Potato Pearls are shorter term storage - maybe a year or two? - it says limited, but they are the best - One box about $40 works out to about 400 half cup servings or about .10 per serving - 108 lbs of potatoes after water is added. Takes about 3 minutes and I find that about 2 1/2 water to 1 part pearls makes a bit stiffer potatoes - I find also that you can adjust them if too thin by adding a few more.