Sunday, February 18, 2018

FOOD


  You will probably have to supplement your prepped / stored food with renewable sources. Hunting, gardening, and livestock kept on premises. 
   Stored food is rice and beans, canned food, and staples like flour, salt, sugar, and spices. 
   I have stockpiled a good amount of rice and beans. Simply because they last pretty good if stored right. I purchased 50# sacks of rice and beans at Sams, ( Costco, etc. ). Bought new 5 gallon plastic with lids at Lowes. I put a plastic trash bag in the bucket and filled with commodities . Added a few oxygen absorber as I filled. Twisted off the sack and put the lid on. You might need a hammer to whack the lids and insure a good seal. Mark the bucket to identify what and how much is inside. Also date the bucket. After beans age, they harden and are a little harder to cook. Adding a little baking soda during the soaking process will help soften them up. A good soaking will help here and shorten cooking time. Rice, I have some Minute Rice, but it is a little pricey . Although it does save fuel in the cooking process. I opened some Minute Rice that had been in the freezer since 3-2011, it was perfectly fine. Had some for supper last night. If you have renewable fuel available, ( wood , etc ), regular rice is a cheaper option and is easier to store. 

   Storing ANYTHING remember, sunlight, temperature, and moisture are your worst enemies.


   Canned foods. We used to own a restaurant so we had an account with nearby wholesalers. Sysco, Food Service, and the like. We bought a good amount of # 10 cans of , vegetables, fruits, cheese, spaghetti sauces, puddings, and so on . Canned meat ( beef )is harder to come by and expensive. Canned fish, ham, or chicken  is a good option. Some stores have a limited selection of these larger cans at a reasonable price. Smaller cans are fine, depends on how many you are prepping for and price per serving is cheaper in the larger cans. I have had some of these cans for 7+ years and cant tell they are compromised. Shelf life depends on your 3 enemies. especially temperature. If and when you do use them, just use a little common sense. Notice if can is swelled up or rusted. When you open it, look for any visible signs of something wrong. Smell . Taste a little bit to check for any kind of off flavor. 

   One mistake we did make. We bought a new upright freezer. Stocked it with cheese, hams, hens, turkey, peanut butter, wieners, and cooking oil. Over $800 worth of food. Completely packed. Guess what ? About 6-8 months latter I noticed something running out the bottom. Everything ruined. Maggots everywhere. What didn't spoil, was ruined buy the odor. For instance, the peanut butter. Normally it would have been alright but the smell permeated the plastic container. Same with the Crisco containers. Its almost impossible to buy anything packaged in glass anymore. Notice the next time you are in the store. All plastic or paper. The cause ? This was a frost free freezer. Something happen to the defrost switch and it stuck on defrost mode. The power light on the outside was still on. It was getting power...just warming mode to defrost. I have a friend that this happened to. I still have a larger chest type freezer. I do open it up to check it. Lesson learned. 
   This is getting kinda long, so, more on food later.
 

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