Might want to search for the old prepper threads. Lots of good info. I actually need to search and find them myself and save again. Sadly some of the best posters are no longer with us.
I remember one about dehydrating frozen veggies.
Wow, this could be a pretty complex answer to a short question :-)
How about a little information on what your needs are first?
Because there are a lot of different ways you could go with food storage. If you are looking for something to put away to use only in the event of catastrophe and have unlimited funds, you could go with prepackaged freeze dried meals. On the other hand, if you want to be thrifty and still be able to use the food is under normal conditions, you would want to store more things like beans and rice.
As for myself, I like to cook. I also didn’t want to waste my money in case nothing happened, so I store foods that I normally use anyway. I like to bake bread, so I have a lot of wheatberries. These will store almost indefinitely and I can grind them to make whole wheat flour. You can also cook them up to be like cereal or even a meat substitute in a burger. It just depends on how adventurous you would want to be.
Anyway I have a lot of wheat berries , beans, rice, etc. packed in mylar with oxygen absorbers. this is the best environment for storing food long-term, because without the oxygen you’ll have less food deterioration and no spoilage. No mold and no bugs! Some I bought from emergency essentials and some I packed myself. There’s a lot of great information out there on how to pack them yourself and you can save quite a bit of money that way.
I also have some number 10 cans of items I can use along with The beans and rice. Like butter powder, peanut butter powder, sugar, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, – Most of these are pretty good quality and I can use them even if it’s not a dire situation. On the other hand, some of the ready-made just add hot water meals I would never use unless I was starving!
Pressure canning or water canning garden produce this also a great way to store food. Although those jars will only last a year or two, but the thought is to keep growing and keep canning.
For $2000, or around there, I probably have enough food storage for two people for two or three years. This is assuming our activity level is sky high, with having to garden, split and stack wood, with or without The use of modern conveniences.
So there’s quite a variety of ways to store food, different levels of effort required, varying amounts of money needed- it all just depends on what works for you. It’s not a one-size-fits-all endeavor.
Put rice, flour and corn meal in the freezer for a few days to kill any bug eggs. Then store them as you wish.
Nuts bought in regular packages from the store are best kept in the freezer as they can go rancid.
Regular grocery store bought canned goods will last far longer than their expiration date.
As was said before, buy what you eat and eat what you buy. And rotate. If on a budget, buy a few extra items every time you shop and it will eventually add up. The more you have laid in, the less gas and time you’ll need running to the store in normal times.
Don’t forget your pets.
Don’t forget your elderly relatives or others who might need to shelter with you.
Canned food. You won’t need water.
Build your own solar oven on the cheap and quickly. Big cardboard box, foil and tape. I’ve used the “Cookit” with success - http://solarcooking.org/plans/
Has info on everything you need to know about solar cooking, water purification, etc. - http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Solar_Cookers_International_Network_%28Home%29
Raise cows for meat - don’t dehydrate or freeze dry them......
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My emergency food supply consists of what we eat all the time, and I make it my self. For example, when chickens or beef roasts are on sale, I purchase 15 or 20 lbs. and pressure can it.
For the Chickens, I use quart jars. For the beef, I use pint jars. They are packed raw and with bones in, if there are bones. I only add a pinch of salt. These are superior flavor to any that I have tasted in a can. It is edible straight from the jar, but I use them to make quick casseroles, soups, or chicken and dressing. I usually get a couple of extra turkeys at Thanksgiving sales and do the same.
I do buy the Dak hams and bake them in the toaster oven, or in the big oven with roasted veggies. I also buy plenty of tuna fish, canned salmon, and clams. Once a week we open a can and make tuna or salmon salad. The clams we use for chowder. The Salmon and Tuna have longer than a year shelf life on the use by date so we got a little more than a year’s supply, and simply buy a replacement can and put it in the back of the supply shelf.
I do have several cases of number 10 cans that I got from the LDS on line store-it was cheaper there than else where. This stuff is good for 20-30 years. They used to have a starter case that had beans, flour, rice, wheat etc. One case was approx. what was needed for 1 month, so I got 3 month supply of those, then had to buy individual cases. I especially like the flour in cans, as what we get at the local grocery always has bugs. So I have enough of that to last 5 years or more.
We grow veggies in the summer, and what we don’t eat, I can, freeze or dehydrate. I have several different types of powdered milk, in cases that are good for twenty years. They are in # 10 cans, and don’t confuse them with instant milk in boxes which have a short life.
The cheapest and pretty decent tasting is Nido, made by Nestle, and which I can get at Walmart, so when one can is used, we replace it. I use it for cooking and making yogurt, but sometimes, drink it, because we are out of milk, and I don’t want to make a trip to town to get fresh.
The rice I have stored was purchased from Walmart in 10 lb. bags (100lbs total). I put those in smaller 1 or 2 lb mylar bags with oxygen absorbers and sealed closed. Then I put them in Mylar lined 5 gallon buckets with desicant.
I bought a couple of cases of oats from LDS, since I can grow oats, and wheat, I don’t keep as much of those, but rice would be hard to grow here.
I buy olive oil, coconut oil, and ghee for cooking. Sticks of butter are packed in vacuum bags in the freezer. I don’t use margarine any more. Real butter doesn’t have to be refrigerated when in use. I also have some lard, but I don’t like the “extra” ingredients that are in the lard at our local stores, so I don’t have much of that.
I still buy peanut butter, but can grow peanuts here. I plant enough each year give me a few nuts for eating and a few for planting, but I could always plant extra, and make my own.
My Ball Blue Book has recipes for soups, so that is going to be another thing to try this winter, and if I like them, then we’ll quit buying canned soup too.
We have several recipes for jerky, and I like to make that with hamburger, because it is easier to chew. I tried several things like the Mountain House stuff - didn’t like any of it. We used to do a little back packing-most of it got thrown away, and it’s expensive.
So I had to come up with some other way to stock the pantry. I have quite a few dehydrated veggies that we grew, and can make lots of things with those, and current produce we have harvested, and my canned meats.
bink
I have looked into freeze dried food....but the thing is...it degrades at above 70 degree's.....
I don't have a cellar..I don't keep my home at 70 year round...either.
Not sure if that helps....I've looked into WISE foods....and like what they have...but the temp. problem...keeps me from doing that.