Food Storage Supplies
What do you have and what are you planning to stockpile in the coming weeks/months? You'll want to keep it organized so that you can find things quickly when you need them. Ideally you'll want to keep like items
together - you are not going to want to store food near chemicals because of the chance of cross contamination.
There are many products on the market that can make your SHTF closet more efficient. Rack shelving to organize canned goods. I ferret out shelving at garage sales for cheap but effective shelving to store items. You'll want them off the floor if you are using your basement because of the chance of flooding and condensation on a cement floor. The large round plastic buckets are ideal for storing grains and rice among other things that mice can get into. I've stored rice and even wheat flour in sealed buckets - no oxygen absorbers or even a mylar bag and it was still perfectly fine 25 years later! Freeze your grains such as flour and pasta for about 3-4 days, then seal them in an airtight plastic container. They will last for years - the freezing kills anything that could hatch.. I have several buckets of rice, flour and pasta that is going on 20 years old and it has not sprouted weevils or other insects stored this way. It's all in the preparation. Even better is to get a system that removes air from the canister or buy items packed with inert nitrogen for very long term storage.
There is nothing more disheartening than to think you are prepared and to open a bucket and find weevils have taken over! No one likes bugs in their food. So take the time to freeze and prepare food you plan to store for more than a couple of months. It's easy to think it's only been stored for a few months then suddenly realize it has been years. If I put it in my stash, then I know it's been prepared...items I intend to use immediately go right to the kitchen.
That also goes for metal items. If your basement or home has dampness problems, you'll have to take extra care to seal items in plastic to keep them from rusting. Cloth items can become moldy. Seal everything in plastic and get out as much air as possible. If you are in a dry climate, this may not be as necessary (though there may be issues with dust and sand for some items).
Items with rubber seals (gas masks, etc.) will need to be kept at a cool temperature. If it's a small enough item, store it in the refrigerator. If you have a way of generating power (generator) it's great to have more than one freezer or refridgerator for storage.
Canning Methods
Understanding the components and difference of water bath and pressure canning will help you choose which method will work best for you and the foods you choose to preserve.
- Freezing. Freezing is perhaps the most common of all modern food preservation methods — both commercially and domestically. ... but there is also
- Sugaring. ...
- Salting. ...
- Drying. ...
- Smoking. ...
- Pickling....
- Freeze drying
- Dehydrating
- Water bath canning
- Pressure canning
WATER BATH CANNING
Water bath canning is a shorter, lower-temperature canning process that is ideal for high-acid foods. The high acidity of the foods kills bacteria, allowing for the water bath method. Types of fruits and vegetables ideal for water bath preserving, include:
- Fruits and fruit juices
- Jams and jellies
- Salsas
- Tomatoes with added acid
- Pickles and relishes
- Chutneys
- Vinegars
- Condiments
PRESSURE CANNING
When preserving low-acid foods like many vegetables, meats, poultry and seafood, you’ll use pressure canning to keep your foods fresh and safe to eat. Pressure canning heats contents to 240° F, eliminating the risk of foodborne bacteria. Even when you’re mixing high-acid foods with low-acid foods, you must use the pressure canning method to safely preserve contents.
FREEZE DRYING
Prevously only available to companies and large suppliers, there is now a home option that is much cheaper but gets the job done. Freeze drying, like dehydrating removes the water from food which inhibits bacterial growth. While dehydrating is good for several years, freeze drying
can preserve food up to 25 years. The food also looks much more appetizing and does not shrink like when dehydrating. It has now become affordable with a home freeze dryer. You can make everything from freeze dried ice cream to meats and vegetables which are difficult or impossible to do with a dehydrator. Well worth the investment.
DEHYDRATING
Food dehydrators bring convenience to an old and healthful food preservation process. Home dehydration lets you make delicious and healthy food, free of unwanted commercial additives—food you can enjoy and serve with confidence. Easy, quick, inexpensive, and little mess. I have a dehydrator like the one below and love it! A dehydrator can preserve fruits, vegetables and herbs or even make delicious beef jerky and homemade yogurt! Put your dehydrated items in a mason jar, suck the air out with your food saver and voila!
SMOKING FOODS Smoking is the process of flavoring, browning, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. With a smoker you can preserve meats and fish which are the most common smoked foods, though cheeses, vegetables, and ingredients used to make beverages such as whisky, smoked beer, or tea.
SALTING It is one of the oldest methods of preserving food, and two historically significant salt-cured foods are salted fish (usually dried and salted cod or salted herring) and salt-cured meat (such as bacon). Vegetables such as runner beans and cabbage can also be preserved in this manner.
PICKLING is the process of preserving or expanding the lifespan of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The resulting food is called being pickled. The pickling procedure will typically affect the food's texture and flavor such as turning cucumbers to pickles.
SUGARING is the process of desiccating a food by first dehydrating it, then packing it with pure sugar. Sugaring creates an environment hostile to microbial life and prevent food spoilage. Sugaring is commonly used to preserve fruits as well as vegetables such as ginger.
Containers and packaging
One aspect of preparing is to have the kind of supplies you will need to preserve food. Canning jars, bags for food sealing machines, cotton cloth, mylar bags, and oxygen absorbers or dessicants come to mind as necessary if you plan to use some of the above methods. Sugar and vinegar are also important to have on hand along with parafin for sealing jars. These items will be difficult to get in a SHTF situation so get them now. If you can't preserve the food you grow, you will starve. Wood crates can be helpful for storing apples, potatoes and onions.
Canning Supplies & More
