The everything about food thread.

[RobertB]

And I kept my dogs for the other other white meat... shh, don't tell them that

But dogs aren't white me...uhh...never mind.

[tmsand338]

Check out this website to learn how to dehydrate food, www.dehydrate2store.com. It's much cheaper to build your food supply this way then to buy freeze dried food in #10 cans.

[Mtn.man]

My thoughts are that many think too Much about food. there is alot out there to eat but it hasn't been the norm for many. I am not going to tote around a 200# pack of so called needed things and a wagon full of dehydrated food. You need to learn to live light live fast and then you will LIVE.

[Wulf202]

* Bacon or sausage: one to two months
* Ham, hot dogs or cold cuts: two to three months
* Raw roasts, steaks or chops: four to twelve months
* Raw ground meat: three to four months
* Cooked meat: two to three months
* Raw, whole poultry: one to two months
* Raw poultry parts: nine months
* Cooked poultry: four months
* Raw, wild game: eight to twelve months

You need to re-wrap most items to prevent freezer burn. I can attest to the life of Bacon. I bought a bulk pack once and all was fine for the first 3-4 months. Then I pulled some out at the 6 month mark and had to throw it away.

The life of any frozen food can be extended almost indefinitely by coating it in water, vacuum packing or paying to have it cryovaced at the butchers. Cryovac's are basically shrink wrap bags that also vacuum pack, i've got bison that's 3+ years old that hasn't freezer burnt at all. Vacuum packers work well and are available at wal mart.

The cheapest way to do it is put the meat in a ziplock and add some water then set it in the freezer over night, then open the ziplock and add some more water and lay it on the other side in the freezer so it will be coated in ice. The ice will freezer burn, not the meat.

[jerrymrc]

The life of any frozen food can be extended almost indefinitely by coating it in water, vacuum packing or paying to have it cryovaced at the butchers. Cryovac's are basically shrink wrap bags that also vacuum pack, i've got bison that's 3+ years old that hasn't freezer burnt at all. Vacuum packers work well and are available at wal mart.

The cheapest way to do it is put the meat in a ziplock and add some water then set it in the freezer over night, then open the ziplock and add some more water and lay it on the other side in the freezer so it will be coated in ice. The ice will freezer burn, not the meat.

And while I will agree unless one has a large freezer and the means to keep it going.... Myself while I do vac-pac some items I just try and rotate between sales. I only have a 9cf freezer. Now that the kids are gone I watch it closer since we do not go through the food near as fast.

keeping up with the canned meats and goods is hard enough.

[jason303]

For those of us stocking up on the cheap, keep your eye on Rancho Liborio http://www.liborio.com/ which is a Latin oriented supermarket in the area. They often have 5# bags of white rice for $2 and bulk pinto beans for $0.50 a pound. (The pinto beans are that price right now)

Buy your laundry soap in the big plastic bucket and when it's empty wash it out real good. Pack it with bulk food, use a little block of dry ice to displace the oxygen, and seal it with the lid for long term storage.

Check out http://www.fcs.uga.edu/pubs/current/FDNS-E-34-1.html for a short list of basic storage tips.

[funkfool]

Well - I read One Second After and I finally figured I'd better get started on having some food stocked up. So I took the wife to Sams and got the following:
50lb bag of rice
25lb bag of pinto beans
25lb bag of salt
25lb bag of sugar
25lb bag of flour
60oz bottle of baking powder
35oz bottle cornstarch
2 lb of instant dry yeast
450 count multi-vitamins
4lbs of powdered Tang! drink mix
1 case of ramen noodles
2 cases of water (plus 5 gal and many other large bottles stored in fridge/freezer.
2 - 40oz jars of peanut butter



So.... now I need to read up on how to properly store all this stuff and remember to rotate...

[funkfool]

Jerry - let me know if you are going to do another get together/class on storage...

[jerrymrc]

Jerry - let me know if you are going to do another get together/class on storage...

Will do. We can do a Mylar party anytime. Just need to get some more bags and 02 absorbers. And put the yeast in the freezer. It will last almost forever. Put the other stuff in the basement and remind me at the end of the month. You get another batch of dry goods by then and save some med boxes (20X20X20) to put the finished items in.

[jerrymrc]

Will do. We can do a Mylar party anytime. Just need to get some more bags and 02 absorbers. And put the yeast in the freezer. It will last almost forever. Put the other stuff in the basement and remind me at the end of the month. You get another batch of dry goods by then and save some med boxes (20X20X20) to put the finished items in.

Going to order bags and absorbers. Should be here next week.