Limited Canned Goods.

[HorseGuy]

Fuel-wise, I get you. But, if one is a bit more rural or if they have access to a garden, then you want to have one of these babies: a rocket stove

Just a few sticks will give you lots of power for a very long time. Contrary to popular belief, the power can be regulated to some extent, once you know how to measure the fuel you add. I have several Primus stoves, gas stoves, a couple of kelly kettles, but this one is hands-down the most versatile and powerful stove we have. So much so that we have one at each of our places.

Actually, a rocket stove would be one of my top-of-the-list items for 'those days'.

Some rocket stoves have an adjustable breather hole on them so that you can close off some of the airflow and further adjust the temperature.

You can even make an adjustable rocket stove out of bricks by having a breather hole on a different side to the hole which is used to feed the sticks into. Then you can adjust the airflow by covering a spare brick against the breather hole and sliding it across to open or close the hole.

This is shown in this video at 18:48.

 

[ONE]

Likewise , I have no interest in what's considered *healthier* in **** scenarios

I actually laughed out loud at one of the "nutritionists" quoted in one of the articles at the weekend. No cheese as it's too fatty, no canned meats due to nitrates/over processing, jerky has too much sodium, ensure you have oily fish so you get your essential Omega 3s etc. We're talking about a 72 hour 'emergency stash'. Go convenient, portable and calorie dense, also, and I cannot stress this enough, store things you like. If you're really up the proverbial waterway without an oar, you cannot overestimate the value of chowing down on something that actually affords you pleasure. I have a dirty little secret in the form of sweet & sour flavour pot noodle. I've been known to have one in situations which might otherwise have called for a stiff drink, but where alcohol was off the cards. It probably has the nutritional value of eating a bag of rubber bands in syrup and vinegar but fills a gap and... The world is a better place when I have one, no other excuse required. That doesn't mean I advocate having 72 hours worth.

In the longer term you're going to need to make sure you're getting at least a semi balanced diet, as far as you can, but I wouldn't even be thinking about it as a factor in my planning for a week or two.

 

[HorseGuy]

I always like to have a few tins of ready made custard on hand too. Even if I don't eat it warmed up with some sponge cake it still tastes delicious eaten cold straight out of the tin on its own.

 

[ONE]

I always like to have a few tins of ready made custard on hand too. Even if I don't eat it warmed up with some sponge cake it still tastes delicious eaten cold straight out of the tin on its own.

Funny, I remember a caravan holiday with my grandparents when I was, primary school age anyway, when I ate very little, if anything but tinned custard! One of those wilful child things that my parents wouldn't have tolerated but grandparents, right?

 

[HorseGuy]

Funny, I remember a caravan holiday with my grandparents when I was, primary school age anyway, when I ate very little, if anything but tinned custard! One of those wilful child things that my parents wouldn't have tolerated but grandparents, right?

Motivated by that post I have just eaten half a tin of cold custard. Yum!

 

[slowworm]

If you're talking custard then you must have salted peanuts to go in it.

 

[Sooty22]

I actually laughed out loud at one of the "nutritionists" quoted in one of the articles at the weekend. No cheese as it's too fatty, no canned meats due to nitrates/over processing, jerky has too much sodium, ensure you have oily fish so you get your essential Omega 3s etc. We're talking about a 72 hour 'emergency stash'. Go convenient, portable and calorie dense, also, and I cannot stress this enough, store things you like. If you're really up the proverbial waterway without an oar, you cannot overestimate the value of chowing down on something that actually affords you pleasure. I have a dirty little secret in the form of sweet & sour flavour pot noodle. I've been known to have one in situations which might otherwise have called for a stiff drink, but where alcohol was off the cards. It probably has the nutritional value of eating a bag of rubber bands in syrup and vinegar but fills a gap and... The world is a better place when I have one, no other excuse required. That doesn't mean I advocate having 72 hours worth.

In the longer term you're going to need to make sure you're getting at least a semi balanced diet, as far as you can, but I wouldn't even be thinking about it as a factor in my planning for a week or two.

Yip. Just look at decent modern MREs, and try to replicate them. All stuff that tastes good, including candy, 'juice' drink, various stickies and many guilty pleasures, and all food can all be eaten cold.

For a 72h kit, it makes little sense to stock anything other than that kind of thing. In fact, I would just get MREs, as the pack is 3.5-4k kcal and they should be around £12 a pack for fresh ones, so it's £24 for your 72h kit and it comes with all one would need, including puritabs, matches, and -at least the modern ones- come kind of nutritionally balanced for a heavy day.

Throw in a couple of cans of cold custard for those so inclined

 

[HorseGuy]

If you're talking custard then you must have salted peanuts to go in it.

Sounds like an odd combination.

 

[Mauld]

Cold Chicken Curry was my 1980's MRE, very palatable.

 

[TeeDee]

I've seen SO many links to news articles on social media today ref the government strongly advising citizens lay some rudimentary groundwork of a 72 hour emergency kit.

 

[Falstaff]

Great food/storage but I thought it was only one type of lentil that cooked quickly?
Wood stove is my choice too but... Rocket stoves are great and burn more efficiently than anything else, but still get through a surprising amount of fuel if used for everything over a few days. That's a big stove and a lot of fuel in your pic. If we're talking about only say, a week without mains services, then no problem but longer and it eats into log stores quickly. Tiny rockets, like the Solo, can get the job done with a few mods and a lot less fuel. - e.g. how biolite do it.

 

[HorseGuy]

I've seen SO many links to news articles on social media today ref the government strongly advising citizens lay some rudimentary groundwork of a 72 hour emergency kit.

War is likely coming. While simultaneously trying not to panic the public too much I think the government are attempting to warn people that they will need to prepare to be far more self sufficient in the future. If that's what they're trying to say then they seem to be doing a poor job of conveying this message clearly though.

 

[TeeDee]

War is likely coming. While simultaneously trying not to panic the public too much I think the government are attempting to warn people that they will need to prepare to be far more self sufficient in the future. If that's what they're trying to say then they seem to be doing a poor job of conveying this message clearly though.

Im not sure I agree with that completely but to me its a difficult line to move the herd of cattle without spooking them and creating a mini stampede of sorts.

Its a tightrope of trying to create a signal for some level of household resilience to ride things out , whilst also advocating that the Government are still in control, still have a plan , still will be around to render care and service,

At least thats the rhetoric as I interpret it all.

 

[Pattree]

I’m surprised that the advice is limited to 72 hours. I suspect that most people who heed the advice will store much more even if unintentionally.

Don’t most of us do a weekly shop? I am assuming that the idea is that we should have 72+ hours supply of food beyond the week’s shop - this has been a given for us without even thinking about it. It’s just there. For example right now. without thinking about prepping, I have 4 1/2 Kilo (two and a half bags) of strong flour and keep an average of one and a half bags. Each bag makes three loaves for two of us. I keep more than enough yeast for this but If something prolonged happened I could either culture it or culture a sourdough (though I don’t like it much)

This thread is about tins . We have a few but they aren’t essential to our diet.

If this emergency situation were to become important then I suspect that we may have to think about foods that can be cooked, stored and eaten cold.

Bet you can’t guess what I’d use (have used) for cooking in a power cut
Incredibly low fuel use in cooking and a highly efficient water heater. By cooking sparingly with copper bottomed pans it is just possible (maybe) that my garden grows twigs nearly as fast as I’d burn them.

Our biggest issue would be 72 hours of power storage for communication but we could make it.
(Thinking about it - the car could provide that )

 

[HorseGuy]

Preparations to cover 72 hours of self-sufficiency should be manageable for almost everyone and doesn't sound too intimidating. It's a good start and gets people in the right kind of mindset that would be required if we do actually go to war. It gets people thinking the right kind of thoughts by getting them to ask themselves the question of what they would personally require to cover 72 hours.

 

[TeeDee]

I’m surprised that the advice is limited to 72 hours. I suspect that most people who heed the advice will store much more even if unintentionally.

Whats 100% better then none - some.

I think like you 72 hours is a very small amount of time but its a low enough figure that people have a basic guide without getting panicked - Im talking the everyday gen pop normal suburban family person.

If the government had advised a week ( 168 hours ) emergency kit , it may intimidate people from initial action in the 1st place.

Getting someone to take a little action is better than no action and if they repeat the process ( because the 1st undertaking was relatively painless ) they would I imagine dip their toe in the water again and rinse and repeat if funds and space were available.

 

[Pattree]

That could be good thinking. By suggesting an extra 72 hours and waiting before making it 144 hours, perhaps it will ease pressure on shop stocks. If everyone bought in 72 hours of extra groceries this week, that’s a sudden 30% increase in demand and retail would find it hard to cope.

Something of the advice is working. The British National Stress Indicator is rising. ( proportional to the number of toilet rolls being purchased!)

 

[Mauld]

I've been stockpiling since before Storm Arwen I’m currently eating tins that expired in 2021 with no ill effects. Stockpiling should be encouraged as many little hiccups (Weather, Transport, Strikes etc.) can lead to shortages. Having a distributed stock, as opposed to the just in time supply chain can only be a good thing.

When emergency shortages do happen the stockpiler can then become the Hoarder possessing more than their "Fair Share" and suffer the ignorance of the mob. does the government give advice on how to defend your stash?

 

[Falstaff]

"does the government give advice on how to defend your stash?" It will Appeal for calm and not to panic....

 

[Mauld]

"does the government give advice on how to defend your stash?" It will Appeal for calm and not to panic....

I fear even Sharp language is now illegal.