cacheing food and its pontential miss happs and pit falls

[drewdunnrespect]

hiya gang

now then I have been reading this thread

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65649&p=794602#post794602

and as per usual its got me thinking cacheing food is there anything i should no.

now for instance what do i store it in and what methords of preservation do i use and what not. The reason i like the idea of storing food and build up a store of stuff is so that we as in the rents and me are better prepared for this snow cos yes we store food but its all stuff inn tins and what not and we really should be better propered with more fresh stuff and what not cos this time we ran out and yes we did get resupplied easily enough but that depends on others.

so any threads or web sites i should read or what not thanks

drew

 

[lannyman8]

have a look at salted and dried foods like fruit, fish and meats...... ie jerkey type style and dried fruit........

 

[TeeDee]

Drew , are you saying you want help on storing more Fresh Produce?? whatever you do your going to have to preserve it some way , be that dehydrating , salting , canning??

Could you just clarify a little more please chap.

 

[drewdunnrespect]

yes thats exactly what i am saying teedee cos i am sick of microwave meals when the fresh stuff runs out which unless it adverse situation it doesnt happen but still its best to be prepared

 

[British Red]

The best answer is always "store what you eat, eat what you store".

Its perfectly possible to keep a month or more of good healthy food in rotation and indeed to preserve many very healthy foodstufs for long periods (25 years plus).

Without getting carried away with it all, I'm happy to illustrate some of what we do. But it consumes time and effort.

Examples are - we grind our own wheat for flour. I can buy organic whole wheat cheaply and grind it with a hand mill. Bagged and oxygen denied a 32kg sack of wheat will last years. Flour kept warm in a house will be subject to weevils and spoilage in months. Its a lot of hassle though for the odd loaf.

I can pressure can my own curries and they keep (unrefrigerated) for years - needs expensive kit though


I would think of things like rice, dried beans for use in chillis and stews, flour for dumplings and home made bread etc.

What specifically would you like to know mate?

Red

 

[drewdunnrespect]

all of it because when i eventually move out i plann on becoming self sufficant with food because i want to beable to no i am prepered no matter cos of these last to winters snow fall have shown me the need to be prepered is a serious matter that well we all should think about.

 

[British Red]

all of it because when i eventually move out i plann on becoming self sufficant with food because i want to beable to no i am prepered no matter cos of these last to winters snow fall have shown me the need to be prepered is a serious matter that well we all should think about.

Wow that's a lot to cover

If I get a while I'll think about an article on "the science of food preservation".

Do you drive fellah? If so, how about coming down in the new year and I'll teach you to make a sandwich the homesteader way. Will take a few hours, but its an eye opener!

Red

 

[Shewie]

Flour kept warm in a house will be subject to weevils and spoilage in months. Its a lot of hassle though for the odd loaf.

Are weevils those tiny little black things moving about ? Scared the bejesus out of me last time I made pancakes

 

[British Red]

Sounds like em, they are more dark red really

Not all that dangerous but....icky. All flour contains weevils or weevil bits...but the longer you keep it in warm temperatures, the more they breed up.

Air tight containers and refrigeration if its hot helps. Air excluded whole wheat berries will last for decades though if kept cool.

Red

 

[iamasmith]

Just make sure the containers you use are rodent/scavenger proof ^^

 

[iamasmith]

Sounds like em, they are more dark red really

Not all that dangerous but....icky. All flour contains weevils or weevil bits...but the longer you keep it in warm temperatures, the more they breed up.

Air tight containers and refrigeration if its hot helps. Air excluded whole wheat berries will last for decades though if kept cool.

Red

Ah that's just extra protein

 

[British Red]

mmm and damp and oxygen too!

 

[Shewie]

Sounds like em, they are more dark red really

Not all that dangerous but....icky. All flour contains weevils or weevil bits...but the longer you keep it in warm temperatures, the more they breed up.

Air tight containers and refrigeration if its hot helps. Air excluded whole wheat berries will last for decades though if kept cool.

Red

So they're in the flour already ? That would explain how they got in there then, ours is bought off the shelf in a supermarket and then I put it into a tupperware box with a screw on lid.

 

[British Red]

The female weevil lays an egg in the wheat berry. The eggs or most likely larvae are present in all flour. Kept warm and given time they go through four further instars (stages) ending up at up to 4.5mm.

Females lay up to several hundred eggs, which hatch in about 3 days. The four larval instars in each species take from 15 to 35 days to develop. (Rice weevil larvae may develop slightly faster than those of the grain weevil.) Pupation takes from 5 to 16 days. Adults often live for 7-8 months, and may survive for 2 years. Under favourable conditions a generation may be completed in under 4 weeks, so there may be 12-13 generations a year.

J. G. CHARLES

Best bet for keeping flour longer is to hard freeze it for at least 72hrs at purchase - thereby killing the eggs and larvae.

 

[Shewie]

Best bet for keeping flour longer is to hard freeze it for at least 72hrs at purchase - thereby killing the eggs and larvae.

Cheers Red, I'll do that next time we get some in

 

[British Red]

If you are passing come to where I buy my wheat (and flour if I'm lazy)

Beats the helll out of Sainsbury's


Windmill by British Red, on Flickr

 

[sandbender]

"...so any threads or web sites i should read or what not thanks..."

Drew, this site has quite a few downloads for you...

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/store.html

 

[bilmo-p5]

I can pressure can my own curries and they keep (unrefrigerated) for years - needs expensive kit though

I've been interested in the idea of preserving food (particularly meat) by canning it for some time.

Do you use a commercial type of set-up which results in cans similar in appearance to shop-bought ones, or do you use something like this (on the right), or are you canning in the American sense, ie. in jars?

 

[British Red]

Currently in the American sence with Ball type jars and a dial read pressure canner

 

[ex-member Raikey]

this is good stuff,

Red, are you isolated, or potentially isolated by weather for parts of the year?

it sounds a minefield, but when you have time then an article, or just a brief outline of the equipment/methods you use would be great,...

i think its something we all need to be aware of,..

i have rice, oats, and both again made into flour in about 2 dozen scewtop (whey protien) tubs but the air exclusion issue interests me,..

also, water?? is there a prefferred method of potting it?...

i know i ask for a lot of info but i,m not in a rush,...or just tell me to #*****£*&^% if you want....hahaha

cheers

Stu