Limited Canned Goods.

[Broch]

In my youth, as a poor student, as previously described, my survival bible was 'Frugal Food' from Delia Smith

 

[Robson Valley]

Except for 25 lbs macaroni, 25 lbs spaghetti and what wild game as we got (moose, grouse, lots of fish,) I have lived out of cans, off the grid, for 4 months. I need at least a dozen herbs and spices, salt and pepper are essentials.

Believe the adage: "Variety is the spice of life."

There has got to be variety, even novelty, to encourage the appetite. What I remember most after so many decades is the canned fruit, the plums in particular, for some reason.

I eat fresh fruit, lots of it, as I can afford to. But every once in a while, a tin of pears, sweet corn or black pitted olives are the only kinds of things that hit the spot.

 

[slowworm]

In all seriousness - If one has the space or lives in a slightly rural location then why NOT do this ?

We been keeping a decent stock of food in for years, partly so we don't always need to go shopping and party to stock up when stuff is on offer. However although we use plenty of cans they're all different sizes. We also find something like tomato puree in a tube is better value than toms in tins.

Along with keeping a good stock of veg growing we also use the freezer for some basics like diced onion.

 

[Robson Valley]

Re-reading the post title, I can make a list, boring as can be.
Baked Beans
Crab meat
Corned Beef
Fruit of some kind
Crushed tomatoes
Mixed vegetables (peas/corn/carrot/g.beans)
Salt, a dozen herbs & spices
Wheat flour, sugar, pasta and rice.

 

[SaraR]

I don't know if it really answers the question, but for us the tinned foods we use most of are pineapple, sweetcorn, chopped tomatoes, red kidney beans and (in lower quantities) baked beans & chickpeas.

 

[BumblingAlong]

Don't have a pantry so to consume now and future preps.
Tuna in sunflower oil
Corned Beef
Spam
Stag Chilli Con Carne..Steve Wallis
Baked beans with sausages

 

[TeeDee]

Bit of a bump to this - with regards to Staple Carbs sources - which options should people be looking at ? what offers versatility , stability ,calorific energy , ease of storage etc.

 

[Broch]

Bit of a bump to this - with regards to Staple Carbs sources - which options should people be looking at ? what offers versatility , stability ,calorific energy , ease of storage etc.

Ah, now you mention carbs - after all that time

 

[TeeDee]

Ah, now you mention carbs - after all that time

My apologies.

 

[Toddy]

Good flour, kept well, just bleaches whiter. Wholemeal doesn't keep so well.
Rice keeps for years and years.
So does dried pasta.
Instant mash comes sealed in mylar sachets and keeps for years too. Tesco, Sainsbury's Morrison's, Asda, all about a pound a box of two sachets.....I make potato scones, I use instant mash
Cornmeal keeps well, but it's best to put the bag into the freezer for a few days just incase there's any insect contaminant.
We eat a lot of nuts, they don't all keep well unfortunately. Ground almonds kept cold do though.

 

[Broch]

I may have mentioned this before, I carried out a carb vs space analysis years ago when I was backpacking more. I determined the highest carbs per cubic area was lasagne. No wasted air space like in macaroni or other pastas. It's not as easy to cook with but it's possible.

 

[TeeDee]

I may have mentioned this before, I carried out a carb vs space analysis years ago when I was backpacking more. I determined the highest carbs per cubic area was lasagne. No wasted air space like in macaroni or other pastas. It's not as easy to cook with but it's possible.

I am imagining the myriad of 2 dimensional flat pasta based dishes currently.

It I appreciates maximises calories from pasta as its a rigid shape with air gaps -but plenty of other carb sources out there. Is pasta as stable ( before it degrades ) as say Rice? Bulgur wheat?

 

[Jared]

Orzo pasta is rice shaped, so more compact than others.

No powdered milk mentioned? Think FDA says it's good for a decade unopened.

 

[TeeDee]

Orzo pasta is rice shaped, so more compact than others.

No powdered milk mentioned? Think FDA says it's good for a decade unopened.

Orzo!! I was trying to remember what it was called - thank you. Yes , definitely can be compact.

Powdered milk -good shout.

I did read about Powdered butter early on but I've used that.

 

[slowworm]

Linguine is very compact for a pasta.

 

[Billy-o]

Re. cans specifically, I know this sounds weird and contrarian, but I think that I'd keep to very highly-flavoured stuff and ingredients for making sauces. Things like smoked sprats, anchovies (in fact canned fish in general), chipotle peppers in adobo, very good quality tomatoes/tomato paste, green peppercorns. That sort of thing. Also things you can't readily get in other forms ... like bamboo shoots. Ambrosia rice pudding would be another item for the list, as would evap, canned peaches and maybe coconut milk (but there are other options there)

A while ago I applied myself to learning how to cook dried beans, lentils, peas etc. That changed our kitchen quite a bit. I think if I'd tried this list before that point, it'd look pretty different.

 

[slowworm]

A while ago I applied myself to learning how to cook dried beans, lentils, peas etc. That changed our kitchen quite a bit. I think if I'd tried this list before that point, it'd look pretty different.

For emergency use cooked, tinned pulses are more useful as you don't need the time to soak and the energy to boil, rinse and simmer dried pulses. I often wonder how much money you save with dried vs tinned?

I was going to raise a similar point with rice, brown is far more nutritious but takes far longer and more energy to cook.

 

[TeeDee]

For emergency use cooked, tinned pulses are more useful as you don't need the time to soak and the energy to boil, rinse and simmer dried pulses. I often wonder how much money you save with dried vs tinned?

I was going to raise a similar point with rice, brown is far more nutritious but takes far longer and more energy to cook.

Doesn't Brown rice also have a higher likelihood of going rancid?

 

[TeeDee]

So a basic emergency 'keystone' pantry may include tinned proteins , pulses , beans , fish , meat , veg , fruit etc. Carbs tend to be dry ( Rice , Oats, Pasta , Bulgur Wheat , ) and reasonably shelf stable.

What else?

Oils and Fats? - Adding oils to meals is an easy way to bump the calories up to more suitable numbers.

 

[Toddy]

Olive oil keeps well if kept cold and sealed. So does British grown and made Rapeseed.
Ghee keeps for years in cans, so does Nido which is the full fat dried milk, but tins of condensed or evaporated milk last very well too.
I'd add honey to the list.