Store It Foods

There are many good reasons to have an extra supply of food in your house. Maybe you’re just trying to keep up with feeding your kids as well as all their hungry, teenage friends. Or maybe you’re ensuring that your family has a cache of food in case something unexpected and tragic happens. And then again, you could simply be preparing a lot of food ahead of time in order to save yourself the time and trouble later.

Whatever reason you’re storing an extra supply of food, it’s important that you have the food storage supplies ahead of time. After all, if you start canning food and realize that you don’t have the proper cans, it’s going to be a big pain. Also make sure you have the space to store all this food. If it can be left out, make sure there’s enough space on your shelves to accommodate all this food. If it needs to be frozen, make sure you have an extra freezer that can hold all those dishes.

If you are planning on purchasing a grain mill so that you can grind your own wheat and other grains, you’ll soon find that there are lots of options.  One of the first choices that needs to be made is whether or not you want to go with a manual grinder or an electric powered model of some sort.

For some of us, though, both are needed.  This would certainly be the case if you wanted the speed and convenience of an electric mill, but needed the capability of continuing to produce your own flour even in the face of power outages.  That could be a part of your family’s emergency preparedness planning.

If that is the case, you would, of course, then want to limit your searches to machines that have both options — normally run using electricity, but with the option available of converting to hand operation.  Or would you?

Such machines certainly exist, but they tend to be rather costly.  Surprisingly enough, it is often more economical to buy two instead of one.  Select a good quality electric grain mill, and choose, as well, a manual grinder that would also meet your needs.  You might actually save money by doing so.  In any case, it is certainly worth investigating.

You’re not likely to want to vacuum package your home grown sprouts, simply because you’re generally growing them for immediate consumtion.  The seeds, however, are another matter.

Seeds for sprouting normally store well.  Consequently, sprouting is normally a wise food storage choice.  To provide even greater protection for those seeds, especially if you have purchased in bulk to have plenty on hand, vacuum packaging is definitely an option that should be considered.  It provides air tight, water tight storage, and can serve to render what is already a long lasting product, something that can last even longer. 

It has been mentioned in these pages that food storage means more than just the storage of food.  If you are thinking of long term needs, it is wise, of course, to have an ample supply of storage foods on hand.Other needs might include methods of preparing and cooking that food, water sources, and all sorts of other things that are necessary to cope during an emergency.   “Prepare” is an important part of the phrase “emergency preparedness.”  Planning ahead just might be crucial. 

And make sure you give some thought to that planning.  In other words, we need not only to have materials on hand, but we need also to be able use those materials.  When it comes to food, food storage should consist of foods that we will actually eat.  You may want to have a manually operated can opener available in the event of power outages, but if arthritic hands make the operation of a standard can opener difficult, a ratcheting can opener might be just a little easier to use and a better choice for that storage.  A propane barbecue could become a very important and useful appliance to have on hand when the electric range is non-functional, but a lack of porpane could end that usefulness.    Similarly, a flashlight or two or three or more should be available in every home — just in case.  Yet, if they batteries, and batteries are not to be had, what good are they?

Yes, a little planning  and a little thought should also be made a part of our emergency survival and food storage preparations.

If you’re looking into purchasing a food dehydrator, make sure you do your research. Just like with any kitchen appliance, you should look into all the various brands and features before you actually make your purchase. With dehydrators specifically, make sure you check out user reviews to see how evenly the machine dries the food. Some apply heat unevenly, and this can result (not surprisingly) in unevenly dried food.

Look into some of the best known brands, which can include everything from an Excalibur dehydrator to a Nesco dehydrator. Compare prices with features and quality and see what represents the best overall value. Also make sure to check out unconventional products such as solar dehydrators. These utilize the heat of sunlight in order to dehydrate food, and they are a great option for people looking to implement “green” appliances into their lives.

The use of bottle water has become quite a controversial topic as of late.  Plastic water bottles are filling landfills as they are being discarded in their millions.  Can carcinogens leach from the plastic into the water they contain?  Debate rages over that as well.

And how good are they for long term water storage if you want to use them that way?  The rule of thumb is a maximum one year storage life.  Yet, one government agency has this to say, “Like many other food products, bottled water normally contains low numbers of harmless bacteria. However, if stored for prolonged periods at room temperatures, these bacteria can multiply rapidly. A 1988 Health Canada study of bottled water kept at room temperature for 30 days showed a substantial increase in the bacterial count.”

A safer bet might be to consider the keeping of something like Aqua Literz, a sterilized product in a sterilized container that has actually been designed for such long term storage.  With a five year shelf life, and with the approval of such agencies as the U.S. Coast Guard and the American Red Cross, it can also provide you with peace of mind.

“Ah, there’s nothing like home made, freshly squeezed juice!”

Have you ever heard that before?  Probably you have, although many of us will have to take the speaker’s word for it.  After all, if you haven’t anything around with which you can squeeze that juice, then you’re a lot less likely to have tried it. Admittedly, it might sound tempting, but not everyone has a couple of hundred dollars sitting around with which you can invest in a juicer that would allow you to do that trying. And why spend all that much when you’re not sure just how much you’ll like it.

Hold on though!  Two or three hundred dollars might be what it takes to get a top end, high quality juicer, but you don’t necessarily need to start out with a top end, high quality juicer.  For a much more modest investment, you can obtain a functioning, manual juicer that will allow you to wade into the world of home made, freshly squeezed juices.

Considering the nutritional value and the delicious taste of such juices, this just may be the kind of step that would be very worthwhile to take.  Reconsider that more expensive juicer once the experimentation has taken place and you’re better aware of your own home’s juicing needs and wants.

Shelter in Place is the practice of going or remaining indoors in the event of a sudden emergency.  This is done as opposed to evacuating the area, something that might be found necessary due to the release of an airborne hazardous material, or, in the case of schools and offices, when confronted with armed intruders.

In other words, evacuation is not always an option.  For that reason part of our emergency preparedness planning should also include the possible need to stay indoors, perhaps in a single room which could quickly be made ready to seal us away from deadly fumes or smoke — airborne pollutants that could quickly overcome anyone remaining outdoors and unprotected.

Have on hand duct tape and plastic sheeting that could be used to seal non-airtight windows.  Use that same tape to seal the cracks around doors.  Have water on hand, not only for drinking, but for soaking a large towel that could be used to block the airspace below those doors.

In case the danger persists for more than one or two hours, it would also benefit you to have a bit of food and drinking water readily available.  Emergency toilet faciltities might also be in order.  Prepare your own supplies, or see what is commercially available.  Shelter in Place kits do exist.

You should also research the subject.  Be aware of what dangers might exist in your particular community.  It may never happen, but it never hurts to be prepared.

Dry pack canning is growing in popularity.  This method of long term storage is effective at providing an air tight environment for those foods you wish to include in that storage, making it perfect for dehydrated and dried foods. 

An important consideration, however, is what size of container you wish to use in the process.  The number 10 can is extremely popular, and is approximately one gallon in capacity.  Smaller cans are available if you wish to use them, but if you do wish to use them, it is also necessary to make sure the can sealer you are going to use is capable of handling those smaller cans.  That is not necessarily always the case.

Consequently, prior to making an investment in such a tool, it would be wise to determine the ideal can sizes for use in your family.  This is another case of “looking before you leap.”