Jan122010
Warning! Your Food Storage is Incomplete Without These 5 Fresh Foods!
Think fast. What food items always seem to be on the short list when you head to the grocery store? Chances are, foods with the shortest shelf life will be included on that list, e.g. milk, bread, eggs, produce. Foods that will spoil or rot within a couple of weeks are also ones that we depend on for variety and a well-rounded diet. As your food storage pantry begins to fill, you’ll want to consider how you can keep these fresh foods in storage, long-term.
Milk
Milk can be stored long-term in the form of dry milk and canned. If you live near a dairy plant, it’s possible to purchase dried milk in large quantities at very reasonable prices. For the best long-term results, re-package the dried milk in PETE containers, along with an oxygen absorber or two. 
If you live in a humid climate, the shelf life of dried milk will be shorter. Companies such as The Ready Store (see the ad in my sidebar), sell instant milk in both #10 cans and 6-gallon buckets for an even longer shelf life. Canned milk can come in handy when you need a small amount of milk for a recipe. I keep several gallons of milk in the freezer in addition to these two other forms.
Bread
For short-term storage, say a month or so, commercially baked bread can stay in the freezer and taste just fine when your kids are clamoring for PB&J. However, for long-term, there really is no substitute to baking your own. Flour can be stored for a year or so in air-tight containers. To avoid any insect problem, freeze bags of flour overnight to insure that anything remotely resembling an insect egg is quite, quite dead. To make sure your family has bread in the long run, there’s just no way to get around storing wheat and grinding your own flour. Check out Chrystalyn’s article, Wheat for Dummies, for ideas of where to begin. You might as well start learning how to bake your own bread, crackers, and tortillas now and avoid the learning curve if you’re ever under pressure to produce a loaf of bread for sandwiches now! By the way, watch for wheat grinders on Craigslist, eBay and even in thrift stores. One sharp-eyed friend of mine has found not one, but two, wheat grinders at Goodwill stores.
Eggs
Well, how do you feel about adding a few chickens to the family? A coop in your backyard is probably the best way to insure a supply of fresh eggs. Occasionally, the least popular chicken in the roost can become Most Likely to Succeed by providing a satisfying meal of roasted poultry. Eggs can be frozen quite easily, and Walton Feed has the best selection of dried egg products, by far. If you’re interested in the quickest possible way to cook up a batch of scrambled eggs for breakfast, The Ready Store sells freeze-dried eggs and ham that only require boiling water for preparation.
image by nickwheeleroz
Produce
Fruits and vegetables can be canned, frozen, freeze-dried, dehydrated or grown right at home. I’ve persuaded a number of my readers to give Square Food Gardening a try, and we are putting that method to the test ourselves this month. I’ve discussed how easy it is to dehydrate food here and here. Home canning insures the freshest and least adulterated produce for your family, although commercially canned varieties are often too inexpensive to pass up. If you’re interested in preserving produce in a variety of forms, Karen Brees over at The Practical Preserver has written an outstanding manual, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Preserving Food. Freeze-dried produce is a great addition to the home pantry by providing light-weight fruits and veggies that are packaged to last 20-30 years. The first veggies I dehydrated and purchased freeze-dried are the ones I usually include in soups and stews: carrots, celery, onion, and potatoes.
Cheese
Is life without cheese even worth living? I’m not so sure, but I’m also not thrilled with my options when it comes to long-term storage. I think I’d be lost if I couldn’t whip up a quick quesadilla for my kids’ lunches and powdered cheese just won’t cut it. No pun intended. Freezing softer cheese, such as cheddar and mozzarella, effectively stores it for a few months, if properly wrapped, but the texture, once thawed, isn’t the same as fresh. Parmesan, Romano, and other hard cheeses fare better in the freezer. Powdered Parmesan in the famous green can will probably last right through Armageddon, but it’s not my favorite form of the cheese, although it would do in a pinch. Kellene Bishop, of Preparedness Pro fame, has written about waxing cheese for long-term storage. I’ve waxed my legs and eyebrows, but waxing cheese is something I haven’t tried yet. Angela shows how to wax cheese, step by step, on her blog, Adventures in Self-Reliance. In my own storage, I do have canned, frozen, and powdered cheese. Both Walton Feed and The Ready Store, among others, carry a variety of freeze dried and powdered cheeses. This month, January, 2010, Emergency Essentials is offering a sale on their Dairy Combo: 2 #10 cans of Cheese Blend powder, 2 #10 cans of freeze-dried Mozzarella cheese, and 2 #10 cans of butter powder. At a sale price of $89.99, it might seem high, but that’s a lot of dried cheese and butter.
Butter
It’s been years and years since I’ve used margarine. I have about thirty pounds of real butter out in my freezer, and that’s the way I like it. Frozen butter stores very well for months, and when I find it at $1.99 a pound or less, I stock up. Butter can be home canned, and although I’ve read mixed reviews of the results, I’m willing to give it a try and sacrifice some of my stored, frozen butter in the effort. Again, Walton Feed is a good source of powdered butter that can be reconstituted with a bit of water, giving it the consistency of whipped butter but with a milkier flavor. It’s a versatile form of butter and, when stored properly, has a long shelf life.
If you follow the links to Walton Feed, The Ready Store, or check out these products at any other online website, be sure to compare prices, package sizes, and storage containers. Take your time making any purchases, see if there are local suppliers to avoid shipping costs, and finally, try out the smallest possible amount to see if it’s something you even want to include in your food storage.
(31) Readers Comments
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How-to: Storing food in buckets
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Linda harper
I have actually canned cheese and the result is pretty good. It does age but it hardens and is very easy to do. I have also done butter and love it. I'm still experimenting with shelf life for them but so far it's been six months and no problems.
TheSurvivalMom
Linda, do you have a specific recipe or directions you use to do that? I think my readers would be interested in learning more and giving it a try.
Melanie_Honey
Last year I tried my hand at canning butter and I was very pleased with how it turned out. I read online that it keeps for 3+ years and so far mine has done fine after a year. If you are a butter lover then it might not be EXACTLY what you are used to. The melting and rehardening of the butter creates a sort of ghee flavor, but for us, it has been great. When my freezer fills up, or the power goes out, I will still have butter on hand.
It isn't all that easy to fine good instructions on how to do this so I found the link I used and pasted the instructions below:
TheSurvivalMom
It's always helpful to hear from someone who has actually tried things like this! One of my projects for this year is learning how to wax cheese. I've heard really positive reports from people who do this, and eating powdered cheese isn't my idea of living the good life! Thanks for sharing this info!
Melanie_Honey
Canning Butter
1. Use any butter that is on sale. Lesser quality butter requires more shaking (see #5 below), but the results are the same as with the expensive brands.
2. Heat pint jars in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes, without rings or seals. One pound of butter slightly more than fills one pint jar, so if you melt 11 pounds of butter, heat 12 pint jars. A roasting pan works well for holding the pint jars while in the oven.
3. While the jars are heating, melt butter slowly until it comes to a slow boil. Using a large spatula, stir the bottom of the pot often to keep the butter from scorching. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes at least: a good simmer time will lessen the amount of shaking required (see #5 below). Place the lids in a small pot and bring to a boil, leaving the lids in simmering water until needed.
Melanie_Honey
4. Stirring the melted butter from the bottom to the top with a soup ladle or small pot with a handle, pour the melted butter carefully into heated jars through a canning jar funnel. Leave 3/4″ of head space in the jar, which allows room for the shaking process.
5. Carefully wipe off the top of the jars, then get a hot lid from the simmering water, add the lid and ring and tighten securely. Lids will seal as they cool. Once a few lids “ping,” shake while the jars are still warm, but cool enough to handle easily, because the butter will separate and become foamy on top and white on the bottom. In a few minutes, shake again, and repeat until the butter retains the same consistency throughout the jar.
6. At this point, while still slightly warm, put the jars into a refrigerator. While cooling and hardening, shake again, and the melted butter will then look like butter and become firm. This final shaking is very important! Check every 5 minutes and give the jars a little shake until they are hardened in the jar! Leave in the refrigerator for an hour.
Melanie_Honey
7. Canned butter should store for 3 years or longer on a cool, dark shelf. Canned butter does not “melt” again when opened, so it does not need to be refrigerated upon opening, provided it is used within a reasonable length of time.
TheSurvivalMom
Melanie, thanks so much for those directions! Canning your own butter is a lot cheaper than buying canned butter and a lot tastier than powdered butter, any day of the week!
Andrea
Excellent post! We keep a small flock of layers and it's amazing the difference in the eggs. Plus, they're pretty, pleasant creatures to have scratching around in the backyard. And they are delicious : )
TheSurvivalMom
Well, we have a side yard with nothing much there but a couple of trees and some grass. It's a perfect area for chickens. I wish we had room for goats, but I know they would eat all our landscaping plants that we spent so much money on over the years. Maybe someday.
TheSurvivalMom
Andrea, do you butcher and clean your own chickens? That's something my husband would have to learn how to do. I've already informed the kids that if we get chickens, THEY CANNOT NAME THEM!!! LOL
Andrea
We named ours, but that doesn't stop them from being delicious when they go from being pets to pests. No, we don't butcher our own…soon. We found a local fellow that will process and vaccuum pack chickens for 2.50 a bird…that inexpensive, it's worth the money just to let someone else clean up the mess.
juju_mommy
I watched a YouTube video a few months ago about canning butter. Its something I'd like to try in the future. I searched around and it's still on there: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmmyS7z1UNI
Might want to check it out!
I have powdered milk (about 3 #10 cans I think) in my food storage. I'll admit that I haven't tried it yet, but when I shopped around the reviews were really good on this brand. http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_FE%20M70…
I also have a can of powdered eggs. I would use this mostly for baking purposes.
For bread, consider using more tortillas! In an effort to avoid those weekly milk-eggs-bread stops, I've been making some changes. I buy more eggs at a time, we stretch the milk and I always keep a pack of tortillas in the pantry. They stay good much longer than regular bread and can be used for a variety of meals and snacks.
Andrea
Juju, I use the same brand of powdered milk and it really is good….in fact I prefer it to fresh skim. Don't go into it expecting the exact same flavor as fresh milk…just enjoy it for what it is.
And I've tried canning butter too…it's easy, but a bit time consuming.
TheSurvivalMom
Chrystalyn uses powdered butter and eggs in her baking and says they work fine. I was thinking about tortillas the other day and thought that maybe all those millions and millions of people around the world who survive, partly, on tortillas and flat bread have the right idea! They're both easy to make, can be made without electricity, and they hold your food together so you don't even need a plate and fork. Brilliant.
)
rightwingmom
Great info. I've used PETE cola bottles for water storage but will definately put my dry goods in them now!
(Note to self ~ order oxygen absorbing packs!!!)
The cheese waxing is facinating. Definately worth checking into.
Canning is my grandmother's expertise. She's taught me, but I doubt I'll ever be as good as her. She swears by the "Ball's Blue Book" recipes!
Ravenwolf31
Hey lisa, I like this article a lot, and saved it to my computer. Your info is really coming in handy. I just did an article on basic re-using glass and plastic storage containers that formerly held food when first bought, for those on a budget. I am still reading up on a lot of food preserving.
TheSurvivalMom
Ideas for preppers on a budget might be an area of interest to thousands of readers, Raven. Not only are more people unemployed and under-employed, but they're trying to save money, pay off debt, AND prepare at the same time. I know I'd love to read your ideas for prepping on a shoestring budget.
Ravenwolf31
That is pretty much the message that I want to get out there. I just want to get out the message that you don't have to be rich to prep, just a bit more frugal and when it comes to spending, saving and storing. Plus doing this kinda exercises the greatest survival tool you have, which is yourself.
TheSurvivalMom
I'll add your blog to my blogroll so everyone can follow your prepping on a budget tips!
Ravenwolf31
Thank you! I really appreciate that!
LizLong
This site is sponsored by the Canned Food Alliance, so they do have an agenda, but another prep location (Rawles, I think) referred me to it and it looks like it has good information. The specific page the link is for has "the perfect pantry checklist". I haven't had a chance to check out all the information on their site, but it looks like there is a lot of good stuff there. Hope it helps someone!
http://www.mealtime.org/content.aspx?id=180
TheSurvivalMom
Thanks, Liz! They have some items on their list that I haven't thought of.
rightwingmom
Oxygen Absorbers (desiccant packs) are very costly to order online. I haven't found a local source yet.
My husband found instructions on making them yourself. The instructions use Lipton tea bags and silica gel beads from a crafts store. The guy is making them for his ammo and gun safe. They look like they'd be okay for food. (Rather than re-stapling the bag, I may try to sew it closed.)
Lisa, Could I get your opinion? Other opinions are welcomed too!!! RWM
http://www.alpharubicon.com/prepinfo/desiccantpac…
TheSurvivalMom
A teabag itself is safe enough to use in your food storage, and I suppose if your hands and everything else you used were sanitized, it would lessen the chances of any bacteria getting into your food. But then, bacteria need certain favorable conditions to stay alive. Walton Feed sells 100 oxygen absorbers for just under $16, plus shipping. Because the long-term storage of food is involved, that would be my preference. Does anyone have another opinion?
LizLong
On eBay, I got 200 oxygen absorbers (S100 size) for $21.84 + $5 s&h. I have to agree with you, Lisa, that I would rather not do it myself. If that $20 "savings" cost you "just" one bucket of wheat, then it's all out the window.
And my understanding was that desiccant packs absorb moisture, not oxygen. Is that incorrect?
On http://www.uline.com, you can get 1,250 silica gel bags that protect 235 cubic inches and are 1 1/16 x 2 3/4" (5 grams) for $90 (tyvek and clay bags are in smaller quantities). I have no possible need for that many, but you could buy them and split them with a whole group of friends. (I have done that with their cold packs for food, which are awesome at staying cold.) I may actually spend $55 for the "container" (as in, shipping container – the ones that go on boats and trains) packs to put in the basement storage room. You can normally heat desiccant packs and then reuse them. This would be cheaper and easier than getting a dehumidifier for the room, plus it would still work if the electricity goes out. :-p
If you hadn't guessed by now, uline's business is providing packing supplies, primarily to businesses, so they only sell in Costco-size lots, but they have really good prices, and an amazing selection of stuff. I always like looking through their catalog.
http://www.uline.com/BL_1005/Container-Dri-II-Des…
Barbara
Oxygen Absorbers and Desiccant are two different things! Desiccant (silica gel) is a moisture absorber. It takes the water out of the air, avoiding rust, mildew and mold. It can be bought as kitty litter (the kind that is blue crystals). Oxygen absorbers remove the oxygen from the air in a small space, leaving the other gases, such as nitrogen, that are part of our atmosphere.
For some things, it would be nice to have both, but most Food uses only the oxygen absorbers to keep insects from being able to live in it. Silica gel is NOT good to eat. IF you use it in foods, make sure it is well separated from touching the food itself.
TheSurvivalMom
Excellent information! Thanks, Barbara!
LizLong
We're probably going to get chickens. It's not so much to get eggs, although that will be nice, it's mostly to get rid of the @#$B ticks. Apparently, the chickens (and guinea hens) love to eat ticks and Japanese beetles.
mama4x
We just got chickens and are looking forward to eggs! We drink soy milk and in our trial runs we have not enjoyed the powdered milk. I read that if you mix and stir in the day before it tastes better. However, I just found out that I can get a soy milk maker and dried soybeans and make my own milk- a cup or less of dried soybeans makes 2L milk. Stores well, and I can plug it into my solar panel converter charger thingy if the power is out.
OH! and check your local LDS food storage store for Cheap! O2 absorbers!!
LizLong
I have powdered milk, eggs, and butter primarily for baking needs. I really doubt that I will taste the difference once I mix it with Bisquick and cook it. I'm hoping that sort of thing will help me stretch other fresh foods and regular grocery store items longer.