Oct282010
INSTANT SURVIVAL TIP: Necessary but Overlooked Sauces
image by nromagna
Survival foods are sort of like a clique. Rice, beans, wheat, and SPAM just sort of stick together like a bevy of popular cheerleaders. Yeah, we know they’re necessary, but what about all the other girls on campus? In the world of survival food, or food for long-term storage, store-bought sauces are the wallflowers. They add so much to any meal, yet how many food storage checklists include soy sauce or Frank’s Hot Sauce? The irony is that these sauces make those other foods in the Survival Food Clique tasty and appetizing.
If you normally use any of these sauces, they’re worth adding to your pantry and food-storage lists.
- soy sauce
- teriyaki sauce
- Tabasco, Cholula or the hot sauce of your choice
- Frank’s Hot Sauce
- Worcestershire
- A-1
- HP sauce, a British favorite
- ketchup
- Heinz 57
Some, but not all, of these sauces can be made at home. Experiment with recipes for ketchup, try your hand at making your own pepper hot sauce, and if you like your version better, be sure to stock up on the ingredients! Otherwise, look for sales and coupons for your sauce must-haves!
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Oh my goodness Soren you are hilarious! I guess we had better stock up
Fern
I admit it – I'm a soy sauce snob. I'm really picky about brands, I have three types of Chinese soy and two types of Japanese soy around at all times …. right now.
I also have oyster sauce and fish sauce in quantity, the one brand of jarred mole' sauce a Mexican friend of mine recommended, and a LOT of sesame oil. Sesame oil is only used for flavoring foods at the end of cooking, so for me qualifies as a sauce.
I've looked into fermenting my own soy sauce, but I'm a beginner at fermenting foods and the recipes seem to make a HUGE amount – I'm not ready for that kind of commitment yet!
Josh H
Uhmm… tobasco sauce is my weakness. I love that stuff!
rightwingmom
Pintos are NOT edible until I put my Trappey's (Hot Peppers in Vinegar) on them! YUM!!!
LizLong
Mustard – all kinds. I got some holiday packaged ones on sale after last Christmas.
Chocolate and strawberry syrup to add to milk (or ice cream). Rehydrated milk is not the tastiest beverage, so having some flavoring to add to it could be very beneficial. We have Hershey's Dark Chocolate syrup because it's yummier.
Barbeque sauce – all kinds.
Richard
What is A1 sauce? I am English.
Kirk
Richard, A1 is a steak sauce that is like Heinz 57 but only a darker color and more of a vinegar spicy taste. oh, and a little thinner. I prefer A1 to Heinz 57.
Cat_Ion
Its like HP. But better. <smile>
Its a steak sauce.
mom23wolves
I think this is a great list to consider. I would add bottled gravy or gravy mix as well. Not my favorite, all things equal, but in a pinch it could sure help a pantry meal where no fresh meat is available.
TheSurvivalMom
Brown gravy mix can be purchased in bulk very inexpensively at Costco. Having one or two of those large bottles of mix would be a very good idea.
Barbara
I have a son who won't eat meat without BB-Q sauce. Another won't drink milk without chocolate. I can make BB-Q, but it's one of those simmer all day, fuel intensive things. In a disaster my time and energy is better served by opening a bottle.
TheSurvivalMom
Ranch dressing rules here at our house. My son likes it on everything, from pasta to burgers! And only Hidden Valley will do!
inaminute
My husband (of English descent, naturally), loves HP sauce. I've begun collecting the little packets we get at fast food and take-out places; I have a box full of honey mustard, ketchup, soy sauce, mild border sauce (Taco Bell), mild Bar-B-Cue sauce, ranch dressing (from Burger King), Arby's sauce, and Hardee's strawberry jam. They're perfect one-use size, small enough to be tucked into a BOB, and great for giving some zip to a bland dish such as rice, pasta, or oats.
Mary
inaminute, I "collect" those little free sauce packs from everywhere too. ChickFilA offers jelly too. I store them in my empty coffee cans.
LizLong
Arby's has "Horsey" sauce with horseradish in it too.
rightwingmom
Every time I'm offered ketchup, hot sauce, honey, Ranch dressing, etc. I say "absolutely!" Even if we don't use all of it, I throw them in a container in the pantry. Taco Bell hot sauce makes a decent and cheap Spanish Rice.
Alternate condiment idea ~ Toss a couple of ketchup packets in the freezer. They make excellent small boo boo cold packets for small accidents like mildly burned fingers.
An American Woman
I have been stocking up on the tiny packages of (salt) where ever i go for over a year now… It will become a major player in bartering items. Also on the list for stocking up on–is ((pepper, ketchup, soy sauce, jellies, hot sauce, picante, sugar, tea packets, coffee packets, hotel–soap, shampoo, conditioner)).
Chick fila (so far as i can find) is the only fast food place that has the antibacterial handi-wipes. Stock up on them too…
Bill
Clancy's Fancy is my favorite hot sauce. Made in Ann Arbor, Michigan. One small bottle lasts for months. It lasts forever too in the pantry. Incredible stuff. Great on rice.
jan
We like to add coconut oil to alot of different things. I also like to have dry spice mixes in my preps. Seasoned salt and few other things can add alot of flavor to an otherwise tasteless dish.
ZMalfoy
I can grow hot peppers with a cup of dirt and tablespoon of water, it seems. Squash, not su much (yet!), but my garden overflows with all manner of hot peppers. I made my own hot sauce this year, for the first time. And made sliced picked peppers, and habenero-apricot jelly . . .
The thing to, is that these peppers have a lot of vitamins (I think they're rather high in Vit C, IIRC), so they're very good for you. And they add so much taste to dishes! I cannot eat eggs without a few drops of hot sauce to help wake me up!
Fla SD
Yes, you can collect the single-serving packets from fast food places. e.g. Popeye's Chicken offers Tabasco in packets, and most Asian restaurants offer soy sauce, etc.
But, READ THE INGREDIENTS!!! e.g. Those "honey" packets at KFC and Popeye's are no longer REALLY honey?!!! Now, their some sort of "engineered" corn syrup poly-crud. They surely have enough preservatives in them to provide them with the half-life of Twinkies. But, REAL honey is all-natural, and is nearly good forever?
So, watch your packet-labels carefully, and don't settle for something that's going to cause you more harm than good.
Personally, I like the packets because they are GREAT fro sneaking into the small spaces of the bug-out bags (e.g. a few into each mess kit.) Besides, squirrel, rabbit, raccoon, seagull, pigeon, etc. all kinda taste the same (if you put enough hot-sauce on them?!!!)
The down-side: When they accidentally break-open, and taint everything in your backpack…
Also, don't discount those single-serving drink mixers, either! Water can become pretty boring after a few days of ONLY water. Sneak a variety of those drink/team mixes into your rucksack, too! (Be sure NOT to mix them in your canteen, however. Water, and ONLY water goes into your canteen.) You never know when you might need to flush-out a wound… (It would SUCK to have only Tang to flush your wound with.)
Fla SD.
yellow bird
Once, on a remote island in the middle of a BIG lake, my son stepped on a broken bottle left below water by an extremely inconsiderate person. The small FAK on my sailboat had no provision for washing wounds. I made the supreme sacrifice and cleaned the wound with Scotch.
MasterPo
You can make an AWESOME tangy French dressing from Ketchup, white vinegar and confection sugar.
Utobobo
I was wondering what the shelf life of the sauces might be?
Forpeepsakes
I'm so thankful for this website!!! I thought I was the only "you never know when you'll need it" person that saved all the condiments from fast food places!!! Thank-you all for admitting it too!
Tim
I was told that the pilots in the Vietnam war used to carry Tabasco sauce with them in case they needed to eat off the land a little Tabasco goes a long way toward making almost anything tasty.
pamela
This probably isn't considered a sauce, but don't forget how good bouillon cubes can make simple dishes. I have beef, chicken, ham, and tomato cubes and, since I use them regularly, they get rotated automatically.
If you get take-out food, whether Chinese, Taco Bell, or Arby's, save the little packets of sauce they put in. They're great for a BOB or just general use.
Wonder Gal
INGREDIENTS !!! if you are thinking at all, even a little, of sharing a bite or two of your stuff with another person, try hard to keep at least some ingredient lists around. Don't use them as fire-starter stuff until you have to….An allergic reaction can put a real crimp in plans to hike 10 miles to go fishing for supper, when your partner is writhing in pain that (s)he knows will last 10-12 hours.
Wonder Gal
remember, a small pack of FROZEN [whatever] — "honey", mayonnaise, etc — makes a dandy ice-pack too.
TheSurvivalMom
I love that idea, Wonder Gal! Around here it does seem like we have more of the little boo-boos than major injuries, thank God!
MJS
FRANK'S Hot Sauce? Ugh. Any other brand of hot sauce is better. Consider Crustal, Bull or Louisiana. Frank's is a POOR choice, it is the Kraft BBQ Sauce of hot sauces.
On another note: Malt Vinegar or Balsamic vinegar would be a fine addition to the list.
TheSurvivalMom
I'm so sorry that I have a Frank's Hot Sauce addiction! LOL Balsamic vinegar is a great suggestion.
Lady Glover
When prepping for long term, look for glass containers or canned items. My wise mentor advised me that the product will often out live the plastic container it is packaged in.>> Especially the flimsy plastics they use today!
Lady Glover
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Joe R
(4) four years as a Army Grunt I more C-rats than I want to think about I have learned that tobasco can make anything eatable.
Joe R
cSpace
I also keep the little "packets" of sauces, but as Fla SD said, check the labels carefully…I also get quart sized zip lock baggies, and keep all ketchup, separate from the mustard, separate from the Arby's sauce, you know ? Believe it or not, I also wipe them down with a Clorox wipe when I bring them home, who KNOWS who has handled them, and if there is anything hanging on the outside of the packaging that could cause a problem in storage….better to take a little time making sure clean and dry before putting them in thair baggies and then in a larger bucket…vinegars are a MUST…as ANYTHING can be pickled and kept for quite some time. Another thing to make sure you keep plenty of is salt…you might be able to eat anything with tobasco sauce to make it better…but…if the meats, etc…are not cured correctly, or dried correctly, you are asking for trouble.
reba
I am a self proclaimed condiment queen. Love the little packets. One thing to note is that the little packets tend to not have a very long shelf life. about a year or so for most packets. Keep them rotated in lunches etc. so that you always have a fresh supply. Also, ALWAYS ask for cheese and peppers with your delivered pizza. Great way to get little packets of parmasan cheese and the red pepper flakes to make hot sauce if you want. I have used my cheese packets to make alfreado sauce before. Ketchup to make soup (add milk) Arbys horsey sauce to make a cheese ball (with cream cheese). Added the ranch dressing to tuna for a zip to tuna patties and strawberry jam in thumb print cookies. Loved how it squeezed right into the center of the cookie.