Basic Food Storage--Sugars

In America, in the good old days of the 1700s, people consumed about 4 pounds of sugar per year.  In the 1800s, this amount had increased to roughly 18 pounds annually.  By the 1900s, we were eating around 60 pounds per year.  And today, it's well over 100 pounds per year and many people can't reach down to tie their shoelaces.

No one's going to argue that people in the 1700s and 1800s were healthier because they ate less sugar, and it's a pretty hard sell to say that we need over 100 pounds of sugar each per year to be ready to face the zombie apocalypse.  There has to be a happy medium somewhere.

The recommended minimum amount of sugar to store per person per year is 60 pounds.  Now some are going to say they don't need that much, that's unhealthy, whatever.  That's fine.  Sugar is definitely not essential to life.  It contains bare traces of some essential vitamins and minerals, but not enough to be significant.  However, it is loaded with calories.  If you choose to store less sugar, be sure to compensate for the calorie deficit by adding in more grains, beans, and/or oils to your storage plan.

This 60 pounds per person recommendation provides only for cooking and baking needs, not wants.  There is no allowance for canning fruits or making jams, or for making cookies or cakes.

In contrast to the other basic food storage items, sugar does not need to be protected from heat or light, and with the exception of jams and corn syrup, it doesn't need to be rotated.  It would be really nice (for some of us) if the number of calories somehow decreased over time.  We'd all have boatloads of lower-calorie sugar in the garage to rotate through.  (It's nice to dream, isn't it?)  Of course, sugar must be kept dry.  And never use oxygen absorbers with it, unless you truly hate yourself.  Oxygen absorbers will turn sugar into a rock-hard mess that you'll need a hammer and chisel or cheese grater to return to regular granulated form.  No, I am not exaggerating.  Sugar must also be protected from pests and it will take on odors from other items, so it does need to be protected in that manner.  Probably don't want to store it next to the motor oil.

Sugar comes in a variety of forms.  Personal preference is your guide here.  With each option, I'll provide a range in the number of pounds to store.  The low end is for those who want to store the minimum, those who just want to be hungry but alive.  (That's not me.)  The upper end is for those who want to live comfortably.  Regardless of what you choose to store, make sure you have a minimum of 60 pounds to achieve the "hungry but alive" level of food storage for one person for one year.

Sugar, 40-66 pounds.  I store only pure cane sugar, as opposed to beet sugar.  In the United States, 96% of the sugar beets raised are GMO, Roundup Ready.  If sugar is pure cane sugar, it will be stated on the packaging.  Otherwise, you may be sure it is beet sugar.  Sugar is also used in treating wounds, so you may wish to allow a pound or two for that.

Brown sugar, 3-5 pounds.  I make sure this and powdered sugar are pure cane as well.  If your brown sugar becomes hard, add a slice of bread to it and wait a day.  It should soften right up.

Powdered sugar, 1-3 pounds.   I'm planning to be able to glaze cakes and decorate sugar cookies with frosting.  And my children like to sprinkle this on their Swedish pancakes.  It is best not to substitute powdered sugar for granulated in canning.  Powdered sugar has a little bit of cornstarch added to it, and using it in canning will result in a cloudy product that some mistake for spoilage.  Powdered sugar is highly sensitive to moisture in the air and will clump easily.  However, if purchased in the two-pound plastic bags (and the bag is not compromised), your sugar will not clump.  (I spent several years making wedding cakes.  I never once sifted the powdered sugar that came from a freshly opened bag.)

Honey, 3-5 pounds.   Most are already aware that much of the honey sold in grocery stores is adulterated, so I won't go into that here.  Make sure you have real honey for your family.  Real honey will crystallize; adulterated stuff never will.  Real honey stores just about forever.  It was a "thing" among the English in the early 1900s to eat honey that had been discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs.  To liquefy solid honey, place the container in the sun or in a pot of simmering water.  Like sugar, honey (raw, unprocessed) is also used medicinally, so you may wish to allow a pound or two for those purposes.

Maple syrup, 1-3 pounds.  Real maple syrup also stores indefinitely.  Yes, it's a bit pricey, but you don't need a whole lot of it.  Of course, you can also store the imitation stuff, or you can make your own with Mapleine flavoring and brown and granulated sugars.

Molasses, 1-2 pounds.  Molasses contains many trace minerals.  It can be added to granulated sugar to make brown sugar.  (To 1 cup of granulated sugar, add 2 tablespoons of molasses for light brown sugar, and up to 4 tablespoons for dark brown sugar.)

Corn syrup, 3-5 pounds.  Used in making candy, caramel corn, and pancake syrup.  Karo corn syrup does not contain high fructose corn syrup, at least the last time I checked; most of the other brands do.  Shelf life is about three years.

Jam and jelly, 3-5 pounds.  The lower the sugar content, the lower the shelf-life.

Drink mix, 6-10 pounds.  We aren't real fans of Kool-Aid and such, so we store very little here, but having some on hand can be helpful in persuading dehydrated children to drink.

Flavored gelatin mixes (Jell-O), 1-2 pounds.  We don't eat a lot of this either, but Thanksgiving won't be Thanksgiving without Mom's Strawberry Jell-O Salad.  The little things can make a big difference, especially when food fatigue sets in.

A couple of final notes: 

• Sugar is really heavy.  You probably don't want to store it in anything larger than a four-gallon bucket.
• Making moonshine requires a lot of sugar.  And you may think you don't need it if you are not a drinker.  But!  Alcohol is also a disinfectant.  And it is the base for most herbal tinctures.  Don't skimp on the sugar.

Links to related articles:
Food Storage and Learning from History
Honey  
Medicinal Uses of Sugar
Emergency Baby Formula

Homemade Pancake Syrup

Fruit Flavored Pancake Syrups 

Pineapple Syrup 

Jell-O for Food Storage 

15 march 2019 

Quick and Dirty Dehydrating

I'm one of those people who hates to read instruction manuals and any device that says "some assembly required."  I just want whatever it is I got to start working immediately.  I don't want to figure out what to plug in where or why it's not doing its job yet.  I don't want to have to wait for the instant ice cream maker to freeze before I can make the ice cream.  Which means I'm probably better suited to buying ice cream from the store.  But then I wouldn't be a prepper.

So today's post on getting a quick start to dehydrating is for people like me.  And these people will probably fall into one of the following four categories:

1.  You've got a dehydrator that you have never used and wonder if you will ever use.
2.  You have a dehydrator, but you aren't currently using it because it's winter and there's nothing from the garden to dehydrate.
3.  You don't even know how to dehydrate.
4.  You wonder whether you would actually use a dehydrator and whether it would be a wise investment, because you don't want to be like the people in #1 above.  

Short answers:
1.  We'll make it super easy to get started.
2.  That's what grocery stores are for.
3.  Can you buy a bag of frozen veggies?  Can you open the bag?  Can you pour the veggies on the dehydrator trays?  Can you turn the dehydrator on?  If you can answer yes to all of these questions, you know enough.
4.  Garage sale season is coming up, and Craigslist is always open.  You can pick up the round tabletop Nesco dehydrators for five bucks or less at garage sales.  They aren't my favorite for a few reasons, but for getting started the price is right and they do the job.

You basically do what is outlined in answer #3 above, but I'll provide a few more details here so that you are confident and your results are perfect.

Now's a great time to be using your dehydrator to preserve produce since in much of the country the garden isn't producing anything yet.  (At least, that is what I choose to believe.  We got another six inches of snow here on Monday.)  All you have to do is buy your bags of frozen veggies.  Of course, buy in bulk bags for the best deals.  Commercially packaged and frozen vegetables are already perfectly blanched so you don't have to do that step like you do with your own garden produce.  And they're perfectly uniformly diced or sliced or whatever for even drying.

Dump the bags of veggies on your trays and spread in a single layer.  Set the temperature to 125-135°F if you want to follow the usual directions for dehydrating vegetables.  I set mine to 110-115°F to preserve vitamin content and color better.

Drying times will vary based on temperature, humidity, size of the veggies, the efficiency of your unit, and possibly on whether you rotate your trays.  It will average between six and twelve hours.  It's perfectly acceptable to over-dry just to be on the safe side; these are for longer-term storage.  It's never a good idea to under-dry.  You'll just waste everything because the food will spoil.  So, what if it's bedtime and your food isn't quite dry?  Just turn the temperature down to 90-100°F degrees and go to bed.

When your veggies are brittle and crispy, they're done.  Let them cool completely before storing.  I prefer to vacuum seal mine in canning jars, but using Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers also works.

That's all there is to it!  Your veggies may take up to a few hours to re-hydrate when you're ready to use them, so you'll have to plan ahead for that.  They're perfect for adding to soups and casseroles.  And the beauty of dehydrated foods is that they weigh far less and take less space.

Links to related posts:
Dehydrated Tomatoes
Instant Rice
Fruit Rolls  
Dehydrated Pineapple
Hamburger Rocks 
  14 february 2019

Medicinal Uses of Cream of Tartar

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on an item you might wish to have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your family as best as possible.  No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  No treatments should be substituted for conventional medical advice or medicine.  This information is for a time when there are no hospitals and no alternatives.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care.  A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment.


In the process of writing a post about baking essentials, I came across a lot of information on the medicinal uses of cream of tartar.  I was just a little too intrigued to not pursue this further.  Especially after writing about cream of tartar and baking powder and wishing that perhaps I hadn't gotten so much cream of tartar.  But now I'm thinking I might want a little more.

High blood pressure. 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar and 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice in one cup (eight ounces) of water. Take one to three times per day.  This is only for high blood pressure due to a potassium deficiency. 

Urinary tract infection.  At the first sign of an infection, take 1/2 teaspoon (either directly on the tongue or in two size 0 capsules) cream of tartar with 8 ounces of water and a few drops of lemon juice.  Use twice daily before meals for best results.  To prevent re-infection, use a half-strength dose once per day.

Bacterial infection.  As an adjunct to antibiotic treatments, mix 1/2 teaspoon in 1 cup lukewarm water.  Stir well and drink.  Cream of tartar helps restore the body to its normal pH range and make antibiotic treatment more effective.

Edema.  Also known as dropsy, edema causes redness and swelling of tissues and may affect different parts of the body due to general dehydration or obstruction of the urinary tract.  Increasing potassium intake helps reduce edema.  It is a natural diuretic.  Mix 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar in one cup of lukewarm water.  Take this once or twice per day to reduce edema.

Smoking cessation.  There are lots of anecdotal reports online of using cream of tartar and fresh orange juice (never from concentrate, but no one says why) to aid in quitting smoking.  Unfortunately, fresh orange juice (or any orange juice, for that matter) may be difficult to come by post-collapse, but if you're lucky enough to live in a warm climate, this may be of benefit to you or someone you know.  Mix one teaspoon cream of tartar in a glass of fresh orange juice every night before bed for one month.  Good luck!

Constipation.  The trace amounts of magnesium in cream of tartar help regulate bowel movements.  Take two teaspoons of cream of tartar in a glass of lukewarm water at bedtime to relieve constipation overnight. 

Caution.  Excessive or long-term use of cream of tartar may lead to hyperkalemia (excessive potassium in the blood), dehydration, and/or diarrhea.

Links to related posts:
Baking Essentials:  Cream of Tartar, etc.
DIY Baking Powder 

For further reading:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3570668/ 

05.20.19

Basic Food Storage--Pasta

Who doesn't love spaghetti?  Well, I guess there might be a few people who don't love it, but most people at least like it.  And a heckuva lot of Americans grew up with Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.  (Not me--my grandma's baked macaroni and cheese was to die for; I've never liked the stuff from The Blue Box.  Unfortunately, my husband corrupted my children's palate with it, and that's all they would eat as young children.  Fortunately, they have matured a bit now.)

With few exceptions, pasta is an ideal long-term storage food.  Regular pasta has little to no fat or moisture content.  Without any special storage conditions, other than protection from bugs and rodents, it has a shelf life of two years.  If packaged in sealed cans or Mylar with oxygen absorbers, it's good for 30 years.  The exceptions to this are whole grain pastas and egg noodles, neither of which is recommended for long-term storage.

Many, if not most, pastas sold in the US are enriched with the B vitamins of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folic acid, as well as iron.  In comparing the American Beauty fettuccine from my cabinet with some deep-discounted-so-my-husband-bought-it Italian pasta (Delallo brand), the same serving size of Delallo has 5% more of each of the B vitamins listed, and the same amount of iron.  While the caloric count for each of the two packages of pasta is the same, your actual calorie count will vary, albeit slightly.  How is that, you ask?  Well, the longer pasta is cooked, the fewer the calories.  Al dente pasta has just a few (and it's really only a few--count on your fingers few) less calories than firm pasta.  The same is true with toast.  The longer you toast your bread, the fewer the calories.  When every calorie counts, maybe that will be important.  Right now?  I'll cook and toast my food the way I want it, thank you very much.

Regular Italian pasta:  Spaghetti, angel hair, fettucine, linguine, rotini, penne, macaroni, etc.  You know what you like; here are just a few thoughts to keep in mind.  Rotini, penne, and macaroni take a lot more space for fewer calories packed into a #10 can or bucket.  For maximum calories for your space, go with long, thin pastas like spaghetti, angel hair, fettucine, and linguine.  Angel hair and linguine cook much faster than spaghetti and fettucine, so you use less fuel.

Macaroni and Cheese:  I don't like the idea of storing anything in cardboard--the risk of bugs is too high, it's not protected from mice, it's got a pretty short shelf life, and it is so much wasted space.  And I don't even like it to begin with.  But I totally understand that this is a staple for some people and serious comfort food for many children.  So how's about a happy compromise?  Store your macaroni noodles properly, and get some real Kraft Macaroni Cheddar Cheese powder and package and store it properly (canning jar or mylar bag with oxygen absorber).  It is available on Amazon. 

Tortellini and Ravioli:  While we're most often used to buying these fresh, tortellini and ravioli do come in dried versions.  The best-by date is usually pretty short, under a year, but vacuum-sealed in a canning jar, my tortellini has been good for years.  We had some six-year-old tortellini last month in some soup, and while the kids noticed the difference in size, no one had anything to say about the flavor. It tasted just fine.

Ramen:  Forever a staple among college students, a lot of preppers are planning to live on it as well.  I'm not too sure this is the best idea.  Cheap ramen noodles are cheap for a reason.  We prefer the more expensive ramen that runs (in today's money--sure to be more expensive next month) about $1.25-1.50 a bowl.  They go into our emergency packs.  Yeah, they take a lot of space, but they are serious comfort food for us, and we only need to add hot water to prepare them.  But because they are expensive and take a whole lot of space, we don't store a lot of them.

Couscous:  This is a tiny Moroccan pasta that not a lot of people are aware of.  I was introduced to it as a college student living in the Russian house at BYU.  Ten or eleven students and the instructor and her daughter ate dinner together five days per week.  The students were responsible for preparing the meals, and we had to keep within a budget.  Couscous was cheap, fast, and filling, perfect for college students.  It cooks up just like instant rice and is just as versatile.  Most of what is sold in stores is ridiculously expensive little boxes of couscous with small seasoning packets.  If you've never had couscous before, buy one of those boxes and give it a try.  If you like it, and you probably will, buy plain couscous in bulk and start using it.  In the Russian house we made a simple stew of veggies and Italian sausage to spoon over it.  Good times.  Anyway, to sum up, it's cheap, cooks quickly, and very versatile.  Perfect for prepping.

Links to related posts:
Basic Food Storage--Wheat
Magic Mix
1 march 2019

Start Right to End Right: 3 DIY Soil Sample Tests to Perform to Insure Your Garden Is as Productive as Possible

When we reach the time that we are really gardening when it counts—when our home gardens have to produce all the vegetables we need because we can’t get them from a grocery store for whatever reason, we need to do more than throw some seeds in the ground and hope that they grow.  We need to do some homework first—soil science and chemistry homework.  The assignments are interesting and easy.  As a couple of bonuses, the results are more accurate than those obtained from using commercial kits, and you can get them on the same day, instead of waiting for days or weeks when using a service. 

Method #1—Taste Testing

Several times over the years I’ve read that farmers of old always conducted soil tests before planting.  Of course, they didn’t have fancy tests kits or Cooperative Extension offices.  They were on their own—just as we will be when society collapses.  These old-time farmers would put a bit of soil in their mouths, moisten it with saliva, and then determine whether it was sweet or sour.  Alkaline soil would be neutral or sweet.  Sour soil was acidic.  It was hugely convenient for the farmer because his soil test kit—his mouth—was always with him.  People today can conduct their soil tests the same way.

I am not going there.  And I don’t understand why they did.  Animals poop on the dirt, for Pete’s sake.  Maybe the soil taste-testing farmers are totally confident that any animal manures have completely decomposed, but I am most certainly not.  I just know I’d find a hunk of cat doo if I ever tried this.  And then there are all the worms.  I don’t need to go there.  I don’t need to go asking for trouble.  And you don’t, either.

Method #2—Baking Soda and Vinegar

This second test method is as accurate as the taste-testing method above, as well as being pretty quick and easy.

• Collect 1 cup of garden soil.
• Put ½ cup of soil into each of two containers.
• To the soil in the first container add ½ cup white vinegar.
• If it fizzes, the soil is alkaline, with a pH between 7 and 8.
• If it doesn’t fizz, do the next test.
• To the soil in the second container add about 2 teaspoons of distilled water.
• Add ½ cup baking soda.
• If it bubbles, the soil is acidic, with a pH between 5 and 6.
• If neither of the soil samples fizzes or bubbles, you have a neutral, balanced soil.

Unfortunately, while this method is just as accurate as the taste test method, it isn’t very specific.  You can’t tell whether your soil is slightly alkaline or acidic, or very much so. 

Method #3—Red Cabbage

This final test method is by far the most accurate—better even than the store-bought kits.  It takes less than two hours in all, and most of that isn’t even hands-on time. 

• Pour 2 cups of distilled water into a 2-3 quart saucepan.
• Add 4-6 chopped red cabbage leaves (about 2 cups).
• Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let sit for 30 minutes.
• Strain off the bluish-purple liquid.  It will have a pH of 7—neutral.
• To test:
• Add 2 teaspoons of garden soil to a canning jar.
• Top with 2 inches of red cabbage water.
• Stir and then wait 20-30 minutes.
• Check the color.
• Reddish-pink= acidic soil
• Sea blue-yellowish-green=alkaline soil
• Purplish-blue = neutral soil

Figure 1.  Photo courtesy of anishsbioblog.wordpress.com.  This shows the range of color you can get using red cabbage as the indicator.  When comparing to your own results (which will have soil at the bottom and suspended particles in the solution sample being tested), be sure to compare only the shade and not the intensity of the color.

I tested seven different samples of soil from various areas of my garden and yard.  The three garden soil samples all registered about an 8.5 based on the colors and pH scale gradient above.  That was a little surprising to me, but it also perhaps explains why the previous owners’ garden looked so sorry.  Something I had attributed to lack of care because they were busy moving might be better explained by the fact that the pH of the soil was too high.

The four samples of native soil came in at about 7.5 on the scale.  This includes the area where the blueberries will be planted.  Since blueberries require very acidic soil to grow, we will have to amend that soil heavily.

Testing the pH of the soil seems like such a little thing.  We like to believe that if we till the soil a little, start with good seeds, add sunshine and sufficient water, our vegetables will grow.  I like to believe that for sure.  However, and unfortunately at times, that pH is critical.  The soil’s pH affects the plants’ ability to take up nutrients from the soil.  The wrong pH can make certain nutrients completely unavailable to some plants.  When they don’t get what they need, they die.  Just like people.  We can have loads of vitamin C or D, but if we’re missing out on something critical, like niacin or thiamine, we’re going to die, too. 

So do yourself and your family a favor, and test the pH.  Learn what your plants’ needs are, have some synthetic amendments on hand if possible, and start and maintain a compost pile.  Happy gardening!