Preparedness for when

valk_scot

Someone was just posting on another thread about reusing plastic milk bottles. If they were well washed and dried they'd be useful containers for dried mixes I would think and easy to pour from. You could always put a scrap of cling film under the lid for a better seal? And the 2pt ones would fit nicely in the freezer for mixes with fat rubbed in.

grandma247

I would also freeze any mixes that had fat in them. My fat is added at the time I use the mixes but crumble mix is frozen.

Possession

valk_scot wrote: »

Someone was just posting on another thread about reusing plastic milk bottles. If they were well washed and dried they'd be useful containers for dried mixes I would think and easy to pour from. You could always put a scrap of cling film under the lid for a better seal? And the 2pt ones would fit nicely in the freezer for mixes with fat rubbed in.

Do you think they would pour straight from the freezer? Might have to do a trial run when I have some freezer space to try out to find out.
I'm a fan of the cookie sausages you just slice straight from frozen, although I keep forgetting to make them.

D&DD

Its definitely a cost issue for me (i.e what to store them in rather than jars) as well as a space issue concerning the dried mixes.

I never have a lot of room in any of my freezers as there's no telling when I can ever get out to the shops so I'm personally looking for unfreezable ideas too as well as ones which can be frozen.

Grandma what a great idea the bread mixes would save me untold time :T thanks so much!

VJsmum

D&DD wrote: »

More garden envy :T

kittie wrote: »

I was just trying to think of basic stores which would enable us to preserve food without electricity and to do that we need salt, oil, sugar, vinegar, lacto fermentation and alcohol. We could add drying but we would need a warm dry climate. Anyone got any tips on sugar preservation without electricity? Oh I suppose a wood fire would do for bottling. Anyway I am going to increase my salt and sugar stores this weekend, particularly salt for brining and to get lacto fermentation started

I quite like the sound of the better bean texture as in this video. I do get mushy beans at times so I think I`ll give it a whirl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRDL2C6M1_o

As many of you know (because i went on about it so much ), I have just come back from Seoul, S. Korea. On my day off (I was working out there) I visited the folk museum. THere was an exhibition with huge earthenware storage jars saying that they use the jars to preserve food for winter. Korea has 4 distinct seasons, more distinct than ours I think. Hot summers and freezing winters - and food would get very scarce. An autumn activity for the women in "olden days" would be to prepare "Kimchi" which is fermented cabbage, seasoned with chilli. ANd this would be a staple food for winter and would be kept in the jars, the jars are the size of a large child or a small adult. (nowadays it seems to be served with everything and is actually quite moreish!). There was something else that they would prepare and store on strings in their rooms - it escapes me now - if Possession is on this thread she might know.

Another food I had was a kind of nut product - but like a jelly more than a paste. It was made of ground hazlenuts and this contained lots of essential nutrients to enable people to survive winter. I had it in a soup and it was OK - though not the nicest thing I ate there. It reminded me though of an episode of the food programme I listened to about sending emergency foodstuffs to help the African (Ethiopian?) famine. An american guy was giving his kids Nutella for breakfast and realised it was a really nutritious food that could be easily foil sealed and transported. i think in a real SHTF situation a few jars of Nutella might be worth having. Apparently although the famine is worse than it was in the 80's, deaths are lower partly due to this foodstuff.

I'll see if I can find a linky

VJsmum

OK French, not american

http://motherboard.vice.com/2011/7/28/operation-calorie-drop-the-un-s-weapons-against-east-african-hunger-are-power-bars-and-nutella

Possession

VJsmum wrote: »

As many of you know (because i went on about it so much ), I have just come back from Seoul, S. Korea. On my day off (I was working out there) I visited the folk museum. THere was an exhibition with huge earthenware storage jars saying that they use the jars to preserve food for winter. Korea has 4 distinct seasons, more distinct than ours I think. Hot summers and freezing winters - and food would get very scarce. An autumn activity for the women in "olden days" would be to prepare "Kimchi" which is fermented cabbage, seasoned with chilli. ANd this would be a staple food for winter and would be kept in the jars, the jars are the size of a large child or a small adult. (nowadays it seems to be served with everything and is actually quite moreish!). There was something else that they would prepare and store on strings in their rooms - it escapes me now - if Possession is on this thread she might know.

Another food I had was a kind of nut product - but like a jelly more than a paste. It was made of ground hazlenuts and this contained lots of essential nutrients to enable people to survive winter. I had it in a soup and it was OK - though not the nicest thing I ate there. It reminded me though of an episode of the food programme I listened to about sending emergency foodstuffs to help the African (Ethiopian?) famine. An american guy was giving his kids Nutella for breakfast and realised it was a really nutritious food that could be easily foil sealed and transported. i think in a real SHTF situation a few jars of Nutella might be worth having. Apparently although the famine is worse than it was in the 80's, deaths are lower partly due to this foodstuff.

I'll see if I can find a linky

Could be seaweed or cuttlefish, they use a lot of both. (If you haven't seen it before, opening a plastic pack of dried cuttlefish is the funniest thing. It's basically a squid, dried, flattened and folded in half. In Japan it's a popular snack and you often see people buying them on the shinkansen (bullet train)). I think another foodstuff Korea has in common with Japan (probably through Japan's long occupation) is beanpaste and all kinds of soybean products, the most utterly disgusting of which (IMO) is natto - fermented soybean paste. All of these items a vital tool for getting through winters though.

My DD is very rarely allowed nutella for breakfast as a special treat - for goodness sake don't tell her it's a health food, LOL!

prepareathome

I am going to try Fermented Turnip Pickle, looks nicer than it sounds

Fermented turnips are a traditional treat in both Asia and Europe. Crunchy and lightly tangy, they are excellent as part of a mixed vegetable salad. They are also great served alongside meat or poultry.

Fermented vegetables are super healthy. They are easier to digest than raw vegetables, and their nutrients are more easily assimilated by our bodies. Plus they are loaded with probiotics that are good for our digestive systems and overall health.

This recipe couldn't be easier - no canning, no sterilizing jars, no long list of ingredients. You can have all the work done in under 10 minutes. The only difficult part is waiting a week while the turnips ferment and the flavor develops.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 3 pint jars

Ingredients:

7 - 8 medium turnips, peeled

4 cups water
1 tablespoon sea salt or kosher salt
1 fresh jalapeno or other spicy chile pepper (optional)
Preparation:

Slice the turnips. You can julienne or grate them to make a traditional kraut-style sauerruben, or cut them into thin rounds or crescents for a crunchier pickle.

If using the chile pepper(s), remove the stem end. Slice into thin rounds, discarding the seeds as you go.

Loosely pack the turnips and peppers into clean glass jars. It is not necessary to sterilize the jars for lacto-fermented foods, just be sure they are really clean.

Make a brine by combining 3/4-teaspoon salt per cup of water. It is important to use non-chlorinated water because chlorine can interfere with the fermentation process. Filtered tap water is fine - I simply run mine through a Brita filter.

Pour the salt brine over the vegetables. Gently press down on the vegetables to release any air bubbles and to submerge them in the brine.

Cover the jar loosely with a lid, or with cheesecloth or a clean dishtowel. Place the jar on a plate to catch any overflow that may happen once active fermentation gets going.

Leave the jars at room temperature for 3 days. During this time, remove the covers at least once a day and check to see that the vegetables are still submerged in the brine (add additional salt brine if necessary). You should start to see some bubbles on top, which is a sign that fermentation is underway.

By the end of the 3 days, the turnips should have a clean, lightly sour smell and taste. Put the jars in the refrigerator (no need to put plates under them at this stage). Wait at least 5 more days for the flavor of your fermented turnips to develop.

This recipe also works well with rutabagas.

Lacto-fermented turnips will keep in the refrigerator for at least 6 months, but are best eaten within 3 months. After 3 months they tend to lose some of their crispness.

Tip: using young Spring turnips will result in a milder pickle. Leave out the chile pepper and simply enjoy the refreshing taste of fermented Spring turnips.

I love turnips raw or cooked and so this would be a great way to always have some around. I will leave out the chilli though as not a chilli lover.

If this works out will see what over vegetables can do this way.

prepareathome

I don't have any kosher salt but do have Himalayian salt (pink) which is pure so anyone any idea if this will do, if so can do this today as have some turnips?

D&DD

Hello Mrs Doom
Can I ask why only a years worth of basic supplies and do you have lists...we love a list on here ooh and you gotta have chocolate




PAH have you seen the price of turnips :eek::rotfl: I refused to buy any last year and have had a really unsuccessful year this year til my current sowing of them so if I can grow enough I'll have a go at that thanks