Prepping for Brexit thread

[Deleted User]

I am going to make chutney and jam this coming week mostly from home grown fruit and veg but also I shall buy in things as they come to ripeness and are available in the farm shops around us. A good selection of flavours will give us variety should we be in the position of limited choice of goods in the shops and perhaps make meals more interesting. I've read extensively about food in the last world war and the biggest complaint I've come across is people saying there was always enough food so they weren't going hungry BUT the boredom of having to use the same ingredients day in day out was what they disliked most of all. A good range of jams will give us sauces not just for puddings but also for meats and chutneys and pickles will add piquancy to basics like corned beef and sausage meat and different varieties will change tastes and alleviate boredom.

unrecordings

gfplux wrote: »

With the Ginger, if grown indoors does it matter what time of year you start.
Thank you.

Don't think it does, this James Wong article is dated December

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/dec/06/how-to-grow-ginger-james-wong

I'm going to give it a try next week. I've already had success with tumeric & lemon grass (for leaf rather than root)

lobbyludd

gfplux wrote: »

With the Ginger, if grown indoors does it matter what time of year you start.
Thank you.

ah, sorry, I don't know, I've only started it in spring/early summer.

[Deleted User]

I'm going to get a few bits and pieces in for Christmas (sorry I know I shouldn't mention the C word yet) both food and present wise in the near future, when the use by dates on things are showing January 2020 or later. I shall get tins of things we like to have, jars of mincemeat, I already have Christmas cake and Christmas puddings courtesy of Aldi who were selling iced fruit cakes and big puds for £1 each with a use by date in 2020 last Christmas in the boxing day sales. I shall make sure I have enough flour and raising agent to be able to make tarts and pies and I shall get a big gammon joint and a piece of pork loin to do in the freezer both of which I can cook if we get long power outs and use fresh. Presents will keep in store and I shall be OK for cards as again we got them in the boxing day sales. HWK will get in what he wants by way of things alcoholic and I shall make sure we have enough tea and coffee plus hot chocolate to see us through. Cans of cola and bottles of lemonade will keep too so all I'll need to source near the day is fresh things if I can find them. I want some sort of celebration despite what may or may not happen at the end of October onwards.

DigForVictory

Savvy investing in things now, for peace of mind let alone C (though I find the month of December can repeatedly take me by surprise unless I scheme) is the canny way to go. Plus home made things are unique & therefore have a scarcity value unless you always give jars of home made jam.

I was riveted to read how the prison economy works, and have been thinking about useful skills as well as coping with alternative currencies.

My father roared with laughter and pointed out that Russia in the Cold War the chain of exchanges meant that you bought an opera ticket and exchanged it for a warm fur hat - but there were about 15 other people involved along the way, but it worked. I have a feeling we are all going to be a great deal more aware of various preferences & little harmless weaknesses in each other in our communities and am not convinced this is a bad thing.

GreyQueen

Oooohhh, they're mentioning the C word!



I detest the crimble rush and am already sorted apart from some consumables for an auntie which I will buy once the sweeties etc are in store. Then, I plan to avoid all retail apart from essential food.


Have added some more EVOO to the stash up the corner of the kitchen.

fuddle

I've Cuban coffee on my gift list so need to get that ASAP as I can't buy it from the back of a lorry held up in a port or holding area. If it came to it we'll all be queuing to get into charity shops for goods already there and supplied locally, get rid of wish lists and make do, appreciate anything that we could gift. Who knew? Oh yeah, that's known as regression apparently.

I'm very nearly at the point where I can defrost the freezer. It's first job is to freeze a load of incoming flour bags in order to kill any nasty eggs. I'm hoping this will allow me to store a bit more. Hoping. It's not fool proof. Then I'll be having a drawer of frozen veg, frozen meat, frozen dairy and frozen fish. After loosing a freezer full years ago I never rely on my freezer but it's there and can be used.

AndyCF

fuddle wrote: »

After loosing a freezer full years ago I never rely on my freezer but it's there and can be used.

I had this two years ago and it was quite annoying. The freezer actually went off then on and off etc. I knew something was up as at the time a couple of frozen 'instant meals' (yes I know but emergencies etc) did not seem 'right' , for an example one was a beef hotpot, the ones that are in a frozen tray just a few slices of potato and mince.

Despite being nuked for longer than stated (I always do) and having a good stir halfway through, the potato tasted really odd. It was like it was not actually cooked somehow. Thinking it was just a bad one I binned it and tried something else and it was the same. I then realised what the freezer was doing as I caught it out so to speak.

Neighbour suggested claiming for foods on insurance etc, but I totted it up to about 50 at that time (those were the days! I can't stretch to anything like that now hmm) , and decided no way its not worth the claim as they will simply get it back the following year or two anyway, plus a bit more besides no doubt.


In regard to Brexit, no nothing special I do not myself see a great need to panic and if nothing else I could not anyway. My usual generic advise is to keep a few tins in (something recommended anyway really) if pennies are short then cheapy cheap brands will do , you only really need a couple of tins of veg and perhaps the same for soup etc. If space is short then one of those plastic boxes with a lid from a bargain shop perhaps, then it can sit on the floor somewhere out the way too. Perhaps consider a couple of those meat spread paste pots too, I see they vary in brand and price between about 30 to 60 pence depending on type, or a small tin of meat perhaps.

I made an interesting discovery the other day regarding tins (well I thought it was!) but the story will go into the 'cooking for one' topic tomorrow when I am awake plus I need to get a picture for that post too.

GreyQueen

The manager of a recycling plant told me last month that steel tins, alu drink tins and also those clear plastic milk jugs are all being made thinner than they used to be, which confirmed my own suspicions.

I've also heard an insurance fraud investigate remark drolly that when someone loses their freezer contents, they're always claiming for a freezer-ful of expensive foodstuffs like steaks. No one ever loses their oven chips or frozen peas, it seems.:rotfl:

My freezer dates back to Jan 2007, so is more likely to bite the dust sooner rather than later. Its contents is usually vegetables from the allotment. Dunno how I'd price the exact replacement and doubt I'd bother claiming for lost contents.

A good tip if you have suspicions your freezer may be misbehaving, or are planning to be away from home and think you may have powercuts is really simple and costs nowt.

Take a small plastic drink bottle, fill half full with water and freeze vertically. Once frozen, stand it on its head. If you ever find the ice has miraculously ended up in the other part of the bottle, you will know it has thawed and refrozen.

maryb

Yes I thought they were using less plastic. If you pour milk out of a four pint bottle, the handle buckles suddenly which causes the milk to splash. Annoying! I don't usually buy six pint bottles but I should think it's even worse