The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

Cappella

Thriftwizard and Grunnie Lovly to hear that you're ok. Mind how you go both of you.

Wow. Any reason for the delayed (supermarket tinned goods)deliveries, Cappella, do you know?

Bad weather had closed the Snake and Woodhead Penine passes Karmacat and there had been an accident on the motorway so lorry traffic had simply backed up and there were very long delays. It's scary how easy it is to see food deliveries disrupted I have to say.

Well, noted last night whilst watching the BBC news that the possibility of short term food shortages in March has now hit the mainstream media. Interesting times indeed. I'm just going to quietly carry on stocking up a bit more tinned and frozen fruit and veg (and onions) and we have lettuce and lots of micro greens planned so I will wait with interest to see what happens now.

DigForVictory

Even youngest son looked a bit thoughtful as he gazed on the empty shelf where tinned spuds should be.

It is possible he may listen to his mother grouching, or at least decide to check there are tins first before cooking. He may even earn to prep!

Karmacat

Cappella wrote: »

Bad weather had closed the Snake and Woodhead Penine passes Karmacat and there had been an accident on the motorway so lorry traffic had simply backed up and there were very long delays. It's scary how easy it is to see food deliveries disrupted I have to say.

Thanks Cappella - good to know. And that's the point isn't it, even ordinary things, bad weather plus an accident, can create delays - heaven knows what Brexit delays might bring.

Well, noted last night whilst watching the BBC news that the possibility of short term food shortages in March has now hit the mainstream media. Interesting times indeed. I'm just going to quietly carry on stocking up a bit more tinned and frozen fruit and veg (and onions) and we have lettuce and lots of micro greens planned so I will wait with interest to see what happens now.

That's it, isn't it - nice and quiet, and then step back from the shops ...

PipneyJane

Karmacat wrote: »

Good to hear about the OOD tasting okay - I think even with dried goods there's a falloff in nutrition, but I'm sure they taste fine.

There isn't a fall off in nutrition with dried pulses, however the older they are, the more dried out they are, so the time needed to cook them may be longer. Also, if incorrectly stored, the packaging may break down leaving them open to bug infestation.

Dried pulses have a Best Before Date, not a Use By Date. In reality, the date listed is irrelevant - as long as they are properly stored, dried pulses will keep for decades, if not centuries. I believe some have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs and deemed edible.

- Pip



(After the Great-Bug-Invasion-of-2005, I decant all my dried goods into air-tight containers, mainly Lock-n-Lock boxes, so that the critters can't get to them. On the odd occasion, I've been known to label them with the date opened, in order to see how long it takes to use them up. The last batch of whole Lentils took 2 years.)

Karmacat

PipneyJane wrote: »

There isn't a fall off in nutrition with dried pulses,

I'd be interested to know your reference for that, Pip, sounds good.

[Deleted User]

I used to keep many different types of dried pulses in but I've come to think that canned pulses may be a better way of storing food for a situation that would be covered under the preparedness umbrella simply because of the ease of using them and the fact that they can be consumed cold straight from the tin without the need for lengthy soaking and then using much fuel to cook them. The downside is that cans take up more room than dry pulses but the plus side is that canned pulses don't get the pest infestations that can decimate all the dry stores you have in your cupboards. Cans of pulses plus lots of different flavouring ingredients is my preferred way now.

Karmacat

I have lots of cans too, MrsLW - and a haybox to cook things. If even that doesn't do well, after the usual soak, you can sprout dried beans and peas - then its only 3 mins cooking. But I do love nice tasty baked beans

[Deleted User]

I have a home made wonderbag which works very well and is the modern equivalent of the hay box.

GreyQueen

I do have some beans in tins, as well as chick peas, but I also have my HG and dried broad beans in glass kilner type jars.


Because broad beans are prolific croppers and there is a limit to how many I can eat and freezer in my small freezer, I allow them to dry out and use them as a storecupboard staple. I soak them for 48 hrs before cooking them, keep 'em in a covered dish in the fridge and add them to the daily salads.


Broad beans are compatible with our climate, prolific croppers for very little effort, beloved of bees and beyond easy to grow (poke a hole in the ground, drop a bean in it, ignore for several months before harvesting). Dried beans are a useful and healthy store of carbohydrate and can be added to many different dishes to enhance the heartiness.

[Deleted User]

Fab things broad beans and very versatile in the kitchen as they can be eaten as a veg, eaten as Ful'Medames which is delicious and the split dried beans can be blitzed into Bessara which is a bean equivalent to Hummus, peasant food but most tasty. Field beans (also known as Horse Beans or Brown beans) also grow very well in our climate and crop prolifically too, they have a harder tougher skin than any other beans when cooked but have been peasant fare in pottages throughout the centuries as well as animal feed.