The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

thriftwizard

Snow! It really is snowing, even right down here!

I shan't be so happy about it in the morning, though...

C_J

I had mentioned to Mr CJ recently that I was worried about power cuts this winter (we live in a fairly remote area, and we do lose power at the drop of a hat. Or snowflake) and today he came home with a 6Kw petrol generator, brand new and still boxed, for less than half the RRP. He’s thrilled because I’m usually the bargain hunter, not him

Karmacat

CJ, that sounds very good! I do fancy a good generator

thriftwizard

It's noticeable that our gas pressure is significantly lower than normal yesterday evening & this morning. We're not at the point where things aren't functioning, but I'm hauling logs in to warm through just in case, and have ordered another load. It's a pain (not to mention an added expense) having to keep extra-warm in this! But somehow the cats don't seem to mind...

[Deleted User]

Funny what is missing on shelves sometimes, HWK got me 4 packs of vegetable suet this morning and a couple of bags of S/R flour and almost cleaned the Co Op out of suet, I went later to try for some own brand porridge oats and they only had the expensive Quaker ones in cardboard packs so I left it! I know it's cold so I'm not surprised but the smaller Co Op here only had 500g packs of their own rolled oats at 89p for 500g! that makes the own brand nearly as expensive as the top of the range when it's normally 75p for 1 kg.

C_J

Mr CJ has been happily setting up the generator today - he had to go and buy some fuel additive which apparently you need to prevent the fuel separating if the machine is left for any length of time without running. He has also been busily wiring up several long extension leads so that we can run the important stuff from it. It came with euro plugs as it’s German, so there’s been a bit of swapping about today. It’s been quite an education.

We’ve just fired it up and it works perfectly. A bit noisy, but we don’t have near neighbours so I don’t think it will annoy anyone (apart from us).

PipneyJane

Karmacat wrote: »

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

A long-a-go lecture about vitamins and the nutritional content of foodstuffs (circa 1988). Sorry, I can't be more specific.

Let me explain my reasoning. Think about vitamins for a minute and the drying process for pulses. Vitamins tend to be volatile: many are water soluble, some react to oxygen and others are sensitive to heat (or a combination of all three, like vitamin C). Volatile vitamins tend to degrade over time, which is why fresh vegetables bought at a supermarket are often less nutritious than frozen ones. The "fresh" vegetables may have been in storage for months; while the frozen ones have been processed within a day or two of picking. The freezing process puts the natural degradation of the vitamins on hold, literally suspending it in ice.

Now consider the drying process. I'm not an expert on this but several of my cookbooks tell me that drying any foodstuff usually involves putting them into some sort of oven on a low heat over several hours. Any volatile vitamins would break down during that process, so what nutritional factors are left behind? The stuff that is chemically stable (i.e. not volatile or liable to break down easily): B-vitamins, minerals, fibre, protein and carbohydrate*. These don't change regardless of how long they sit dried on your cupboard shelf, nor how long you boil them afterwards.

Do you ever grow your own bean sprouts? I have successfully sprouted dried mung beans that were at least 2 years old, if not 3.
(I have no recollection of when I bought that packet of mung beans since I tend to operate my larder on the principle of open-a-packet-place-into-airtight-storage-then-immediately-buy-its-replacement-for-backup.)

HTH,

Pip


*Web-MD gives the nutritional profiles of a variety of dried beans.

thriftwizard

Do you ever grow your own bean sprouts? I have successfully sprouted dried mung beans that were at least 2 years old, if not 3.

I've sprouted 8 year old mung beans from the health food shop, perfectly successfully. Dated 2010, found & grown last spring. Not many didn't sprout, no more than I'd expect from a fresh packet. Tasted fine, though we did eat them in a stew rather than raw!

DigForVictory

DigForVictory wrote: »

I have moved my planned freezer defrost date to the coldest driest day this week.

This will now happen (at last) tomorrow. I commend the chore to all suffering in severe weather - it's an act of virtue & useful prepping. If nothing else as a stern reminder to Label Things Clearly.

DigForVictory

Done!
When I find who has been hiding butter in the freezer, I Will Have Words.

Hedge jam making this afternoon - I really do have enough fruit!