Author Topic: Food Storage (Read 5710 times)

Telesphorus · « **Reply #15 on:** October 23, 2012, 12:03:50 PM »

That's a nice looking hand cranked grinder. I have a hand cranked coffee grinder - it does a real good job but it takes a good 5 minutes to grind a drawer full and empty the hopper. Greener beans seem to be grabbed by the blades better though. The lighter and dryer the bean being ground the slower it goes - perhaps they're bouncing off?

Similar to this one, but mine has a wooden bottom and a slightly different top:

http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/la-pavoni-black-metal-hand-cranked-coffee-grinder

Iuvenalis · « **Reply #16 on:** October 23, 2012, 01:43:11 PM »

Quote from: Tiffany

Bleach does not store well! It is very important, but it does not store well. It needs to be kept between 50 -70. If you live in the south, homes may get hotter than this.

For bleach kept for emergencies, I would replace it every 6 months. Write the date on the bottle when your purchase it. After the six month mark, donate it to an animal shelter telling them it needs to be used first.

Bleach doesn't expire within 6mos, and *all* one's food storage must be kept cool (and dry), so this is a pretty pointless caveat. If where you're storing things is too warm for bleach you have bigger problems like your food.

Also, if it *did* expire in 6most you rotate old out and do laundry with it like you do with your food, eat it before it expires and rotate. *None* of this stuff should sit on a shelf until it expires (the reason the main thrust of my strategy is buying mostly food items you already eat!).

Finally, if it expires, bleach is absurdly cheap.

Tiffany · « **Reply #17 on:** October 23, 2012, 02:12:13 PM »

Quote from: ancien regime

Quote from: Tiffany

You may want to invest in an electric wheat grinder to use your store wheat. It takes practice to learn how to bake with whole wheat flour. You can also put whole wheat berries in a crockpot and add a sweetener to them or just add them to meal like stir fry. Start making bean soup one night a week if you don't normally eat beans now.

If the power is out, an electric wheat grinder will do no good at all.

I bought a Country Living Grain Mill about three years ago that is sturdy and hand cranked. It takes a little work, but it turns out a really good flour and you can adjust the fineness of the grind from really fine to coarse meals. It also has the ability to grind larger grains such as corn and coffee beans as well as the small grains.

If you are really good at mechanical things, you can hook it up to a bicycle to turn the flywheel and grind the grain. The web site shows how to do this.

Best of all, it's made in the USA (Washington) by a small company devoted to this one product.
Country Living Grain Mill

Oh, they also sell other preparedness products.

I agree, a manual grinder is good to invest it. I was writing to someone just getting started in food storage there. An electric mill is significantly cheaper and faster, a more practical investment IMO for someone needing to start using wheat they are storing in their diet.

If they had no power, they would also need a non-electric heat source. Needing a manual mill would be for a long term crisis where there is no power, not 3 weeks waiting for power while the national guard is handing out MREs and water.

That is awesome it is made in the USA!

Tiffany · « **Reply #18 on:** October 23, 2012, 02:15:13 PM »

Quote from: Telesphorus

That's a nice looking hand cranked grinder. I have a hand cranked coffee grinder - it does a real good job but it takes a good 5 minutes to grind a drawer full and empty the hopper. Greener beans seem to be grabbed by the blades better though. The lighter and dryer the bean being ground the slower it goes - perhaps they're bouncing off?

Similar to this one, but mine has a wooden bottom and a slightly different top:

http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/la-pavoni-black-metal-hand-cranked-coffee-grinder

The Long Winter mentions them grinding wheat in their coffee grinder. They had such a low view of brown bread.

Tiffany · « **Reply #19 on:** October 23, 2012, 02:22:46 PM »

Bleach has a shelf life of 9 -12 months and for something critical like infection control for the public it is 6 months. I did not say it was not cheap or that we should not rotate it. I said to donate it to an animal shelter after 6 months.
My point was that it does not store well.

Telesphorus · « **Reply #20 on:** October 23, 2012, 02:56:16 PM »

Quote from: Tiffany

Quote from: Telesphorus
That's a nice looking hand cranked grinder. I have a hand cranked coffee grinder - it does a real good job but it takes a good 5 minutes to grind a drawer full and empty the hopper. Greener beans seem to be grabbed by the blades better though. The lighter and dryer the bean being ground the slower it goes - perhaps they're bouncing off?

Similar to this one, but mine has a wooden bottom and a slightly different top:

http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/la-pavoni-black-metal-hand-cranked-coffee-grinder

The Long Winter mentions them grinding wheat in their coffee grinder. They had such a low view of brown bread.

Hah, I read all those as a kid. Don't know if they were a good influence or not.

Telesphorus · « **Reply #21 on:** October 23, 2012, 03:19:08 PM »

I think my mother still has the cookbook. At Gibb's Farm, in the Twin Cities, my sister insisted on a green pumpkin. I believe that was in 1982. Then there were popcorn balls made with molasses.

CathMomof7 · « **Reply #22 on:** October 23, 2012, 03:47:03 PM »

We have just started doing a few things without costing too much or drawing attention to ourselves.

First we gave our basement a good cleaning and bought some shelves. Whenever I go shopping I pick up a few extra canned goods and some people give us things. I take them to the basement where it is about 65 degrees. I have cans of beans and corn, several large cans of peanut butter, several boxes of pasta. Those really big cans of crisco can be used for candles. Put a string or wick in one and it will burn for 30 to 40 days.

We are currently trying to work out a water supply and some way of getting rid of bodily waste in case we need to stay in our basement for a time.

We have also started collecting anti-biotics. Even expired anti-biotics can be used if necessary.

Also, we have started collecting and printing out manuals for building and repairing things.

Also, every time I take my children to the dentist, I ask for an extra toothbrush and toothpaste sample.

If you have children, you might want to collect extra packages of diapers whether disposable or cloth.

You can also buy large metal cans to store sugar and flour for long periods of time.

Also whiskey, wine, and beer might be useful to keep for consuming and sterilizing.

wallflower · « **Reply #23 on:** October 23, 2012, 04:09:45 PM »

Quote from: CathMomof7

We have also started collecting anti-biotics. Even expired anti-biotics can be used if necessary.

You can also buy large metal cans to store sugar and flour for long periods of time.

I need to clean out my medicine cabinet soon. I do it every year but I have been procrastinating because I want to keep some of the meds but don't know how long they keep. Until now I threw out anything expired but I know that isn't necessary with all the meds. I just don't know which keep or for how long. I thought of calling a pharmaceutical company but doubt they would give an honest answer.

Also we got many big glass jars for free for food storage. If you go to a restaurant or bar and ask for their pickle/olive/condiment jars, they may keep them for you once they are empty. We got a dozen of them this way several years ago and I keep corn kernels, legumes, pasta, soup bean mixes in them. It's all stuff we use and rotate. Glass is preferred for food storage because it keeps longer, cleans better and won't leach anything into your food. This was a cheap and easy way to get a hold of some nice jars.

wallflower · « **Reply #24 on:** October 23, 2012, 04:13:24 PM »

Haha I just thought of something. Maybe call poison control and say "I just took a 10 year old oxacillin by accident, is it okay?" See what they say.

Not that I'm advocating misusing Poison Control ... ahem.

Iuvenalis · « **Reply #25 on:** October 23, 2012, 09:59:52 PM »

Quote from: Tiffany

Bleach has a shelf life of 9 -12 months and for something critical like infection control for the public it is 6 months. I did not say it was not cheap or that we should not rotate it. I said to donate it to an animal shelter after 6 months.
My point was that it does not store well.

I just wanted to make it clear we're not really saying different things. 6 months is 6 months. You say 'only' 6 months, I think that's a pretty robust and cheap disinfectant.

I just didn't want anyone who is thinking of prepping thinking we are saying different things and thus and if they think that preparing is full of differing opinions on very basic things, that storing bleach is controversial, they are more likely to do *nothing*. Be careful when you pick nits like that. I'd rather have folks do something imperfect than nothing, and you're not going to find something as versatile as bleach that I can think of that will keep longer. Ammonia isn't potable, etc. Iodine isn't as cheap per ounce and doesn't do laundry etc.

Thumbs up.

CathMomof7 · « **Reply #26 on:** October 23, 2012, 10:08:15 PM »

Quote from: wallflower

Haha I just thought of something. Maybe call poison control and say "I just took a 10 year old oxacillin by accident, is it okay?" See what they say.

Not that I'm advocating misusing Poison Control ... ahem.

Drugs last a very long time.

Here's an article for you. These drugs were 40 or 50 years old and were still effective.

I have NEVER thrown away expired meds. It didn't make sense to me that these pills would just loose their effectiveness. They are not like milk or cheese.

Save everything. Don't throw it away. Even if it is only half as effective, it's still better than nothing.

Big Pharma is making a killing.

wallflower · « **Reply #27 on:** October 23, 2012, 10:27:55 PM »

Quote from: Iuvenalis

Quote from: Tiffany
Bleach has a shelf life of 9 -12 months and for something critical like infection control for the public it is 6 months. I did not say it was not cheap or that we should not rotate it. I said to donate it to an animal shelter after 6 months.
My point was that it does not store well.

I just wanted to make it clear we're not really saying different things. 6 months is 6 months. You say 'only' 6 months, I think that's a pretty robust and cheap disinfectant.

I just didn't want anyone who is thinking of prepping thinking we are saying different things and thus and if they think that preparing is full of differing opinions on very basic things, that storing bleach is controversial, they are more likely to do *nothing*. Be careful when you pick nits like that. I'd rather have folks do something imperfect than nothing, and you're not going to find something as versatile as bleach that I can think of that will keep longer. Ammonia isn't potable, etc. Iodine isn't as cheap per ounce and doesn't do laundry etc.

Thumbs up.

If a person is unsure of bleach, white distilled vinegar is a powerful disinfectant and does everything from laundry to countertops to toilets.

wallflower · « **Reply #28 on:** October 23, 2012, 10:29:58 PM »

Quote from: CathMomof7

Quote from: wallflower
Haha I just thought of something. Maybe call poison control and say "I just took a 10 year old oxacillin by accident, is it okay?" See what they say.

Not that I'm advocating misusing Poison Control ... ahem.

Drugs last a very long time.

Here's an article for you. These drugs were 40 or 50 years old and were still effective.

I have NEVER thrown away expired meds. It didn't make sense to me that these pills would just loose their effectiveness. They are not like milk or cheese.

Save everything. Don't throw it away. Even if it is only half as effective, it's still better than nothing.

Big Pharma is making a killing.

Thank you for the article! I was hoping you (or someone) would have a resource.

Iuvenalis · « **Reply #29 on:** October 24, 2012, 02:26:45 AM »

It's not that simple, there are meds that aren't as stable and not only become ineffective, but some even degrade into very dangerous toxic substances.

If you don't know which ones, then don't keep old meds around.