Category: Food Storage & Cooking

Hugh, We searched for the perfect grain mill for years. We wanted one that did not depend on electricity, because none of us can be guaranteed that we will always have electricity. If you have one that is totally electric then if the grid goes down you have a good door stop. We wanted one that could be used by hand crank, but if we wanted we could attach it to an electric motor and one that would not heat up the grain. We opted for the Grain Maker, which is made in Stevensville Montana. It is very heavy duty, …

Disclaimer: I am not a “medical professional”, and this article is not to be considered “medical advice.” “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.” Isaiah 40:29 Healthy Living is Hard Work! We, Americans, have been increasingly dependent on other people for our welfare, food, and lifestyles for a couple of generations. A company far away provides electricity to illuminate and heat our homes, pump our wells, or run the security system. City dwellers get their essential of life– water– from a city-owned pump facility. Most of us get the majority of …

Hello, I just had a few questions regarding the article on cheese making. When storing, what tool do people use to check the percentage of humidity? Also, how do you increase/ decrease humidity? Do you use the same batch of wash or do you need to make a new batch each time? Do you just store the wash in a plastic bucket at room temperature? In a grid down, what can one use as a culture or b.linen if you can’t buy one? Thank you, – K.W. T.Y. Replies: Dear Reader, Thanks for the excellent questions! For monitoring humidity, I …

Loyal readers of SurvivalBlog are likely well versed on the importance of food preservation and storage. Many of you have been practicing preparedness for some time and perhaps you are equally skilled in the art of water bath and pressure canning, dehydrating and meat curing. If you’re adventurous, you may even have experience making cheese. However, I suspect that most readers have not ventured far into cheese making and, those who have taken the plunge, have likely experimented with softer/fresh cheeses such as mozzarella, chèvre, ricotta and perhaps even camembert. Indeed, these are the cheese varieties that most aspiring cheese …

Hi James, I’ve read in so many places that cattails (bulrushes here in Australia) contain gluten. You’ve just mentioned it, but everywhere else it looks like a quote word for word from a single source. I can’t find any information outlining the type of gluten it has or a site with a specific breakdown on its proteins. As a severe coeliac, I don’t eat any grains whatsoever, but I’ve never come across tubers or rhizomes that contain gluten. As you can understand, to avoid coeliac shock, I’m reluctant to try eating my crop of cattails. I’m wondering if you might …

Dear SurvivalBlog, Can I use a bucket that had paint in it to store food, even if I use mylar bags? – L.J. JWR Replies: No. The seals on mylar bags are too iffy. HJL Adds: Additionally, plastic is permeable to many chemicals. You really don’t want any of those chemicals to end up in your food products. You would especially hate to store a food product and then need that food product, only to find it was unusable due to some paint chemical contamination.

Food seems to be a most popular subject for Prepper’s and Survivalist’s, and why shouldn’t it be? We all live to eat and eat to live. In an effort to expand my knowledge of shelf-stable food, I started thinking about the way indigenous peoples in different areas of the world survive, or survived, without refrigeration, dehydrators, or freezers. What I found was very interesting and helpful in my shoring up of shelf-stable foods for my family’s security in a SHTF situation. There is one thing, more than the rest, that I really have enjoyed researching and implementing. Of all the …

Hello Hugh. With regard to your comment about animal-grade grains and bugs, I had the same problem several years ago and I have found a very effective solution. In fact, before I found a solution the weevils were so bad that when I was near the bags of grain I could hear them rattling around in there and they quickly spread everywhere. I store many bags of corn, chicken scratch, and barley without so much as a single bug now. The solution is diatomaceous earth. Bugs hate it. In fact weevils and moths simply cannot live with it. Fleas and …

When one thinks of SHTF and TEOTWAWKI, The Walking Dead kind of scenario may enter one’s mind. I know it does mine (mainly because I’m obsessed with the show). Realistically speaking, however, TEOTWAWKI will not be because of a zombie apocalypse, but because of many other reasons– natural disasters, economic collapse, a nuclear bomb dropping on us (courtesy of an antsy enemy), and/or a pandemic. In any crisis event, having food stored for a lengthy period of time is essential for survival. There are many food storage options out there, as well as manuals and how-to articles. In this article, …

In Thursday’s Odds n Sods, you mention using the top of a salt carton in the top of a canning jar to create a pour spout. This will work, but I do not go through much salt, and the salt pour spouts don’t seem to be in good shape when I am finished with the carton. Also, this does not really seal the jar as tightly as I would like. I saw somewhere to use the top of milk and juice cartons with the screw on lid. I go through a couple of these a week. I cut the top …