Category: Food Storage & Cooking

Hi Jim; Here is an easy project with some super results. A clever fellow used an old television to create a 2,000-degree solar oven. You can see: The build video, The user test video, …and a collection of his other videos  Merry Christmas, – Karl G.

James, 35 years ago I knew a very old Sourdough mountain man who lived very high up in the Colorado Rockies.  He once told me you could leaven bread with the yeast that grows on aspen tree bark.  Rubbing your hands on the bark of the aspen tree will remove a bunch of white powder that he claimed was very close to bread yeast.  I never heard of this before and have never tried it.  If any of your readers know about this or would be willing to try it, this would be a very good survival skill to know.  …

Dear Mr. Rawles, Another advantage of sourdough bread is that it is lower on the glycemic index than most other breads and is better for diabetics and people with blood sugar problems. As a diabetic myself, it’s about the only kind of bread I eat and would be very useful in a survival situation in which I would be forced to to regulate my sugar levels with diet. – Burke in Ormond Beach, Florida

This is a little like a “how I spent my summer vacation” story, as I spent mine learning how to can the #10 cans of dried food at a local Latter Day Saints (Mormon) cannery.  The canneries are also referred to as Home Storage Centers.  I have to say up front, I have heard that different canneries may differ in policy regarding non-Mormons using their facilities, but I had the most wonderful experience in Reno with the good people of their cannery.  God bless them for welcoming me with open arms.    Let me explain briefly the “summer vacation” comment.  My …

When I think of Dutch Oven cooking I usually have visions of campfires and Scout Camp, of apple cobbler and savory stews. But as I further my preparations for TEOTWAWKI I realize that I want my Dutch ovens at my retreat. Any heavy pot with lid can be used and called a Dutch oven. But when I say Dutch oven I am referring to the three legged cast iron (or aluminum) covered pot that is normally used outdoors.  Much of the information I give you is basic and you may wish to explore these topics in depth. One of the …

Jim: To follow up on a recent post: According to canning sources, it is the Vitamins A, C, B1, B2 that are the most susceptible to degradation over time with  33%- 50% losses immediately upon canning and additional losses of 5-20% per year (based on storage conditions).  Let us look at best (33% loss at canning and 5% per year ) and worst case (50% loss at canning and 20% per year) losses per year for five years. Percentage of Remaining Vitamins: Storage Period Best Case Worst Case Year One 62.7% 40% Year Two 59.5% 32% Year Three 56.6% 26% Year Four 53.7% 20% Year Five 51% …

James Wesley, Rawles: Sometime in the middle 1990s I put away four litre (quart) jars of tomato sauce. Now, at least 20 years later I opened, processed and consumed this tomato preserve. The storage was in a cool, dry, dark and undisturbed location. The product was cooked, skin-removed italian tomato. The canning process I had used was simple: cook, skin, fill, bottle, water bath, etc. The result was acceptable.  Although I had to cut away the ring with a can piercer to loosen (destroy) the ring on the jar – the cap (lid) was intact. There was no bulging or …