Category: Food Storage & Cooking

Three Lessons from Russian History, by R.M.B. in Tennessee

I returned to the United States in 1999 after spending an extended period of time in Russia. The country has a deep, fascinating and sometimes terrible history. However, of moment to this submission are three events that, in my opinion, are very beneficial for each of us to consider and contemplate as we go about our business of preparing. These three events are so significant because I believe that these events are illustrative of what may occur in a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI scenario. By examining what actually transpired in a modern first world civilization during times of SHTF/TEOTWAWKI we can …


Letter Re: Survival Architecture: Building a Retreat that is Defensible, Sustainable and Affordable

James Wesley: On March 25, we saw a post by Phil M. indicating that “At a point of 6′ below the surface of  the earth, temperatures stays constant at around 60°F.”  This may only be true for very specific locales.  For most locations, constant ground temperature reflects the average yearly air temperature for the locale, and ground temps are only constant at a depth of about 30 ft. and below.  At depths above 30 ft., ground temperatures begin to increasingly modulate up and down following seasonal air temperature.  In areas of the world with seasonal temperature changes similar to the …


The Basic Family Vehicle G.O.O.D. Kit, by Kirk S.

Many of the posts in this forum have discussed the vehicle Bug Out Bag (BOB), however it’s been my observation that most of them are not designed for a family.  As an example, many articles have discussed having a full change of clothes including shoes.  I can attest from my personal experience that packing a single change of clothes, including shoes, for a family of five takes a large duffle bag.  Fitting a large duffle bag inside the trunk of our vehicle along with our BOB would take up most of the room in our trunk.  Extra clothes are a …


Letter Re: Some Useful Dry Measure Figures

Jim: How much bulk fits in a 5 gallon bucket or a #10 can? I did some research and assembled this helpful guide: Food Item #10 Can 5 Gallon Bucket Wheat 5 pounds 37 pounds White Flour 4.5 pounds 33 pounds Cornmeal 4.3 pounds 33 pounds Popping Corn 5 pounds 37 pounds Rolled Oats 2.5 pounds 20 pounds White Rice 5.3 pounds 36 pounds Spaghetti 3.9 pounds 30 pounds Macaroni 3.1 pounds 21 pounds Dried Beans 5.6 pounds 35 pounds Lima Beans 5.4 pounds 35 pounds Soy Beans 5 pounds 33 pounds Split Peas 5 pounds 33 pounds Lentils 5.5 …


Pack Rats and Keeping the Water Running, by Sunflower of Kansas

Background:  You might say to yourself, I have no farm, I have no pump house, and I surely have no rats. My response to this is, “yet.” If and when the Sunflowers hit the fan (SHTF), you surely may have a rodent problem. Rodents can impact whatever integrity you may still have in regard to your utilities. That utility may be communications, electric, or as discussed in this article, water. This is a true account about my dealings and responses to confronting troubles with Pack Rats. The purpose is to provide a few tips, not to dictate any exact method …


Thrive to Survive: Premium Nutrition During High Stress, by B.W.

Wheat, cereal, and bread–the staff of life–is considered a cornerstone staple for human nutrition.  It played the lead role in the food pyramids we were taught in school.  But in truth, wheat is an inferior and “dirty” protein source.  And, the two people who know this best are allergists and athletes. Eighty percent of our immune system is in our gut.  And this makes sense, because humans have eaten a lot of foul, rancid, germ-ridden, nasty things over the course of our evolution.  And before nutrients are assimilated into our bodies, the intestines act as our first immunological line of …


Lessons in Survival: Family Innovation and Industry in the U.S. Great Depression by W.J.

I have always been fascinated with history and might have become a history teacher if there had been any possibility of making substantial money at it.  Growing up in the 1950s and ‘1960s in rural Texas the lessons of the U.S. “Great Depression” were still fresh in the memories of my family, so our frequent family get gatherings produced many stories from those days, some of which were “not so good old days”.  I want to relate some of this story for the benefit of those preparing for possible future, harder times: There was no money.  For a few years …


Letter Re: A Busy LDS Cannery–People are Sounding Anxious

James, In addition to all the other hats I wear I also am the cannery coordinator for my local LDS congregation. Last night was our canning night — though I am usually the only LDS member to show up and the rest are non-member friends of a similar mind set as we have. Last night was a madhouse at the cannery. Panic has already set in amongst those who are following all the news around the world (and not just fixated on the reactors in Japan). My group is normally around a dozen people. There were three other groups of …


Letter Re: Preparedness at Your Workplace

Mr. Rawles, As a regular reader of your blog, I have seen little mentioned about one obvious “bug in” solution that most people overlook, which would be their office or work site. This will not work for everyone but please allow me to provide you with my own experience. We have a small warehouse/office operation of about 2,000 square feet. There are 2 offices, a basic bathroom, and a small room previously used as a lunch room for the employees of the other tenant. These rooms take up about 400 square feet of space from the total 2,000 square feet. …


Preparing for the Inevitable Collapse of Society–The Birth of a Prepper, by D.C.

I’m not a skilled writer but I’d like to share my story. I’m currently 35 yrs old and am located in the upper Midwest. There’s no real threat where I live of flooding, hurricanes, forest fires, or earthquakes. My only major concern is a food crisis brought on by a hyperinflation of the dollar, nuclear EMP or a solar flare catastrophe. I work an average of 50 hours per week at a factory. My pay is meager. However – I don’t waste money like most people do (cell phones, cable/satellite, full coverage car payments, dining out, etc, etc)  and so …


Two Letters Re: Pomona Universal Pectin

Sir: I asked my cousin to respond to the Pomona Universal Pectin article. She is the  production manager and head nutritionist at a commercial jam manufacture. Here is what she had to say: “Pomona Universal Pectin is a low methoxyl pectin.  This means that it will gel without the presence of sugar if a salt (monocalcium phosphate) is added at the critical time.  If the salt is added at the wrong time, the resulting products have an “applesauce” type consistency.  The biggest problem with this type of pectin is that it is inconsistent across different fruit and different degrees of ripeness …


Letter Re: Some Woodstove Experience

Mr. Rawles: I would recommend that your readers get a copy of the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.  Many of the breads in the book use a high-quality, half-inch thick baking stone, much like the types used for pizza.  Also shown is a pizza peel. The book has many recipes using many types of grains to make  peasant loaves, rolls, baguettes, flatbreads and pizzas.    Another suggestion from an outdoor cookbook is to use a large Dutch oven and put small stones or nails in the bottom, then set your baking …


Some Woodstove Experience, by C.V.Z.

Being without electricity in the middle winter is cold. We didn’t have any heat during an ice storm. With that winter in mind, we finally purchased a wood stove for heat and cooking opportunities. As the wife and mother, I had this horrible image of an old black pot bellied stove belching smoke and catching the roof on fire. I could hear the neighbors complaining about the smell and my kids going to school smelling like they had just burned down the house. Images of black walls and ceilings and truck loads of firewood haunted me with every winter wind. …


Letter Re: Lakeside Foods Outlet Store

Mr. Rawles;   My family lives in southeast Minnesota.  We are fortunate to have a Lakeside Foods processing plant and distribution center nerby in Plainview , Minnesota.  Lakeside Foods is a private label food processor.  Its Plainview operation is quite diversified. Their operation at Plainview has an interesting program for people looking to stock-up and save money on vegetables.  It has an outlet store that sells damaged cans of vegetables inexpensively.  These cans range in size from family size to one gallon.   For example, a case of 24 cans of corn, in family sized cans, sells for $6 and …


Letter Re: Pomona Universal Pectin

Mr. Rawles, I recently discovered Pomonas Universal Pectin, for home canning. It stores indefinitely. It’s also very versatile: it makes regular, low-, or no-sugar jams, jellies, fruit spreads, gelatins, freezer jams, etc. (The other pectins I researched have about a 1-year shelf-life. It will work with sugar, artificial sugar, honey, stevia, or fruit juice as a sweetener. It will also gel things that don’t have any natural pectin, to make things like hot pepper jelly. Their web site is PomonaPectin.com. It’s also available on Amazon. I’m not affiliated with them in any way. – Texas Sunflower