Category: Food Storage & Cooking

Shortages, a 7-Year Food Supply, and Beating Inflation – Part 1, by SaraSue

Having a seven-year supply of healthy foods and saving money sounds like an oxymoron, but I want to explain how I did it in hopes it will help others. First, “7 years” is arbitrary. I had just finished reading the biblical story of Joseph and how God directed him to store up grain for 7 years because famine would come upon the land. Because of his obedience to God, he was rewarded both professionally by the Egyptian Pharaoh, and personally as the Lord brought his estranged family to him in need of grain. The story struck a chord in my …


Can You Survive Without Meat When The SHTF?, by Ken Gallender

I’d like to start this article with saying that I am not a tree hugger. I love meat, eggs, cheese and fish. I’m not trying to convince anyone to quit hunting and fishing. I have been an outdoorsman my entire life. I drive and use 4×4 trucks and ATVs every week. I just want to impart what has profoundly changed my life. I have given a lot of thought to how we would survive and provide the protein requirements for my family if suddenly we were faced with the prospect of having no supermarket or source of meat and dairy …


Food Shortages – The Hype and The Reality – Part 2, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) In Part I, we discussed a bit about where the real food shortages are and some solutions. The primary advice was: buy in bulk if possible, buy single ingredient whole foods, identify alternative food sources, cook from scratch, grow your own, and avoid processed foods wherever possible. It’s pretty straightforward stuff, right? Then why is the “prepping community” “stacking it to the rafters” if there’s plenty of food? What’s going on underneath the surface? What’s not so obvious, generally? Why are people, seemingly, panicking about access to food? Conspiracy Theories Let’s get …


Food Shortages – The Hype and The Reality – Part 1, by SaraSue

If you watch YouTube videos, alternative media, and even mainstream media, there is a tremendous amount of hype about food shortages. A common phrase among Preppers is “stack it to the rafters”. I can imagine the amount of stress this puts on families who don’t have a lot of extra cash. I was there once, so I have deep compassion for those worried about food security, not to mention gasoline and heating cost concerns — the basics. I’ll give a few tips to address that in this article. But first, are there really food shortages in the United States of …


The Joys of Canning, by St. Funogas

It was one of those intolerably hot and muggy days of August. My sister in the Redoubt called to say they could see the smoke from the big fires in California and the Northwest and how hot the weather had gotten even near the Tetons. She said in no uncertain terms, “Only a fool would be trying to get any work done today instead of lounging in a hammock with some lemonade!” And there I was slaving over a hot stove canning three-bean salad before the beans got overripe, the steam making the muggy day even muggier. And yet, I …


Food: The Ultimate Weapon, by MacHam

Never before in the history of mankind has a generation of people been so distant from their food sources, both in geography and in knowledge of how they are created. Those who are intent on doing evil have used withholding food as a weapon of war for thousands of years. Unlike modern weapons of war that leave great environmental damage, starvation is a silent albeit slow killer. This leaves a populace malnourished and the people are hence easily led, unable to resist the commands of leaders. Depopulation follows, leaving all wealth and infrastructure in place. It truly is the perfect …


Food Storage: Prepping by the Numbers, by R.M.

Some years ago, I felt the need to begin prepping and I wondered how my skill set would be beneficial during a Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF) situation. For a long time, I felt as if I had nothing to offer. You see I am a bookkeeper, and I was sure that practically everyone would have skills more preferable than mine. I mean after all, when you’re lost in the woods with nothing to eat, what good is a bookkeeper? I guess you could count the days until you starve to death. I was a soldier many years ago and …


For the Love of Bread, by Autumn D.

I grew up in the kitchen, with both parents very capable in the kitchen and spending time with my dad in the restaurant he worked in for much of my life. Though my mom did not “love” me doing my own thing in “her” kitchen, she was always happy with me helping, which taught me a lot. Once I had my own kitchen, I would experiment with many a variety of dishes for breakfast (homemade waffles and apple turnovers), lunch (homemade vegetable sushi), dinner (eggplant, parmesan, and chili), and dessert (homemade cheesecake and cookies). Though I felt comfortable with all …


The Science: Reusing Canning Jar Lids – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) #4. “Tempered less than Mason jars.” Nearly every book, website, and blog discussing this subject insists that Mason jars are tempered. They’re definitely, absolutely, NOT tempered. Glass has three basic hardening options: tempering, heat strengthening, and annealing. All commercial and home-canning jars are annealed, not tempered. Annealing is a process where jars are cooled down very slowly after production to make them more consistent and to minimize stresses. Whenever glass breaks into the sharp jagged pieces seen when we break a jar or window it’s merely annealed, not tempered or heat strengthened. …


The Science: Reusing Canning Jar Lids – Part 1, by St. Funogas

I’ve been on an incredible journey since submitting my last article Reusing Canning Jar Lids to SurvivalBlog. That article was based on my personal experience reusing 1,000+ canning jar lids. Many other home canners bear similar testimony about successfully reusing lids. My article specifically mentioned ignoring all the blogs, the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, and even my own experience mentioned in the article. Since the best teacher is personal experience, I then challenged the reader to do a simple test themselves by canning some water with used canning jar lids. In this follow-up article, I have researched and …


Starve-The-Beast Recommendations, by Bear

Here are some recommendations sent to us by SurvivalBlog reader “Bear” on some smaller businesses to patronize, to help Starve The Amazon Beast.  They include: The Darn Tough brand socks are great. Pricey but made in the USA by a family-owned company and come with a literal lifetime guarantee. I have a scientist relative who purchased a couple of pairs a decade-plus ago for field work, and only recently has she had to return them for an exchange. I live in mine (these and my Carhartts), and I recently purchased another 30 pair for my children to wear now and to …


To Freeze-Dry or Not Freeze-Dry, by J.A.

Our family began our self-sufficiency journey approximately 15 to 20 years ago at an LDS Home Storage Center location and we did not have a focused plan (Yes JW,R I should have thoroughly reviewed the list of lists, my bad!). In hindsight, we would not have gone as heavy as we did in wheat berries, beans and rice. However, that is water under the bridge at this point as we slowly work our way through the original purchases (wheat berry meatloaf anyone?). Since that time, our food storage has greatly diversified and if you have priced out certain freeze-dried items …


Small Batch Meat Canning Tips, by Tractorguy

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Introductory Proviso: This article assumes that the user is already familiar with safe practices to pressure-can meat. This article is NOT a comprehensive discussion of all the caveats and procedures necessary for safe canning. It is ONLY supplementary information for specific items and situations listed below. The correct procedures (times and pressures) for safely pressure-canning low-pH items like meats are available from the manufacturer of your pressure canner or from the USDA. My wife and I enjoy pressure canning, and believe it to be the best procedure for storing small quantities of meat and other perishables for easy transportation and …


Constructing My Culvert Cooker – Part 2, by J.P.

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(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Start Cooking! Stage III. Build the deck (Two Days) Since adding a deck to your outdoor kitchen is optional I offer no plan or directives for you to follow. Again there are expert builders – even average builders – who are capable of producing a fine deck for these purposes. Likewise big box stores and most book dealers are a source of good plans for your deck. Here a few things for you to consider: * Craigslist and other on-line postings are likely to turn up trex and other similar used materials …


Constructing My Culvert Cooker – Part 1, by J.P.

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Introductory Note: Since posting the article on Wood Fired Coffee Roasting (Dec 8-9) a number of you have asked for some directives on building the counter height cooker. Because I love using my cooker, and I can’t think of a more practical piece of outdoor equipment, here goes with my best attempt to guide you through the construction process. I highly recommend putting together the entire outdoor kitchen, but if you are interested in just the culvert cooker then you’ll find that below – Stage II, Culvert Cooker. First, read through the entire article. — If Wikipedia knew about the …