JWR:
I have a couple of comments on the recent lentil article. Brad mentioned: “Mannaharvest.net sells 25 lb. for $24.70”
Restaurant Depot (which I learned about on SurvivalBlog) sells 25 lb bags for about $13. They also have 25 lb bags of many other beans for similar prices.
JWR mentioned: “Lentils can harden in long term storage, just like beans. This limits their practical shelf life to about eight years.”
Since we store what we eat and eat what we store, using up lentils before they harden is not a problem. We empty the large bags into quart canning jars and then suck the air out using the canning jar attachment for a FoodSaver machine. While this may help them store longer, the main reason we do this is to keep insects and vermin out of them. Also we find the quart size to be handy to fit in our kitchen cabinets. We keep a wide variety of dried items in quart jars, and pull another jar from the pantry when each one in the kitchen is used up.
Our favorite way to use lentils is in soups and stews, sometimes mixed with brown rice or barley. We start with a large pot of water with some bullion, add the lentils, a pint jar of home canned chicken or other canned meat, whatever fresh vegetables are available, and then supplement the fresh vegetables with dried if needed.
Thanks for all you do! – Suburban
JWR:
Another good thing about lentils is that they are high in resistant starch, which is good for diabetics like me on a low carbohydrate diet. In an emergency situation, I can eat such foods in small amounts spaced out in a way so as to keep my sugar stable. You can read about resistant starch at About‘s Low Carb Diets web page. – Burke C.
Mr. Rawles,
Lentils can be cooked over one to three candles, using one of those one-man mess kit pots with lid. One cup of lentils, two cups of water, and one hour. One half cup each of lentils and rice also works [to provide a complete protein, for more adequate nutrition]. – Gman