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Post by SA Hunter on Apr 26, 2017 22:02:38 GMT 10
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2017 7:35:10 GMT 10
Thank you for posting that video. After discovering rodents got into my supplies a few years ago which were in plastic buckets.....my solution was to use 10lt air tight metal tins which I sourced from the local pizza shop, (that they buy their olives in).
I also put all dried goods in the freezer at minus 25C for a week to kill off any weevil eggs that may be present in the produce from the supplier, then I pack the goods with some bay leaves, for added insurance. Over the years I found growing a bay tree and keeping it almost like a bonsai, well cut back to be valuable source of bay leaves for prepping.
I do not use oxygen absorbents, but if that is what you want to use, you can make your own using steel wool wrapped in a cloth or placed in a cloth bag, any oxygen will rust the steel wool over time removing the oxygen from the air in the container.
Happy prepping
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Post by Pasta Deefa on Apr 27, 2017 11:13:04 GMT 10
That channel produces a lot of great content. Very down to earth and they are doing it all on a largish outer urban block.
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shinester
Senior Member
China's white trash
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Post by shinester on Apr 27, 2017 16:23:17 GMT 10
I've tried the rotating normal food supply [had 3 months] and boy oh boy is that a lot of work and I threw food out that I had forgotten about. Now I fill the cupboards with normal foods and perhaps only a couple of weeks worth of stuff that lasts less than a year, have 1-4 months of stuff that lasts a couple of years [home canned stuff for instance] and rely mostly on the long term staples that last decades because of it's simplicity and lack of time spent organizing and storing. It also means getting and maintaining a years supply easy.
If I were staring a 'prepper' pantry today, I'd have about the same normal food [at first] and just stock up on backup food kits, aka focus on long term food storage at $1.20-1.50/day/person it's cheap and no further labor/time need be invested. I have better use of my 'prepper time' budget.
She claims that beans are cheaper to self-can, to which I question when you can get the canned beans cheaper than the jar and cooking beans takes hours and have the associated energy costs. Beans [and canned meats] don't have a great cost/kj anyhow and getting enough protein is easy from cheaper sources, my kits 'are' balanced at the macro level [protein/fat] without beans. I would rather 10 times the KJ than a specific tasting protein and heck, if you've been hungry you won't care what the source of food is [try and see!] and your body sure doesn't care where it gets protein.
02 - I use candles in buckets with O-rings myself.
"Regular cooking oil, such as olive oil, won't last long" - if sealed it lasts 2 years according to literature, to which seems counter to the anecdotal evidence [so brings questions to it's authenticity]. The German guy I linked to a while back stored food just in bins, no O2 and had canola oil, one of the supposedly short lasting ones, last 10 years sealed. I've put a lot of investigation into fats and oils and it's a tricky one, peanut butter in tins keeps showing up on MRE channels that is not only edible it's 'good' after 60 years. The 'air' with oil seems to be the mitigating factor here. Makes sense since rancidity = oxygenation of the fat. Stop transfer of oxygen, it ought to stop/retard rancidity. Anecdotal reports of Ghee lasting decades un-open [tinned and obviously no air] and even open lasting ages. Having said that I've not stopped my investigations on oil, suffice to say I have a variety of sources stored as it is an essential part of our diets [as is protein].
Flour lasts 6 months? I have conflicting reports here, I've seen people saying it lasts decades, though I don't store it and I'm uncertain and haven't put the research into it. Again the literature of food storage often tells us one thing and when you look at evidence it tells us another. Flour being dry ought to store well if kept out of the air [moisture will be readily absorbed], also being small means it has a greater surface area to the affects of oxygenation, which is not good for storage either. Would it last if sealed with an O2 absorber? I can't see how it wouldn't.
Nutrient dense foods? Yep, good plan. I'd go further and suggest kilojoule dense and $$/kj dense food, such as rice/pasta/grains/fat-oils as well as nutrient dense supplements such as compressed vitamin tablets. Why? So you have more in less space.
She has a GREAT sized pantry.
Rodents, I use multiple trap types, some mice are amazing at eating peanut butter from traps without setting them off and most likely this behavioral trait gets passed on to their offspring in some form, but will go inside a capture trap. Having multiple forms of attack is the go, particularly if they're in the area and I've made the mistake of not putting some rice and wheat in a container... never again.
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bce1
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Post by bce1 on Apr 29, 2017 6:32:08 GMT 10
White flour lasting six months only seems to be a myth isn't it?
While I haven't tested it for micro-nutrients we are currently using flour which is 4 years old Stored in a cool dry location. Looks and tastes like flour Bread rises, muffins taste fine.
previously have experimented with 8 year old white flour in cooking with no problem - although didn't use it all under pressure from wife who though it was wrong to use 8 year old flour!!
As we have had food in storeage for longer periods, we are getting experience with longer use periods.
Food storage is down to brand of products (some identical products behave differently), local climate, storage location, light, oxygen and pest limitation. Trial and error with some loose broad principals to guide you - but six months on white flour - bulls#it.
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shinester
Senior Member
China's white trash
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Post by shinester on Apr 29, 2017 17:46:04 GMT 10
My study of anecdotal research, which isn't my preferred source of info, yet has been more reliable than 'rumor' of shelf life that seemingly has no source at all, very much agrees with you BCE. I'll add your experience to the weight of my position to the many who say the same thing. Obviously air-tight would increase it's storage life.
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