Oils.

We cook with either rice bran oil (has a really high smoke point) or coconut oil. The 3L bottles of rice bran oil have been half price at Coles a couple of times recently so I have three of those on hand. I need to stock up on coconut oil though. The bottles of rice bran oil I have show a use by date of Jan 2017.

Oils ain't Oils...Sol...LOL

Remember that we need to find alternatives to fridges and freezers when prepping and storing preps. Think "No Power" yes even if you have a gen-set or Solar...Don't rely on these with preps...

Coconut oil will last the longest according to recent studies.
Opened, it will last 6 months in the pantry, 8 months in the fridge, and 1 year in the freezer. ( Source: Virginia Cooperative Extension “Food Storage Guidelines for Consumers”)
Coconut oil: Refined coconut oil will last about 18 months without turning rancid. Purified, unrefined coconut oil will last indefinitely.Apr 10, 2012

Most other oils have around 6-12 life!

Here is a good article on FATS, also I did a piece on fats and there benefits to your health in Medical!
www.weedemandreap.com/top-reasons-eating-lard/

The Yanks talk about Lard or pig fat, but fats from sheep and beef are just as good!
I rendered down 40kg of beef fat and canned the Lard/Tallow, it should last 3-5 years. And makes the best chips you ever tasted!!!

I keep 2 x 4L cold pressed olive oils, one being used and one full and we use that for our normal cooking. I also have about 4kg of ghee which is reported [no science to it unfortunately] to last quite a long time unopened. Fats/oils are my trickiest prep, particularly because they're an essential part of our diet and I've yet to find a good solution. I did get a hand vacuum pump for mason jars which I'm hoping will extend the life of oils by reducing the oxygen content and therefore oxidation [going rancid]

If you are serious about wanting a supply of oil grow some olive trees and get yourself a press.

We have a small area of land set aside for about ten olive trees and are in the process of sorting out which is/are the best varieties to grow.

If you look on the net you can find a variety of suitable manually operated presses for extracting the oil.

Scoutmum, trust me, if your oils are off you will know.

Oil is starting to go rancid [oxidize] when it's first made. Of course we can't smell it at first, as there's hardly any in it. As more oxygen binds with it, it gets worse and a little more smell comes to it. When you heat or expose oils to sunlight it speeds up the oxidization rate. Rancid oil tastes bad, fairly simply mostly due to the build up of peroxides in it and it will smell a little bit like hydrogen peroxide consequently. Rancid oil won't harm you in the short term, though with the increased free radicals you might put yourself at higher risk of disease later on. For a prepper, what that means if you need the energy to keep you alive and survive, hold your nose and eat lots of green leafy veggies as you can to try to counteract what you did in the emergency

www.australianolives.com.au/assets/files/pdfs/Media/Health%20Effects%20of%20Rancid%20Oils.pdf

Peter1942, would you mind sharing your experience with growing olives [and pressing], I've done a bit of initial research into what that entails and whilst I don't have a permanent place for them yet, I'm thinking about potting them and growing some up to be close to fruiting age when I do get that prepper place/homestead that is planned for. Looks like it's possible in my climate [they're growing in the street in parts of melbourne!]

Yeah, I've since seen videos of guys ripping off olives [and badly pressing them] from olive trees planted all around Northcote. I guess the question I have [and I can ask a nursery person really] is how long before they fruit as I had always thought that they took quite a while to establish. Wondering if I ought to get them now in tubs or when I move to the homestead in a few years.

There is quite a lot of information on the net with regards to varieties, the area they will grow and what they are best suited for.

It looks, at the moment the three varieties we will be interested in will be Frantoio (Paragon), Correggiola and Nevadillo Blanco as from what I have researched they are good varieties for oil.

To throw a spanner in the works Picual and Arbequine are evidently good Spanish varieties that are soon to be released here.

I have worked for a commercial olive grower and helped with the harvest and was surprised at just how much oil is extracted from a given quantity of olives but that was using a commercial press. I would imagine that using a hand press the quantity extracted may not be as great but by having five trees in full production they should give more oil than a family could use.

Like all fruit trees it would pay to grow more than one variety. If and when new varieties became available if suitable ground was available it would pay to plant some more as olive oil is and always will be a tradeable commodity.

There are a lot of oil presses on the net but if buying one please do yourself a favour and do not buy one that is produced in India as the quality of their workmanship, from what I have seen and heard can be classed as abysmal.

After a bit more research and discussion on olive varieties I have found that the three commercial olive growers in our area have placed orders for Frantoio (Paragon) and Correggiola trees as they say that these are the best oil varieties.

I have also placed an order for two of each of them. I have also spoken to a home grower with a hand press who raved over the quality of their oil and yes they have a very good product and yes, they use their oil for bartering.

A question was asked about planting them in pots, yes, this can be done and they will grow in pots as small as 300 millimeters in size, but, and it is a big but, they have to be watered every day and in our climate where the hottest temperature we have had has been 47.5 degrees if they are not protected the roots would cook.

A point on vegetable oils. Most of the vegetable oils for sale in Australia are blends and some of the oils used are of very dubious quality. Cotton seed oil contains the chemical residues to such a degree that you cannot feed it to cattle as that residue is captured in the meat and is not suitable for export. Palm oil has a melting point of 39 degrees. Humans normally run at about 37.4 degrees which means that the oil hangs around vital organs such as liver and kidneys and females because of their slightly different makeup the oil sits in the thigh area.

Interesting reading the comments from those who would rather barter for a product rather than produce it themselves. We grow and produce quite a bit of our own food requirements because it is part of our lifestyle outlook and to be honest it is not that hard to grow a few trees of any fruit variety and it is great to know how and where the products that you consume come from and are uncontaminated. There are over six thousand chemicals registered in Australia for use in the agricultural and horticultural industries. My advice is, grow your own, and give yourselves and families a chance at having a healthier life.