# Have you prepped a Spice Rack in the event of disaster?



## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

If you haven't prepped a spice rack, might I suggest you think about the following:


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Is that yours? I like the idea.


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

We're planning on something like this in the attached greenhouse, right outside the kitchen. It won't be right next to the range but still pretty close.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

In short ... yes ...


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

I use a lot of cinnamon and pepper, and I would hate to not have cloves around, if only in case of a toothache. 
Other than that we have all of our herbs and spices more than covered between the garden and the huge range of wild herbs. 
Definitely keep the fresh herbs close to the kitchen if possible, and the salad veggies of course some herbs are possibly even better dried.

Neat idea with the lights, maybe not as nice as having them in the kitchen window though.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

*Andi said:


> In short ... yes ...


Ditto


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

Yes we do! Glad you brought it up though.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

I love that idea!

I grow some items, but there are others I can't grow. Like cinnamon. I'm trying out some cinnamon basil this year, to see if that would be an okay alternative (flavor wise). Even if it works out as a flavor substitute, it has different medicinal properties. So working on ways to store and rotate spices like that.

But I love that rack idea! My cats would probably climb it and tear it to shreds, but I still love the idea! Their's looks so neat - mine would never look that neat. Then again, their kitchen looks so neat, and mine never does...


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Now thats a spice rack!

Ours isn't inside but we grow as many herbs as we can, have a nice supply of Basil, Rosemary, Savory, Dill, Cilantro, Chili's and Fennel along with some that grow wild in the area.


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## cybergranny (Mar 11, 2011)

How cool is that


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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

So I'm not so great at knowing what spices are really needed, and ones for medical, and the just plain nice to have ones, so does anyone have a good list, or internet site. Thanks


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

helicopter5472 said:


> So I'm not so great at knowing what spices are really needed, and ones for medical, and the just plain nice to have ones, so does anyone have a good list, or internet site. Thanks


Click this link for the best site on the internet to answer your questions about herbs and medicinal ones :sssh:


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Now how did I know what site was going to pop up when I clicked that link? :laugh:


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

We have a permanent herb garden outdoors, and grow all we can that we need, then preserve and store those things, such as Sage, Cayenne Pepper, chives, and such, plus several medicinals like Goldenseal, and Oregon Grape. The things we cannot grow, we buy in bulk and store, like cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, etc.. 

Some hundreds of years ago, spices brought a BIG price if they had to be imported by sailing ship, or pack train. Same thing happened when the US was young and such goods had to be hauled cross country on crude wagon roads. In the right situation, those spices could be very expensive again, and they do store well in proper conditions.

This could be a thriving post-SHTF business. A little planning could pay off big time.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

NaeKid said:


> Click this link for the best site on the internet to answer your questions about herbs and medicinal ones :sssh:


You got me!:congrat:


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## stayingthegame (Mar 22, 2011)

and me!!! at least you know we take your advice! 
as far as clove oil goes, you can use the small bottles of clove oil for candy making. it seems even stronger than what I got from the pharmacy, but you could just add a touch of everclear or something to weaken it a little.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

Some of our list to grow for kitchen use:
(All have some medicinal uses, which is why Grandma grew them and cooked with them!)

-Cayenne Pepper 
-Sage
-Onions and Garlic (to dry and make powdered)
-Rosemary
-Oregano
-Chocolate Mint (peppermint with a hint of chocolate flavor)
-Lemon Balm

Sampling of what we grow for medicinals:

-Goldenseal (aka Yellow Root), Broad spectrum antibiotic
-Echinacea (aka Purple Coneflower), Immune Booster
-Oregon Grapes, Similar uses to Goldenseal. Makes a VERY BITTER jelly, so strictly NON-habit forming. 
-Honeysuckle blossoms, strong antiviral
-Forsythia blossoms, used with Honeysuckle in Chinese medicine
-Blackberry leaves, as a tea for digestive ailments
-Corn silks/Red Clover blossoms, used as a tea for a diuretic, and old time remedy for bladder irritation. 
-Black Cohosh/Blue Cohosh, Passion Flower, calmatives.
-Ginseng, general system tonic. RESEARCH THIS BEFORE YOU USE IT! GINSENG CAN CAUSE BLOOD PRESSURE TO RISE, AMONG OTHER THINGS!
-Blessed Thistle
-Ginko Tree leaves, improves blood flow to the brain. 
-Black Elderberry, flu remedy/antiviral. (We don't have it growing YET, but it is on the list to grow.)

We have more, but I'm not very knowledgeable on these. 
*DISCLAIMER:
I AM NOT A DOCTOR, NOR DO I PLAY ONE ON TV OR THE INTERNET. ALL THE ABOVE INFOROMATION IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT USE ONLY. SEE YOUR MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL FOR ALL YOUR HEALTH PROBLEMS. *


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

Some things I would suggest to store in some quantity for STHF needs:

-Salt, both iodized for table use, and plain for food preservation and other uses too numerous to mention. 
-Cloves and clove oil.
-Black pepper
-Cinnamon
-Chili Powder
-Cream of Tartar (a moderate amount) and Baking Soda (a LOT because it has so many uses). Store them sealed and separately. Combine to make baking powder.
1 tsp. Cream of Tartar, 2 tsp. Baking soda, and one tsp cornstarch (optional) makes baking powder.
-Mustard
-Turmeric
-Vanilla Beans and vodka to make extract.

Plus, any others that come up regularly in your kitchen uses.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

The "nice to have" list might include:

-Cocoa powder
-Lots of sugar
-Maple and other flavorings
-Brown sugar
-Bay leaves (in beef dishes and also add to your seeds to keep out the bugs)
-Pickling spices, Allspice, Dill, Celery seed, etc.
-A barrel of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce!  I could probably eat Possum with that stuff on it and enjoy it.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

You da man, machinist! :2thumb: Those are great lists!

I should have make lists like that a long time ago, but instead keep plans/ideas in my head. It makes a difference to write things out as a list. And my lists would look a little different than yours (bay leaves are a must for us, whereas chili seasoning is not), but that's the whole point of making lists - seeing the right course of action for each family. I tend to have a mental handle on the stuff we use regularly, but there are things of occasional use that are important, too, and I don't have as good a handle on those.


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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

Thanks everyone, plenty to jot down. Also going to look into getting some books for medical plant useage for my library. Great help, thanks again


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## carolexan (Dec 28, 2010)

I have grown savory and medical herbs for many years. I find the reason many cant grow herbs is they over water them. I only water when I can feel dry soil the depth of my index finger or 2 1/2 inches.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

machinist said:


> Some of our list to grow for kitchen use:
> (All have some medicinal uses, which is why Grandma grew them and cooked with them!)
> 
> -Cayenne Pepper
> ...


Machinist, I'm having a hard time find out what part of Goldenseal I can/must use. Can you use the entire plant or only the root? Do you dry the plant and mortar and pestel it? I do not plan on harvesting it wildly (since it's endangered), but will grow it once I have a yard or a place where the plant will not be bothered by herb hunters, or children.


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## BORN_FREE (Feb 1, 2013)

SALT! Everything is better with salt.


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## hillobeans (May 17, 2012)

Has anyone heard from Bobbb lately? He hasn't posted here in a few months, and his inbox is full so I can't got a message off...


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

BORN_FREE said:


> SALT! Everything is better with salt.


Salt is on the TOP of my list of "Things I need heaps of that I can't make here".


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## rawhide2971 (Apr 19, 2013)

Just a point about Salt, which I have plenty put up. Make sure to take it out of the cardbord container and transfer to a all plastic or other non corrosive container.
Salt is highly corrosive (spelling sucks) and if it gets wet it will be a major headache for you and will corrupt anything that it comes into contact with. I use soda or other bottles that have plastic tops. (My Favorite bottles are the ones that my TWO IF BY TEA) comes in because it is very heavy duty plastic and has a nice heavy duty lid. 
Salt is very cheap and plentiful right now but if things go to hell.....well its going to be worth its weight in almost anything you can name...IMHO that is. 
I have also been working on pepper.
Vanilla Extract and other extract that have alcohal since they will last for years.
I need to work on my dried herbs and that is a personal shortage but the Spouse is not as dedicated to putting this stuff up as I am, in fact she keeps raiding the Prep Pantry and not telling me casuing a signifcant rise in BP....


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

hillobeans said:


> Has anyone heard from Bobbb lately? He hasn't posted here in a few months, and his inbox is full so I can't got a message off...


No, not recently - it has been a while, But last I heard he was going to be busy for a bit. Maybe he got that land he was looking to buy?


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

rawhide2971 said:


> Just a point about Salt, which I have plenty put up. Make sure to take it out of the cardbord container and transfer to a all plastic or other non corrosive container. Salt is highly corrosive (spelling sucks) and if it gets wet it will be a major headache for you


I have large bags of water softener salt. This is the cheapest way to buy salt, by *far*. The yellow plastic bags it comes in are S T R O N G. I have one bag I tore the top open on so I can monitor it, and it has never been corrupted in 5 years.



rawhide2971 said:


> I have also been working on pepper.


I bought a LOT of ground black pepper years ago.... I wish I had known I should have bought peppercorns instead!!!


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## gam46 (Jan 24, 2011)

While we do store a variety of spices we use and cannot grow, I've found that we can grow many herbs. I have chosen to make a point of learning a variety of uses for each herb I can grow. I especially concentrate on how to incorporate them into dishes made from stored foods.

In addition to stocking basic spices, I keep and use recipes for mixing them for convenient use at minimal cost.

I try to stock spices in their whole rather than ground forms so they'll last longer. I keep a dedicated coffee mill and a couple of mortars with pestles to do the work.


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