# bulk food for storage



## md1911 (Feb 9, 2012)

Anyone know wich company has the most cost effective long term food I have staples stored but I'm looking for something like a mre any information would be appreciated


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

I know that many people buy and stock up MRE's but for me and my situation they are not the best choice for food storage. IMO, the best food to stock up for long term storage is the foods that you currently eat, they can be prepared and processed by you to be shelf stable for many years and the cost is much less. In some situations "Apatite Fatigue" can result from drastic changes in diet or from the monotony of repeated foods, the very young and very old are most often affected and some will simply decide not to eat and starve as a result. 

It may bea good idea for you to explore other possibilities before you fork out tons of money for expensive freeze dried or commercially processed foods, that is if you haven't done so already. 

As for your original question, I am sure you will soon have many answers to that question.


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## md1911 (Feb 9, 2012)

Thanks I'm getting a dehydrater this weekend. I use my home oven to make jerky. But other than canning and dehydration what home methods are there.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Their is vacuum sealing, that is not as much a method of preserving food but rather a storage process, it can be done with a Food Saver or similar machine or some do it using O2 absorbers. You can dramatically increase shelf life of food by vacuum sealing it.

Curing or salting is another method that is almost as old as civilization its self. I salt fish fillets and then dehydrate them. I started it as an experiment and was so impressed with the results that I now have quite a supply of it. I am a person that is not extremely fond of fish and generally will not eat it unless I catch it myself and then prepare it fresh but salting really surprised me. Just about any meat can be cured in one way or another. Smoking would probably fall into this category of preservation.

Their is also pickling but I would put that in the Canning category.

Canning, dehydrating, vacuum sealing and salting are the methods that I use and that allows me to stock just about everything we need.


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## md1911 (Feb 9, 2012)

Good information thanks I will look into getting one. Pluse the salt cure never tried fish but it work's well with ham


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## GaryS (Nov 15, 2011)

I order mostly from Emergency Essentials. Their service is very good, and I haven't found better prices when ordering large quantities of name brand freeze dried and dehydrated foods. You might find specials from other places, and I have ordered some of those, but I just find it easier to stay with one company.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

Davarm said:


> In some situations "*Apetite Fatigue*" can result from drastic changes in diet or from the monotony of repeated foods, the very young and very old are most often affected and some will simply decide not to eat and starve as a result.


  :scratch

:sssh: don't let my 72-year-old father know that...

... the guy's gotta have a PB&J at least every other day or he goes into withdrawal :lolsmash:


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

The_Blob said:


> :scratch
> 
> :sssh: don't let my 72-year-old father know that...
> 
> ... the guy's gotta have a PB&J at least every other day or he goes into withdrawal :lolsmash:


He and my grandson would get along just fine, he(2 1/2 and skinny as a rail) can sit down with a pound jar of PB and be as happy as a pig in poop.


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## AlabamaGal (Dec 27, 2011)

Fermenting is another tried and true perservation method. The original pickles and sauerkraut were fermented, not merely soaked in vinegar. Also root cellaring for fruits and veggies which store well. I only have a very warm basement, but I can easily keep winter squash from August until March.

Preserving in oil is a traditional method which is really not safe at all at room temperature. I would only use it as a desperation measure -- and you have to live somewhere where oil is cheap and readily available anyway. Botulism is quite nasty and very deadly.

Smoking, on the other hand -- the old fashioned kind, not the hot-smoking kind you do on your grill -- is one of those methods which you think wouldn't work but works very well. You do have to build a working smokehouse and know how to operate it. On most homesteads, the smokehouse was considered absolutely essential.


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## md1911 (Feb 9, 2012)

My grandpa had a smoke house he used to smoke a lot of meat then hang it in the back of his closet. I had forgot that till u mentioned smoking thanks


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

AlabamaGal said:


> Fermenting is another tried and true perservation method. The original pickles and sauerkraut were fermented, not merely soaked in vinegar. Also root cellaring for fruits and veggies which store well. I only have a very warm basement, but I can easily keep winter squash from August until March.
> 
> Preserving in oil is a traditional method which is really not safe at all at room temperature. I would only use it as a desperation measure -- and you have to live somewhere where oil is cheap and readily available anyway. Botulism is quite nasty and very deadly.


I do make true fermented sauerkraut and pickles, I did not mention them because IMO, that is a process someone would have to work up to and probably could not just pick it up first time around by reading a post. It is a very useful(and tasty) way to preserve foods but can tend to be more of an art than a science.

As far as preserving in oil, also known as "Potting", I have looked into that and currently have a crock of "Potted Sausage" in the kitchen. It is an ongoing test I started back in the fall. It has been there for about 4 or 5 months and the sausage patties are still good, not rancid and still tastes fresh. Your correct about it possibly being dangerous and have come to the conclusion that it is best to use this process in the fall to keep the meats through winter when temps are cool and pests are few, I dont think it would work very well in warm or hot weather the meats and fats would probably go rancid fairly quickly. It has been a successful test to this point but I do not recommend anyone do it unless they are well versed in the practice. I learned about it and how to do it from an old West Virginia "Hillbilly" who's family did it as a means to simply survive and from my great grandmother who did it for the same reasons.

Their are many, many ways to preserve food, you just need to find a way that suits your situation, this forum is a good place to get started.


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