# Can or should you store soybeans



## chuckinnc (Nov 1, 2011)

Around here in our red clay it seems most farmers grow soybeans, they sell them to large grain houses and have no idea what they are used for. I
can purchase them local but don't know if they are worth the effort to save. I
have seen roasted soybeans in stores and tried them as a snack, the are great but I don't know if it's same type farmers around here grow.
Along with popcorn, rice and pintos (I get at sams) I want to add some other
dried food to the storage list. I don't know if the locally grown soybeans or corn are the type sutable for human consuption, like I said earlier the farmers
sell it in bulk to the large grain houses that ship it out by train to who knows
where to be use for who knows what?


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## Immolatus (Feb 20, 2011)

Why not ask them? Are they organic, or at least grown with less chemicals? Would that matter to you? I would think that soy is used for animal feed, but soy is in and made into tons of things, used as filler, tofu and soymilk etc, but soy products are pretty ubiquitous, arent they?
I would think that it makes sense to have them, especially if you have a good local source, thats assumedly cheap(er?).

The two issues I would look into that would settle the question is: is it comparable in nutrition value by weight and by price to rice or pintos (or anything else you store) and its relative shelf life.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Most of the soybeans grown around here are the monsatano's round up ready beans... 
I've tried to grow organic Edemame soybeans(you eat them, steamed with salt popped out of the pods at the green stage, like shelly cow peas) and every time I get them going good the darned 4 legged mowing machines(deer) find them and pull them right out of the ground and eat them. You'd think with fields and fields of soybeans within miles of my home the deer wouldn't bother.. but nooooo they mow them right down.
If I did get a big enuf crop of dry soybeans I'd try to ferment them into Miso.. a salted soy and sometimes seaweed or wheat paste that is stirred into soups and sauces last minute so that the probiotics are still alive when you eat them... (would probably need Koji spores tho? gonna have to look into that) Soy has been know to give folks some tummy upsets and has a form of estrogen in it.. Plus they say it is not that good for you unless fermented. Or for making soysauce.. I love that stuff.. Salt and cooked soy beans that are fermented for quite a while.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

In a SHTF scenario nutrition is nutrition and any good source of it that is shelf stable and can be stored for long periods of time should not be dismissed, but investigated as you are doing.

My suggestion is Soy Milk, if dairy animals are not available soy beans can be easily made into a high protien substitute for animal milk:

Soy Milk

You need about 4 12 ozs whole soy beans to make 1 quart
of soy milk.


Clean the soy beans and soak them in water for 10 - 16 hours. 
Although not necessary, you can remove the hulls be kneading the 
soy beans and flushing the loose hulls with water. Removing the 
hulls makes the extraction process more efficient. An alternative 
is to crack the soy beans before soaking. The hulls come loose 
easily and can be washed away. When you use cracked soy beans 
you need less soaking time: 6 - 8 hours. 


Heating the soy beans will destroy enzymes which are responsible 
for the development of beany flavor. This heating can best be 
achieved by blanching or microwaving the wet soaked soy beans 
for 2 minutes.

Grind the soaked soy beans and 1 liter water in a blender. Sieve 
the mixture trough a cheese cloth and recover the soy milk. The 
insoluble material which remains on the sieve is called okra, 
and can be used as an ingredient for bread making or as cattle feed.

If the soy milk is to be canned, fill the canning jars and process
the same as for cows milk.

Heat the soy milk till boiling point and continue boiling for 
about 5 to 10 minutes. After cooling, the soy milk is ready and 
can be kept in the fridge for 3 days.


As Emrald stated Miso is good, alot of flavor in a small package, soy sauce is a big extender also(dont have a recipe for that). They can also be made into soy flour which is high in protien.

My openion is that if you have a local source, don't pass them up, it can be assumed(I know what happens when you assume), that the soy beans grown in this country as a cash crop are nutritionally valuable.

As far as the corn goes, if it grows on a cob, its food.


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## IlliniWarrior (Nov 30, 2010)

*No Wheat Stored?*

you should have wheat stored .....


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

IlliniWarrior said:


> you should have wheat stored .....


Not everyone can have wheat-I can and so can my hubby but my boy is gluten sensitive and I have a few family members that have celiac. 
I wouldn't want to exist on only wheat around here. Rice/beans/wheat/soy are all good options.. better if mixed with each other and even corn.
Corn squash and beans make an almost perfect protein.. 
While I love my breads and wheat products.. I know that we (in my family) need other options.


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## chuckinnc (Nov 1, 2011)

*Ok I don't see bulk wheat for sale in stores*

So would the wheat that farmers grow be sutable for human use or do I need to
by wheat from some large warehouse? If so who carries wheat, I can get the 
other items at Sams Club but I have never seen wheat for sale, only flower.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

I've been getting my wheat berries from Wal-Mart. Flour isle, bottom shelf, brown 25 lb bags of Wheat Montana. (red hard and white hard) That said, Wal-Mart didn't use to stock that product in my area, and I'm getting the idea that they may be phasing it out. It's worth a check, though. For me, it's a lot easier to do that than some other options.

Online, there's Honeyville Grain with low shipping costs.


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## stand (Nov 15, 2011)

*I've read that lintels offer far more value*

but I can get soybeans locally, so can most of us, for $10 a bushel (50 lbs, roughly). Ditto soft wheat, which "only' keeps for 2 years, but that's so cheap that you can afford to toss it and replace it that often. Ditto the soybeans. The way to store fat is by buying Criso in sealed cans. Dehydrate your own fruit and fruit juice, and snare your own venison jerky.


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## georgia (Nov 9, 2011)

I hunted all over here in AL for wheat and finally found it in a nearby feed and seed store. It comes in 50 lb. bags, and was really nice and clean. You just have to ask for human consumption wheat. I picked up 300 lbs, 9- 5 lb. buckets worth. This is an easily do-able task for one person in a few hours. It was spring (soft) red, and I'm wondering if it stores as well as the hard winter wheat. I'm also confused on which wheat to use for bread vs. pastries, etc. Any help out there?


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## cybergranny (Mar 11, 2011)

georgia said:


> I hunted all over here in AL for wheat and finally found it in a nearby feed and seed store. It comes in 50 lb. bags, and was really nice and clean. You just have to ask for human consumption wheat. I picked up 300 lbs, 9- 5 lb. buckets worth. This is an easily do-able task for one person in a few hours. It was spring (soft) red, and I'm wondering if it stores as well as the hard winter wheat. I'm also confused on which wheat to use for bread vs. pastries, etc. Any help out there?


Soft is for pastry and hard for bread (has more gluten for the rise)


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*Can you buy non GMO sobeans?*

When I first began hearing and reading about GMOs, I read that soybeans were the first GMO. I know some young adults (think of hippie types) who were living an idealic life in a house with around 10 others. They were into biking as a form of transportation (and no gas vehicles), gray water gardening, veganism, etc.

After a couple years of lots of tofu and soy milk, the girls began to have female problems due to the excess soy. They never told me and I never asked what the nature of the problem was, but the girls now eat meat and are trying to eat a more rounded diet.

I have had the chance to buy soy beans, and I have considered adding them to my preps, but between the GMO business and the problems with hormones, I am leary of the idea.

My daughter has had more than her share of soy milk, and it is a popular alternative for those allergic to cow's milk.

Soy might work for you, but for me, I am avoiding GMOs as much as I can.


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## chuckinnc (Nov 1, 2011)

*Ok i am a newbie to this so*

What does GMO stand for? Also Im finding out there are hard and soft wheat
so does the early spring/summer wheat mean it's "soft wheat" and the later fall wheat would be called hard wheat?


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

chuckinnc said:


> What does GMO stand for? QUOTE]
> 
> GMO--genetically modified organism.
> 
> ...


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## goatlady (Nov 7, 2011)

It's my understanding that 90% of soy beans grown world wide are GM beans. The "female" problems with soy/soy products is that soy contains the basic precurser to estrogen which can and will change the hormone balance in HUMAN bodies, male or female. Lots of soy is NOT a good idea for anyone and soy milk for babies and infants is a bad idea from the get go.


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## Calista (Oct 6, 2011)

Let me also add to the caveats if you or someone in your family is hypothyroid like I am. Soybeans and their products, such as tofu, soy flour, soy lecithin and soybean oil, contain the isoflavone genistein. This substance can interfere in the absorption of iodine, already deficient in individuals suffering from hypothyroidism.

And, of course, there's plenty of evidence (as the other posters mentioned) that you should avoid ingesting GMO products, since it's probably a safe bet Monsanto isn't going to spend any of its obscene profits on long-term studies of the effects of such products on your health.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Calista said:


> Let me also add to the caveats if you or someone in your family is hypothyroid like I am. Soybeans and their products, such as tofu, soy flour, soy lecithin and soybean oil, contain the isoflavone genistein. This substance can interfere in the absorption of iodine, already deficient in individuals suffering from hypothyroidism.
> 
> And, of course, there's plenty of evidence (as the other posters mentioned) that you should avoid ingesting GMO products, since it's probably a safe bet Monsanto isn't going to spend any of its obscene profits on long-term studies of the effects of such products on your health.


Thumbs up to you! Bravo! ! 
! !


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

Goshengirl, what are you paying for Wheat Montana wheat berries at WalMart? We just bought our first wheat berries a couple weeks ago. We got the same as you, it sounds like...Wheat Montana hard red wheat berries. Ours came from a small dry goods store in Linesville, PA (Ginny's) and we got them for $20.40 per 50 pound bag. She doesn't normally carry them but she ordered them at my wife's request.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

I paid $12 for 25lbs of the hard white, a few cents more for the hard red. Sounds to me like your wife found a good place to go! :2thumb:


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

Thank you for getting back, Goshengirl. I'll let DW know.


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