Long before the modern conveniences of refrigeration, people were storing their food using time-tested methods. Many modern homesteaders are learning and honing these skills as a way to preserve their harvest and continue to serve their families home-grown, home-raised food throughout the year. Here are six ways people stored food before … [Read more...]
Canning vs Dehydrating: Which Method is Better?
As a homesteader, you enjoy growing your own fruits and vegetables, and fresh is always the best choice for taste and nutrition. But what can you do to preserve some of your harvest for the rest of the year? Two tried and true options are canning and dehydrating. Both methods have distinct advantages and disadvantages. To help you decide which … [Read more...]
Fermentation 101: How to Make Yogurt, Sauerkraut, Apple Cider Vinegar, and More
It Boggles the Mind to Think that Allowing Food to Rot Would Make it Taste Better, Last Longer, and Actually Be Good for You… But it Does. We eat this stuff all the time and don’t even know it. Everything from bread and cheese to beer, wine, and simple things like sauerkraut, Kimchi, and yogurt are the result of a little-understood process known … [Read more...]
14 Foods That Store Well in Root Cellars
Root cellars are one of the best ways to store food, whether you're a prepper or a homesteader. One of the reasons they're so great is that they're able to keep a pretty constant temperature year round. During the summer, well-insulated root cellars will stay cool even when it's really hot outside. And during the winter, they will stay above … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Preserve Food Without Electricity
Anybody who wants to live off the grid knows the importance of long-term food storage. But here's the problem: If you're living off the grid, you might not have electricity, which means you can't store your food in a fridge or freezer. It also means you can't use dehydrators, and you can't use electric ovens to heat your canner. You might not … [Read more...]
11 Dangerous Food Storage Mistakes
If you’ve decided to prepare your family for a disaster, storing food will probably be one of your first major projects. Having emergency food on hand can help you get through anything from snowstorms to economic hardship, or even large-scale disasters. Storing food at home is fairly easy and affordable if you take your time and do it right. If … [Read more...]
3 Reasons To Start Canning Meat
My husband is friends with a guy who loves to grill out. Just loves it. Every holiday and most weekends, he heads outside and grills hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, chicken, sausage, or really anything made of meat. He's one of those guys who has to have some meat with every meal. Like us, he's also a prepper, and one day he showed us his food … [Read more...]
Food Storage Shelf Life: How Long Will It Really Last?
There are plenty of foods designed and processed for long-term storage. But what about everyday foods from the grocery store? Anyone prepping for a catastrophic event is thinking about long-term survival foods. These are foods manufactured, processed, and packaged in a way that makes them shelf-stable for up to 20 or 30 years. They’re good … [Read more...]
27 Foods That Last For Decades
If you're stockpiling emergency foods, hopefully you have a system for rotating that food. My husband and I have a room with metal shelving units sticking out from the wall, so it's easy to pull old cans and boxes of food from one side while putting foods we just bought on the other side. There are some foods, however, for which our system is a … [Read more...]
Dutch Oven Cooking: The Complete Guide for Beginners
There are articles all over the Internet about the new kitchen gadgets you "absolutely must have in your kitchen". Unfortunately, the vast majority of these gadgets are single-use appliances and are cheaply made. If you’re serious about cooking delicious meals from scratch, you don’t need the latest plastic gizmo. You need a few quality kitchen … [Read more...]
7 Surprising Uses For Diatomaceous Earth
So what exactly is diatomaceous earth (DE)? Well, it's the fossilized remains of small aquatic organisms that are usually found in the bottom of rivers, oceans, and lakes. These little organisms are called Diatoms. To create DE, these Diatoms are ground up to create a smooth food grade powder that is easy to use in a multitude of ways, from skin … [Read more...]
3 Reasons To Store Wheat Berries Instead of Flour
There is a debate among homesteaders about which form you should store your wheat in - whole berries or ground flour. One camp touts the many uses of raw berries while the other side praises the immediate use of the prepared flour. So which is better? There is no real right answer. As with so many other things in life, it comes down to your … [Read more...]
9 Ways to Preserve Dairy for Long-Term Storage
Keeping your "perishables" from perishing can be tricky. Most chickens don't produce eggs all year, and homestead cows go through dry periods. How do you make sure you have enough milk, eggs, butter, and cheese to keep your family eating well all year round? Here are 9 methods... 1. Freezing Freezing is a dependable way of extending shelf … [Read more...]
14 Foods You Shouldn’t Store for More Than a Year
When you are setting up a survival pantry, you want to choose foods that will last. Stored properly, many foods – such as beans, pasta, and white rice – can last indefinitely without refrigeration. Other foods, however, can spoil or lose their taste in less than a year. Here are 14 foods that do not store well for more than 12 months. Since many … [Read more...]
25 Items to Stock From Sam’s Club
There are plenty of great emergency foods and supplies you can buy online, but if you want to stock up without spending more money than necessary, your best bet is to get a membership to Sam's Club (or Costco). It costs about $50 a year, but you'll save so much money buying things in bulk that it's more than worth it. Sam's Club doesn't have … [Read more...]
6 Ways to Dehydrate Food Without Electricity
Dehydrating foods is one of the oldest methods of preservation, and it was practiced by people around the world long before the advent of electricity. When water is removed from food, the bacteria that cause spoilage cannot grow and multiply, which means that dehydrated foods are shelf stable for extended periods. Any modern electric food … [Read more...]
