Category Archives: preserving foods

Building a simple barrel smoker

Posted on April 11, 2013 by

Smoking meat and fish is an excellent way to preserve it for non-refrigerated storage.  A smoke house is easy to build and is not expensive if you are willing to do a little work.  There are two main types of …

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Why You Need an Old Fashioned Hand Crank Meat Grinder

Posted on April 3, 2013 by

It seems like almost everytime I go to a garage sale I see an old-fashioned meat grinder for sale.  You know one of those hand crank ones for making your own hamburger.  I have one stuffed away somewhere in our …

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Tips on Dehydrating Your Garden Produce.

Posted on March 26, 2013 by

For people with problems finding the space for storage consider this, it takes ten times the room to store wet pack as dried fruits and vegetables.  A hundred pounds of tomatoes will fit in a one-gallon glass jar.  Summer is …

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Advice for Beginning Preppers

Posted on March 6, 2013 by

This year I will be 70 years old and will have been prepping since my early twenties.  My parents started me prepping.  This has been a way of live for me as long as I can remember. Over the years, …

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Add Garbanzo Beans to Your Storage

Posted on March 2, 2013 by

Garbanzo beans can be purchased dried or canned.  If you are purchasing dried garbanzos, look for whole beans with less than 10% moisture content.  Canned beans are a convenient way to purchase garbanzos, but with a much shorter shelf life.  …

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How to Slice, Dehydrate and Use Oranges

Posted on February 14, 2013 by

My wife has been drying foods again so we made a video of her drying oranges.  Now I know drying oranges sounds funny, but it works great.  She powders them and uses them like a spice on chicken, fish, deserts …

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Desiccant Packs and Long Term Dried Food Storage

Posted on February 4, 2013 by

I see many people on the web recommending the use of desiccant packs to control moisture in stored foods.  In over 40 years of storing food, I have never used one.  Our dried storage includes all types of grains, legumes, …

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Using the New MealSaver for Vacuum Sealing Mason Jars

Posted on February 2, 2013 by

My wife collects FoodSavers. Not really, she only has three of them and she uses them all the time.  She vacuums seals all kinds of foods and spices in mason jars.  This is the second video she has made on …

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Light, Another Enemy of Food Storage

Posted on January 24, 2013 by

Light is the least understood enemy of food storage.  Exposure to light can cause foods to spoil faster.  Both natural and artificial light can cause photodegradation, according to the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Clemson University.  Exposure …

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Oxygen Another Enemy of Food Storage

Posted on January 23, 2013 by

Today I will write about how oxygen affects the shelf life of food.  Oxygen supports the growth of microorganisms and causes changes in color.  Aerobic bacteria and fungi are able to grow in a oxygen rich  environment.  It also lets …

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