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 A short primer on Off Grid food storage for short and long term: as always, do further reading on these methods.

Shelf stable pre-packaged-
You can buy 1000s of different shelf stable kinds of food, canned, pre-cooked, dried, etc. but for the long term, this is not ideal or even possible. In a SHTF situation, those kinds of food will become unavailable and not be replaced. They are only good for a short term period such as a weather disaster in an otherwise stable country or area. 

Shelf stable raw-
The best shelf stable raw food that can be stored properly for many years includes whole grains in their original form such as wheat berries, oat groats, dried beans, white rice, etc. preferably that you can source in your local area so they are as fresh as possible from the start. These foods need further processing and cooking, but are shelf stable in cool, dry, dark conditions. Acquiring air tight (preferably glass) containers while they are available should be done continually. 

Root cellar-
Root cellaring fresh garden vegetables is a very good 6 months to one year storage method for food such as carrots, potatoes, beets, turnips, parsnips, cabbage, onions, winter squash, apples etc. A well ventilated, organized root cellar can hold a lot of food and keep it edible for a very long time.

Dehydrate-
The easiest method of preserving food while you still have electricity, or live in hot dry climates is dehydration. Almost any fruit or vegetable and many plants can be successfully dehydrated to keep well for several years if stored air tight, cool and dark. Dehydration is essential for raisins, figs, prunes, pasta, etc. Meat and fish can also be dehydrated to jerky. 

Freeze Dried-
The most expensive piece of equipment you might want to get. Food quality and nutrition is excellent for long term storage. Takes lots of electricity, time and maintenance. Not practical in extreme situations for ongoing food storage. Only good to use this method before the SHTF.

Pressure canning and cooking-
The essential way of preserving meat, fish, and cooked vegetables plus other foods such as soups, stews, cooked beans, is by pressure canning. It is the only safe way to can and store these foods in the cooked state. A pressure canner can be used on electricity, gas, and in extreme circumstances, probably wood fires although I haven't tried this. Pressure cooking is a very fast way to cook food that normally takes a long time and a lot of energy to cook. 

Fermenting, smoking, salting and pickling-
The oldest method of preserving food is by fermentation or pickling and salting then smoking of meats. Vegetables,  dairy, and some fruits can be fermented or pickled then kept at cool room or root cellar temperatures for extended periods. Meat, fish and cheese can be smoked. These methods use a lot of salt or vinegar which could be tricky to attain depending on where you live. The best way is to stock up on a large quantity of salt while it is easily available. Practice making your own vinegar and save the vinegar mothers to reuse. Cultures such as yogourt, cheese and sour dough can be used continually with proper considerations. Now is the time to learn how to use these food products. 

#Prepping #FoodPreservation #FoodSecurity #SHTF #OffGrid #Homesteading #GetPrepared