Think Ingredients
In our second food storage lesson we will continue to prepare before storing. In my last post I asked you to make a list of every meal you eat for a week. Hopefully you have done that and now you will need to take the next step– and for me this is the most time consuming part. Make a list of every ingredient in every recipe you listed from our last lesson. Right down to the dash of salt and tablespoon of water in a dish, make a list of every item needed to complete that recipe.
To make your list easier to lay out, you can download your own ingredient list planner here:Dan’s Depot Ingredient Planner
And don’t forget those subtle items that are easy to overlook: Is there something fried? Don’t forget the oil. Does it need to be breaded? Include the egg needed for dipping and the breadcrumbs for a crunchy crust. You might be surprised how long this step takes, but it might be one of the most critical. There’s nothing worse than storing a bunch of food that you won’t eat or will go to waste so you must plan to avoid that.
Remember to make provision for ingredients needed to make some items that are hard store, like bread:
- Consider a grain mill for hard wheat, or store flour
- Yeast (watch expiration dates, or make sourdough)
- Powdered eggs
- Powdered butter
- Dehydrated vegetables (celery and carrots are my favorite)
Avoid Waste With Proper Planning
Just this year I threw away over $1,000 worth of food that I had purchased on a whim—buying anything that I thought we might eat in an emergency but none of it was food we eat regularly. And it went completely to waste. I actually found a 12 year old box of macaroni and cheese. We ate it believe it or not. It didn’t hurt us, but it sure didn’t taste very good. The macaroni was special because at least we ate it, but I can’t say the same for most of the canned goods I bought. Ever seen evaporated milk curdle in the can? I have now thanks to my poor rotation system and lack of planning. Don’t let that happen to you!
By planning ahead on dishes you make regularly you will probably find what I did: it won’t take as much of a certain ingredient as you thought it would. When I made my list I found that I only needed to store two containers of garlic powder and one container of cinnamon for some of my recipes. I thought I would need a lot more but my calculations proved that I wouldn’t as long as I stick to the proper amount in my plan. Don’t be intimidated by this task—take this precious time to plan ahead for the safety and health of your family when you need it most.
