Appendix 4 – A Working Home Pantry Combination Storage System

 

Storing food for the future needs is smart.  It is even smarter to store food and items for the future that you will actually need and use cheerfully and willingly.  For instance you might actually use that fifty pound sack of unsalted pinto beans in a prolonged food shortage.  In such a situation you would probably be very thankful to have food to eat.  On the other hand, you might have stored food that would have at least prolonged the day that you had to start eating that bag of beans.

 

When you begin setting up a working pantry it is a good idea to start with the things that you are already eating.  A lot of things that are easily stored may be good for you, affordable, and easy to prepare.  Unfortunately they just aren’t on your list of things that you and your family normally eat. Now is the time to consider the question, ‘Am I willing to change what we are eating now in order to make life simpler now and in the future?’  It is very possible that fresh meat and vegetables will simply not be readily available at some time in the future.  It is better to have made a partial adjustment at least to eating meals from foods that have a long shelf life. 

 

It is a good thing to begin introducing some of these items into you meals prepared at home when you are not in an emergency situation.  Let’s say you cook supper five nights a week for a set number of people.  One night a week you could try a meal that is made up entirely of canned items or items set up for long term storage.  If you can work it up to two meals a week that would be great.  Mixes that require water as the only ingredient can be used for breakfasts.  Dry cereal is good as a snack.  Everyone has to go through trial and error in figuring out what will work.  Even if you are a single person trying to set up a pantry for one, you still need to figure out what is going to work.  Remember that if you like something before a disaster hits you will still like it after a disaster hits.  If you hate something when times are good you will also hate it when times are bad.  That means enduring a storm or earthquake of epic proportions will not suddenly give you a love of rhubarb if hate it in the first place.

 

Short list

Water

Toilet paper

Meals straight out of a can

Peanut butter, jam or jelly, and crackers (or almond butter – sesame butter – anything to spread on a cracker)

Can opener

Hand can opener  (I know – can opener is on the list twice – so that means it is very important.)

Spoons/forks and plates

Four pans – one for heating water – one for cooking food – one for washing hands – one for washing dishes

Dish soap

Towels or paper towels

Blankets or sleeping bags

Something for shelter – you house may do if you are able to stay at home – your car may have to do if you don’t have time for anything else – a tent is good – tarps are good to make a temporary shelter.

Excedrin – because this will definitely bring on the aches and pains – or whatever pain reliever you use.

Reading material – Thompson Chain Study Bible, classic books, books you like to re-read occasionally

Sewing kit

Magnifying glass

Reading glasses if you or a family member uses them

Cigarette lighter – more than one – maybe a dozen

Matches

Candles

Batteries

Battery re-charger if you have any rechargeable batteries with a car charger

Cell phone car charger

 

 

Food storage

 

First on the list of things to store is food.  That’s normal.

Here is how you start.

You buy MORE of what you already use.  In today’s world we all eat a lot of canned food.  Unfortunately canned meat is that readily available.  You can easily and affordably get canned fish, chicken, and turkey.  Other canned meat is available like canned ham.  But, things we eat mostly like hamburger, t-bone steak, pork chops, and fresh breakfast sausage just don’t come in cans.  Well, actually there is a selection of canned meat available, but it is not found in most grocery stores.  And it is not nearly as affordable as the usual canned meat you find at Wal-Mart.  Yes is available but it is more difficult to fit into a working pantry because of the cost. 

 

By the way, I want to be very clear that I am NOT advocating avoiding meat.  I love fresh meat.  There is a saying among meat lovers that ‘vegetarian’ is an ancient word meaning ‘bad hunter’.  However, it is a fact that fresh meat could become hard to get and hard to store safely at some point in the future.  Adjusting to less fresh meat now could make your life easier both now and in the future.  When you make a meal using canned meat as the main ingredient you don’t have to worry about either defrosting the meat or buying it fresh.  You just pop open the can and start cooking.

 

To begin with there is no use in storing something that you categorically will not eat.  If there is something that you will eat occasionally that could be easily stored it is a good idea to try to put that into a meal that you eat more often.

 

Let’s start with canned fish.  The most well known fish is undoubtedly tuna fish.  It comes in several size cans and varieties.  Can you eat it?  Will your family eat it?  The most common way it is served is as a sandwich.  Stir in a little mayo and slap it on bread.  Or if you don’t have bread it is served with saltine crackers.  Or it can be eaten plain on lettuce if you have it.  Tuna works.  Can you stand it once a week?  It is one of the easiest meals you can put together.  It is fairly healthy and filling as well.  Tuna is definitely a good thing to have in your pantry providing you and your family will actually eat it!

 

Canned salmon is another thing that works well if you like pan fried fish cakes.  You call it croquet or patties or whatever.  The recipe is the same. The taste is the same.  I guess if you are going for variety – you could call it salmon croquet for one meal, fish cakes for the next meal, and salmon patties for the next meal.  Wow!  Three entirely different meals from the same recipe.

 

Would you and your family be willing to eat salmon once a week?  How about every two weeks.  If you find that a simple main course for a meal, then salmon is definitely something you would want to have in your pantry.

 

Canned chicken and turkey do work for the same recipes.  They actually do taste a little different, so there is some variety in having both in your pantry.

 

Canned clams make a really tasty and simple clam chowder if you have additional ingredients on hand.  You can use your fancy recipe; OR you can open a can of potato soup and stir in the clams; OR you can use the powdered potato soup you have on hand.  Most of those potato soup powders only require water and stove to heat them on.  A can of oysters instead of clams would make me happy, but it wouldn’t make anyone else in the family happy.  You could even eat the soup plain and let everyone eat their own can of clams or oysters.  Come up with something that works before you have to.

 

Food Items

 

Canned meat

Tuna

Salmon

Chicken

Turkey

Ham

Clams – IF you like them

Oysters – If you like them

Sardines – IF you will actually eat them – remember you may want to gut some of them before you eat them because it is the entire little fish in the can

Anchovies – of course you like those

There are recipes for canning things like bacon and pork if you are bold enough to give it a try.  Canning meat is something to approach with extreme caution. If you have the time and inclination to do that then you better go ahead and give it a try.

 

A lot of canned meat has more salt than you might prefer in a meal.  One thing you can do is leave most of the salt off the rest of the meal.  It sort of evens out.

 

Start reading the ingredients.  Something that costs a little more may or may not be worth it.

Canned Chili is a good example.  Just read the ingredients.  You can get wheat free/gluten free that is actually very healthy and tasty.  This works great as a meal by itself, or served with cornbread, or made into nachos, or for tacos.  Try thinking out of the box when you think of canned chili.  Chile without beans really gives you more options. 

 

Canned tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato sauce, flavored tomatoes, and spaghetti sauce are all good to have on hand providing you actually use them.  If you like the spaghetti sauce in a jar that is good for just about anything that calls for tomatoes, and you have the added help of a re-usable jar.  Most of the time that jar just goes in the recycle bin, but there might come a time when it would be useful for lots of things.  A jar with a lid can be used for nails, 22 bullets, water storage, dry food like beans, and even for canning jars.  If you are using saved jars for canning do you best to get new lids for the jars.  Sometimes that might not be possible, but if you use old lids you are risking a bad seal at the lid which would of course allow the food to spoil. 

 

 

 

Better than Bouillon is a category all by itself.

I use beef and chicken because that is what Costco sells. It makes a delicious clear liquid stock for any recipe that calls for some sort of broth.  It also makes a wonderful hot drink that is sort of filling.  It has a very long shelf life. If you haven’t tried it you need to get a couple of jars and give it a try.  It is MUCH cheaper than buying chicken or beef stock in those cartons.  It adds a lot of flavor to what might be an otherwise bland meal.

 

 

Dry food Items

 

Powdered or canned milk if you use milk in any form.  Try using it instead of milk in a carton at least part of the time.  My mom used to use a lot of powdered milk when I was growing up.  She would always mix it up the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.  It honestly did taste much better that way. 

 

Powdered soup mixes – potato is my favorite because it is a base for a lot of meals.

Pancake mix – IF you ever eat pancakes

Bisquick or equivalent – IF you ever use it

 

Try to start using things that only need water. Some mixes call for water or milk.  If you have milk use it.  On the other hand water adds no calories and often the taste is really close to the same.

 

 

Canned Goods

 

What will you actually eat?

Corn - creamed or whole kernel?  This is great with the dried potato soup mix to make a satisfying corn chowder.

Green beans

Green peas

Asparagus – great for the kidneys but a little pricy if no one will actually eat it.

Canned beans – a lot of variety there

Chili – with or without beans

 

Tomatoes

 

Tomatoes make up another food group

The question is what sort of tomatoes do you use and how often?

Get a lot of whatever you use.

 

Spaghetti sauce is wonderful for a lot of recipes.  My parents were stuck in a road wash out in Canada quite a few years back. They had beans to cook and coffee to boil.  They fed about 20 people every day until the Canadian government showed up with food and equipment to get the road fixed.  Mom said someone had spaghetti sauce – which they added to the beans.  It was an entirely different meal than plain beans. 

Picante sauce – it can a lot of pizazz to a bland meal.   

 

Spices for cooking

 

Salt – everyone needs salt.  Store a lot more than you normally use.  It could work as an item you trade, or you might wind up using it to preserve meat.

What other spices do you use?

Pepper

Garlic powder

Vanilla extract

Cinnamon

Coco powder

 

This is a very personal list.  The only real definite item is salt.  We use sea salt that I put in a salt grinder.  I try to keep several pounds on hand.

We also use a lot of cinnamon because I seem to have a cinnamon addiction.

Cocoa is on the spice list because you can do a lot with a teaspoon of cocoa.  If you are really a chocolate addict then you really do need to figure out what equals a 3 months supply of cocoa for you and be sure that is on hand.  If you are unable to purchase items for a prolonged period of time you may actually need double your 3 months supply of chocolate.

 

Grains

 

Wheat – as flour or as whole grain that you buy ready to grind in your grain grinder.

Honest, there is no reason to go out and buy a grain grinder and 100 pounds of wheat berries if you aren’t going to start using it now.  Baking bread is a lot of work unless you have a Zojirushi bread machine.  Seriously, a good bread machine is worth a lot to a busy cook.  You can put the ingredients in the machine, set the timer, leave the house, and come home hours later to fresh bread.

 

There are a lot of grains from which bread can be made, many are gluten free.  Sorghum and buckwheat are two that I find work pretty well in the usual bread recipe.  The problem is they do make a heavier bread that requires some getting used to.  These grains are very nutritious and are a good addition to any diet.  The time to start incorporating them into your diet or your family’s diet is right now while you time to experiment and see what your family will accept as edible!

 

 

Drinks

What do you drink personally?

What do family members drink?

 

If you drink a particular brand of coffee or tea try to work up to at least a 3 months supply.  Store it in order with the newer items being placed at the back of the shelf so you are always using the oldest items. 

Soft drinks are a lot harder.  You may be able to stock up a few months worth, but stocking up more than that likely won’t work well. 

Powdered sports drinks?  Do you drink them now?  Chances are you wouldn’t suddenly love them if don’t use them already.

 

Don’t stock stuff you never use no matter how wonderful the price.  If it is a really good survival food like dry beans you may want to make an effort to learn to eat it at least in small quantities.  The possible exception is something you believe would have value to trade or barter.

 

Things EVERYONE Needs to Stock

 

Obviously everyone needs to stock food but exactly what they stock varies according to personal taste.  On the other hand there are things that everyone needs to have on hand.  I think shooting for an eventual three months supply is doable goal.

 

Personal items like

Toilet paper

Soap – for hands, laundry, dishes

Shampoo and other hair related items

Deodorant – no ones to smell the rest of the family in a situation where bathing might not be as easy as stepping in the shower and turning on the faucet.

Your personal food addiction – whatever it may be (chocolate, dried apples, cranberry juice)

(Our pastor’s wife puts together a box of ‘stuff’ to send to a missionary family serving in a remote area of Africa.  What they invariable as for is a particular brand of coffee and several types of candy.  One missionary I know asks for canned corned beef.  Whatever comfort foods are important to you and members of your family try to have a stash on hand.)