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Food Preparation and Preservation Methods

This is not so much about things like recipes but rather the nitty-gritty of making and preserving food. There is a present generation out there that just assumes everything comes in a package from the grocery store. Most do not have a clue as to how to do canning and food preservation. There will undoubtedly be much starvation in the year or two following Doomsday but there is no need for anyone to starve to death in the third year - if they become organized and perform the tasks of food production and preservation that need to be done.

BREAD - Part One

(This is about solving the problem of supplyng what has been one of the main staples in North America)
The primary grains in North America have been wheat, corn, rye, oats, rice, and millet but there are many others such as amaranth, barley, flaxseed, quinoa, and spelt.

Here are some comparisons of the benefits of some grains.

The first concern will be in getting the grain. It is not a matter of just going out and throwing some seed on the ground. In the olden days even the sower was very much a specialty that the farmers waited to come around from town to town.

Preparation of the land, watering, weeding, and protecting the crop from insects and other infestations, and many other tasks are in the specialized domain and expertise of the farmer. I won't try to go there. Hopefully, you will find people with those skills - but they will need your labor.

Before the modern day - a very much larger percentage of society's labor went into the production of food. So it will be again - if we are to survive.

 BREAD - Part Two

Many/most modern day farmers won't know how to grow a crop without chemical fertilizers and pesticides and they won't know how to harvest it without mechanical fuel driven machinery. Some of these problems are addressed elsewhere - but here I have saved you a web page with one idea for harvesting with:

Once you do get the grain - and there are many steps in that even after it is grown, such as harvesting, threshing, winnowing, storage and so forth - you have then to grind it into flour if you are going to make bread. At Ark Two we have old equipment and mechanical grinders for these tasks. Doing it on a large scale basis for many people can be a challenge. Here are a couple of ideas that I have just downloaded as complete web pages: Once you get the flour - you are still a long ways from making bread. There is for one thing - 		BREAD - Part Three

I haven't discussed little details like recipes but once you get past that point and are ready to bake you will still need an oven:

None of these are really good ideas - because you are going to have to workout something like continuous ovens that are not dependent upon good weather conditions outside - if you are going to feed a lot of people. But maybe these ideas will get you started. At Ark Two we have one person who is very enthusiastic about solar and we have a marvelous solar array, but still not the solution for mass bread baking.

In years past we have had solutions. One member bought a large local bakery, but unfortunately they have gone on now - and the bakery with them. Twice more we had what appeared to be workable solutions. But none at the moment. Preparation is an on-going matter and this is one of the challenges that we face at the moment.
Eggs

    Egg Preservation
      Eggs can also be pickled but here is a method using what is known as water glass or sodium silicate, which is good to have around anyway as it has a lot of uses.

    Egg Substitutes
      There may be times when you need an egg - but there are just no eggs.

    There are othere sources for eggs than chickens - and other uses for chickens than eggs - but those and rabbits are all covered elsewhere.

 MILK

This is often an essential for infants to survive. Next to finding a wet nurse the solution may be a cow or goat (or a llama or buffalo, etc. - don't limit your imagination.)

Here is an article on
goats versus cows

and one on the subject of
a home dairy

There are lots of things that one can make out of milk.
Yogurt for example.
And of course icecream.
Easily done in the winter time -
but in the summertime ice may be hard to come by.
We still have our old hand-crank freezer down in the basement.
Salt is needed -
but salt is needed for many things -
and that is another story

 BUTTER

To make butter you need a churn.
There are many, many different designs.
As a boy I watched my grandmother use the vertical churn.

In our local museum there are tilted 6ft diameter tables that small dogs walked up to keep turning and churning.

Here are some pictures of churns:

Churn pictures One

Churn pictures Two

and some directions on churning:

Churning directions One

Churning directions Two
CHEESE

A natural follow on from having goats - and if you are so lucky - a cow. Cheese is great because it lets radiation decay. Anyway - here are some processes for making cheese.

CHEESE_5gal

Make-Cheese-at-Home

make-cheddar-cheese

 Food Drying

    Jerky
      This is an old - and relatively easy method of preserving meats. But you need to be careful.

    Drying Fruits and Vegetables.htm
      Here is an overview on food drying I have taken off the web from the Viginia Cooperative Extension.

 These BASICS on Food Drying -
are from the Clemson Extension
These BASICS pages on Food Pickling
are from the Clemson Extension

 Flavored Vinegars

So many things that I can never get around to.
Catsups
and
Spices
and
various ways of flavoring.

So many things -
that our grandparents did
that my grandchildren know nothing about.

And then there are -
but never mind.

 Food Jellying

    Basics of Jelly Making
      .

    Jelly and Jams

    So many things that I could write about -
    Honey would be one of them.
    We have twenty-two hives
    and plans to preserve 6 lines of queens
    through Doomsday.
    God willing.
These pages on Preserving Vegetables
are from the Clemson Extension

 Processing

    Elevation
    Process Adjustments at High Altitudes

    pH Control
    pH Control--Why the Concern?

    phs
    Approximate pH of Foods and Food products

    Water Activity of Foods

      Water activity refers to the availability of water in a food or beverage and represents the amount of water that is available to microorganisms. Pure water has an aw of 1.00

    Water Activity
      Water activity is a critical factor that determines shelf life..

    Major Canning Sins
      Potentially Deadly.

The following are
TWO very large and very important
Resources
Food Processing Sanitation.pdf
    This is a 176 page book

Food Processing Technology.pdf
    This is a 591 page book and what some would consider the 'bible' on the subject.

 These pages on Food Handling
are from the Clemson Extension
These pages on Food Processing
are from the Clemson Extension

 How to Cook Turkey

Holiday Meats � Not Just Turkey!

Cooking Meat Safely

Slow Cooker Food Safety

Microwave Food Safety

Bag Lunch Safety

Traveling With Food

Safe Picnics

Preserving Game Meats

Fresh-Caught Fish

Mailing Foods

Leftovers

Teaching Children About Food Safety

Deli and Other Take-Out Foods

Food Safety for Travelers Going Abroad

Food Safety Tips for Kids

Cookware Safety

Vacuum Packaging Foods at Home

Food Irradiation

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