Food Preservation and costs

[Reservior]

I started this post yesterday but I even started to confuse myself . It was prompted by something I had seen elsewhere and it started with quite a specific question but then ended up going on various tangents and in the end I gave up, so, I'm going to try again.

Specifically, first. I was reading yesterday elsewhere on line, some preppers were really bigging up dehydrators, I've read on here about them too and know a few of have one and use it. I don't have one but I've wanted one for a little while, I havn't bought one as I'm not convinced it won't just end up being used a few times then boxed up and put away (I have history here).

Shortly after reading all of this I was thinking about the latest round of energy price increases. Given that dehydrators use quite a bit of juice, switching it on is about to get a few % more expensive.

Are they still worth it? Particularly when you bear in mind that it will be next to useless if the world goes pear shaped and increasingly expensive to run if it doesn't.

Now, I took this train of thought a little further and this is where I got into a bit of trouble yesterday as I couldnt put the brakes on the train, to get down into a post, what I was thinking.

So, on a more general note about preserving. This doesn't make a huge amount of sense either does it? Granted, for some, there's the hobby aspect in that its something, some people, find pleasurable. But if you look purely at the cost of production it makes no sense. You can buy a jar of jam for pennies in a supermarket and it will have a good shelf life. There's the argument home made is better than a 20p jar of jam but in a 'survival' situation are you going to ignore that shop bought jar? You also have to factor in the cost of equipment, at the very least the cost of the jars. Granted, that's a capital investment so the cost reduces the more time you use them. Saved jars from shop bought jam etc still have a cost element to them don't they? As an aside, it was at this point I decided to give up yesterday as finding a cost element to a saved jar made me realise I was over thinking this a little

The other advantage to home preserving is actually gaining a skill which can outweigh the costs involved.

However, once we are faced with a zombie invasion (I don't mean this literally) that skill will be of limited use, until some form of farming practise/communities/trading system has been established. Are you going to use precious camping Gaz to make jam? Preserving fruit etc and wine making etc use large amounts of sugar, where will that come from?

Does any of that make any sense?

I'm not poo pooing preserving, I do a fair amount of it myself and occasionally still add to my supply of Kilner jars, but, in many cases it just doesn't add up?

Just some thoughts and I would welcome other members comments.

[preppingsu]

I agree that preserving food into jams etc is not cheap and as you rightly said you can buy a supersaver jar of jam for pence.

However, part of my prepping mentality is to learn skills that take away my dependence on the supermarkets, food giants etc. Those skills involve making my own bread/rolls, making preserves, curing meat (soon to do), smoking meat (soon to do).

Part of my food preps includes bags of sugar but there are preserves to be made without using lots of sugar (as was done many years ago).

My next step is to learn how to use other methods of cooking to acheive this. We have a clay oven in which I have cooked not just pizzas but cakes, bread and meat. Cooking over an open fire would be another good skill. But I also have the back up of a camping cooker with plenty of extra gas. I'm not just relying on one form of cooking.

So, I for one will continue to learn to do these things and become more self sufficent.

Oh and of course, you know what goes into you own food. Only good things and no extra nasties!!!!!!!!

[Plymtom]

Someone more knowledgable than I will come along shortly no doubt, but I'd say you have fair points, our dehydrator has seen little use, and it's not it's own fault so much as not going looking for the bargain dehydratables, I have done jerky a couple of times when rump steak was half price, and aubergines, which were cheap and I figured would also simplify making a mousaka (trouble with that is most of the family are trying to manage their weight and that's not a good meal for it).

Not complaining about the waste of money though, it was a wise inheritence money spend on a high priced item which won't happen again, another thing comes imediatley to mind is that preserving is age old, perhaps not jam, but jerky, root cellar, clamping, so if canning is possible in more primative cooking methods, I can see it happening, but sugar is a heavily processed product, to which SHTF would probably cease. that being the case sugar given it's shelf life is probably a very good food prep to over stock.

Another point comes to mind , a dehydrator chucks out heat and water vapour, in conjuntion with a dehumidifier, done in winter when you want the heat, it's not so wasteful, and weighed up would dehumidifying a shed load of jerky cost any more fuel wise than cooking it in a frying pan?

Unless someone perfects nuclear fussion or sustainable energies go into overdrive, we will be stuck paying more for fuel, and all the other consequences we dread and prep for.

[preppingsu]

If you want to dehydrate food without using electricity then have a look a rickvanman's youtube film on how to make a solar dehydrator using beer cans. OK, we may not get a lot of sunshine but this might be a useful project, again thinking about having alternatives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B2DGXPOk4Q

[Arzosah]

This is interesting ... I agree that supermarket food is often cheaper than doing our own, but as is pointed out, there's also the issue of gaining skills. And of course, if you've grown or foraged your own basic food, the economic costs go down (of course, if you price in your own time, the "cost" goes up again).

As the input costs go up, we might ration ourselves to just doing enough to keep our skills up - or some of us might try to go off-grid altogether, so to speak. I was wondering about buying a dehydrator, but on hearing how energy heavy they are, I don't think I will - if I want to dry using energy, I'll just use my oven set really really low, but otherwise, I think the way to go is solar, even if we have to make the kit ourselves.

A little nuclear reactor in the back yard would be great, though, yes.


ETA - preppingsu has just posted on the solar dehydrator - excellent, must check out that link.

[Reservior]

However, part of my prepping mentality is to learn skills that take away dependence

Slight miss quote as I included your smile at the end, apologies preppngsu.

That was a comment I was looking for.

However, being an argumentative sort..... Those same supermarkets and food giants provide us with tins of mushy peas at 4p a tin.... So, whilst you claim to strive independence, you still use them to your advantage?

I'm not being at all critical preppngsu, I do the exactly the same.

I was just trying to highlight something, that most preppers do (if not all) and prep to an extent that ends up not making much sense, financially or otherwise.

Raising the bar slightly, how about prepping for something like the Stone Age and anything better than that is a bonus?

[preppingsu]

Yes, I do use the supermarkets to my advantage and why not? This is what builds my current food stores that will get us through the winters when the food crop from the summer was rubbish due to the bad weather (this year being a prime example).

However, by learning the skills and building the resources to cook/preserve etc in many different ways means I could step away from using the supermarket (either voluntarily or by other events taking hold).

I don't think we will ever return to the stone age as we already have the knowledge and ability they didn't have but I do think we need to be able to live and survive in a world without constant power and utilities.

Buying/collecting resources now, learning skills now means we have a better chance of survival in the future.



Another link for dehydrating http://www.dryit.com/altheat.html

ETA http://www.squidoo.com/solar-food-dehydrator

[Arzosah]

Thats another good linkie, thanks preppingsu - mesh screening stretched over a frame instantly makes me think of the yards of insect screening I bought, in an attempt to do a diy insect screen over a window. Hasn't quite worked, but I could certainly use it for this - in fact, anything would, the link describes drying food on sheets laid over the furniture!

I love this sort of thing, absolutely love it - its like playing kids' games, but with a result thats actually useful in the present day, and is storing up skills for the future in addition, by helping along our independence from big business.

Of course, I'm perfectly happy to make use of the supermarkets too - the thing I like best is buying their loss leaders and *just* their loss leaders - the whole marketing point of a loss leader to them is to get us to buy other stuff. So I take great delight in using it the way that suits *me*, not them