I've stocked up on rice and beans, coffee, medicines, and even have some "25 year emergency food", but I'm looking for some dried veggies, fruits, nuts, etc.. I found some on this website, but didn't know if this was the best choice in terms of cost. https://www.redhillgeneralstore.com/Bulk-Foods.htm I also need a better alternative for animal feed (dogs/cats/chickens). Even my local feed supply has horrible prices now. (I might be too late on that!) Thanks everyone!
Comments (27)
sorted by:
Dried fruits and veggies are seasonal and the price varies accordingly. Check the origin and avoid China. A mistake I made and spoiled a lot of fruit, maybe, is to pack it in airtight containers with oxygen absorbers. But, much dried fruit is more than 10% moisture, and if in an oxygen-free environment, could develop botulism. Use moisture absorbers, not oxygen absorbers. Silica gel absorbers can be restored by gentle baking. O2 absorbers are done after use. Also, much commercial fruit has oil on it to keep it moister and it is really hard to dehydrate further after that, plus the oil will eventually be rancid, which in this case you can't help with O2 absorbers. My solution is to turn it into fruitcake, preserve with cheap liquor, keep refrigerated, lasts a year at least.
Ooooh! Yumm!
Get a dehydrator and an InstantPot. An InstantPot can be used for canning. We canned our own orange juice (for using in recipes), milk, fruit, meat all on the cheap. Wait for a sale, buy more than you need for the moment and can the rest.
Mylar bags, the good ones that prevent light from hitting the food, are being banned by Brandon. NOW is the time to get what you need and I suggest learning how to preserve food so you can do it yourself (vs buying it).
I just recently learned that Ball owns all the other canning jar brands (Kerr, Ball, Golden Harvest, etc.) that you can get (if in stock) in the local stores. I wonder if a random fire will break out at there plants.....
Is an instapot the same as a pressure cooker, because I have one of those?
The instapot is basically an automatic pressure cooker
Yes.
Instant pot doesn't hit 15psi. I like the Presto 23 quart that can be found at Walmart/Target/Amazon for $125-180.
yep, go for it!
?
Oh thank you. I had no idea what you were talking about, lol.
https://shop.honeyville.com/
Shipping is a flat rate of $8.99
Thank you and that would have been a great option... but unfortunately, EVERYTHING I've clicked on is "OUT OF STOCK". It appears I am too late. Thanks, though!
Yea, those out of stock items are a little disconcerting.
I’ve seen ideas years ago where friends pool their money and go quarters in a good canner. What about advertising in a friend FB group etc and HIRE one from a friend. Canning days where several families get together to help each other is important. Maybe not now, but in the future when SHTF. There needs to be lots of planning to get equipment together BEFORE you start canning. There are many videos on prepping sites how you can achieve this.
I bought a really good, large dehydrator last year and dried all kinds of fruits and vegetables. The dried stuff you buy is ridiculously expensive. The one I got is the Magic Mill 10 tray food hydrator. I now now have many shelves of jars of carrots, apples, cabbage, tomatoes, oranges and lemons, green beans, onions, you name it.
I ordered nuts from www.anuts.com and was really pleased with the order.
I also got a good vacuum sealer to help extend the keep date of the nuts, flour, anything I can fit in the largest size sealer bags. Buy the rolls and cut your own to fit, it's cheaper.
Do you have a Rural King nearby? They are cheaper on feed than Tractor Supply or Southern States.
This is a place near me run by Mennonites that has fairly reasonable prices on all kinds of bulk items and they will do mail order. Worth the trip if Harrisonburg VA is within driving distance for you. http://www.grandmaspantryva.com/
They are great. You want it, they have bags of it. If you can get the the store, it's in a big indoor "farmer's market" with the neatest stores. One just carries canned goods, another has homemade baked goods in glass jars, another has nice quilts for a reasonable price.
Another place worth stopping out that way if they're open is the Green Valley Bookfair, just south of Harrisonburg. Super bargains on books.
Glad to help. Boy, I screwed up that post. It should be canned goods in jars. Not bread in jars. LOL
Just bought a BUNCH of nuts from anuts! Feeling much better about that. Thank you! Looking at dehydrators now since it's harvest time around here and I can get veggies pretty cheap and support the local farmers.
That's what I did. There's a local farm store that sells bushels of whatever is currently in season for cheaper. And we have a lot of orchards here - I did a ton of apples. BTW, check for local pick your own places if you have time. You can pick a bushel of apples or peaches in no time. Warning - I once picked a 5 gallon bucket of cherries, eyes bigger than my ability to pit cherries. Didn't have a pitter. I did a mountain of those things with a hairpin until I was ready to scream.
Make sure you get a dehydrator that's way bigger than what you think you'll need.
All great advice fren. Dehydrating applesauce makes pretty good fruit leather too.
I’ve heard that genuine MYLAR BAGS are being taken off the market. They say it’s because the drug smugglers use these to ship their drugs in as the smell cannot be detected. Go and stock up now! They will extent the life of food up to 25 years. I’m talking about flour, sugar, salt, dry beans etc. Visit prepping sites to see how they are used.
Good thread. Thanks.
Can someone in the know explain the benefits/differences between freeze dried and dehydrated? Thanks.